David Montee

In 2016, Dr. David Montee was given Honorable Mention by the Tony Awards for Excellence in Theatre Education.

Dr. Montee has directed and acted in more than 150 stage productions over the course of his professional and educational career. New York acting credits include work at Town Hall, Queens Theatre-in-the-Park, Tribeca Repertory Theatre and First ACT Theatre; regional acting credits include work at the Hilberry Theatre of Detroit, Chamber Theatre of Boston, the Boarshead Theatre of Lansing, the Newburyport Theatre in Massachusetts, and the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, MI. He has also performed in feature films and industrials throughout the country, and was formerly the Artistic Director of the Arts Encounter Theatre Company in Lansing, Michigan. He is the author of Translating Shakespeare, A Guidebook for Young Actors published by Smith and Kraus; additional articles on acting and theatre have been published in periodicals such as Theatre History Studies, The Uncommon Reader, the Drama/Theatre Teacher, and Teaching Theatre.

In addition to his recent recognition by the Tony Awards, Dr. Montee has received educational awards from every institution at which he has taught in his 30+ years of instruction. He has been cited numerous times by Who's Who Among America's Teachers and named as a Distinguished Teacher by the U.S. Department of Education's Presidential Scholars program twice, in 2001 and 2009. In 2004, he was awarded the Coca-Cola Distinguished Teacher in the Arts from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Many of his former students from his years of teaching and administration at the Interlochen Center of the Arts have performed over their subsequent professional careers in featured roles on television, in films, on Broadway, and with prestigious stage companies throughout the United States and internationally. Dr. Montee is a member of Actors' Equity Association; he performs on occasion with the Interlochen Shakespeare Festival, and has recently joined the staff of Resident Artists for the Purple Rose Theatre (founded by actor Jeff Daniels) in Chelsea, Michigan.

Additionally, in both 2016 and 2018 he won the Michigan Critics' Oscar Wilde Award for Best Acting in a Shakespeare Play for his performances of Jaques in As You Like It and King Lear at the Interlochen Shakespeare Festival.