
Dionne O'Dell is faculty for the Department of Theatre at Michigan State University, where she specializes in writing and directing plays for youth and community. She primarily teaches Children's Theatre for the Theatre Department and also teaches courses in the Arts and Cultural Management Program. Previously, Dionne was the Associate Director of Education at Lincoln Center Theater where she trained NYC public school teachers to incorporate theatre into their classrooms, and directed students in the Lincoln Center Theater High School Intensive program productions. She has also designed curriculum for numerous stage productions including: QED, starring Alan Alda, and Kevin Kline in the Shakespeare Thing, both for Lincoln Center Theater and OTHELLO, for the Aquila Theatre Company’s Shakespeare in American Communities program supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Dionne has published articles on classical theatre in the English Journal, and has written numerous plays and screenplays. In February 2010, Dionne’s short film script, Dreadful Sorry was awarded a $100,000 grant by the SC Film Commission. Dionne served as an Associate Producer on the film and Chief Accountant. Dreadful Sorry was an official selection in the Orlando Film Festival in 2013. Dionne is also a proud member of Actors Equity Association, and has worked as a performer in regional theatre productions, in industrial films, and television commercials. In the Spring of 2017 Dionne wrote and directed FARM! A MUSICAL EXPERIENCE, a musical written specifically for children who are neurodiverse. FARM! toured special education classrooms in Michigan in 2018 & 2019. Most recently, Dionne was an artist participating in Lincoln Center Education’s Big Umbrella Festival, a festival dedicated to theatre for neurodiverse audiences. Her second play for neurodiverse audiences, SODA POP SHOP, is currently on tour, and she is developing a collaborative piece titled POND ADVENTURE, with Sean Ahlquist, a researcher in socio-sensory architecture from the University of Michigan. Dionne is also a golfer, and mom to Toby, 15, Miranda, 12, and dog Tiny Bean, 5.