Denise Chapman

Denise Chapman graduated from Creighton University with a BA in theatre. She went on to receive her MFA from the Theatre Conservatory at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. After graduation she performed with Qwest Educational Programs touring elementary and middle schools in the greater Chicago land area and worked as a Solo performing artist. She returned to Omaha in 2006 and worked with Blue Barn’s Witching hour for three years as Co-Artistic director/ensemble member and at the Omaha Community Playhouse as the director of education and outreach. She is a strong believer that art changes our lives for the better, it gives a voice to those who feel like they are not being heard, and expresses a vision of hope to all those who are touched by it. She is an alumni of the fellowship program at the Union for Contemporary Art. She was an Artist in Residence at the Carver Bank project, a collaboration between Bemis and Theaster Gates and “Livness is Critical” at the Bemis Center. Currently she is the Artistic Director of  Theatre, The Union for Contemporary Art and an adjunct professor at Metro Community College and the University of Nebraska Omaha. Past Directing Credits include The Divine Order of Becoming, Bourbon at the Border, Center the Margins, and The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin. More Than Neighbors (The Union) The Crowd You’re in, Neighborhood Tapestries, Voices from the Center– Great Plains Theatre Festival (GPTC), Withlove Felicia, Love is not Abuse – Malcom X Center, House of Blue Leaves, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf (Circle Theatre),The Good Doctor  (Creighton University)  Sand Mountain and Brighton Beach Memoirs  (Midland Lutheran University) Sweet, Tell Martha Not to Moan, Marvelous Country, Turpentine Jake (Readings for GPTC) The Nightshade Tapes, Hello Madness, If, and Hysterical Blindness 3  (Blue Barn’s Witching Hour) Acting credits include: Mildred D Brown – Northside Carnation, Sophie- Flying West, Ester- Intimate Apparel Omaha Community Playhouse, Loretta- Breathe– GPTC, Ensemble- Down and out in Heaven and Hell – Blue Barn’s Witching Hour, Just…-Hot House, Spook- Shoes – Victory Gardens Theatre Chicago, IL.

Role with GPTC: PlayFest Director, North Omaha Liaison