Denise Summerford (Founder & Director) is an award winning Broadway Actress and the founder of Broadway Arts Collective.
Denise has appeared on Broadway in such shows as the Rosie O’Donnell/Boy George musical Taboo, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Saturday Night Fever and Grease.
Denise received a Drama Desk Award for her work in the hit a cappella musical In Transit where she created the role of Jane. She was also in the original cast of the Off Broadway musical Shout!.
She has played leading roles in the Broadway touring companies of Leader of the Pack, Grease, Company, The Who’s Tommy and has worked at more than 15 regional theatres across the country.
She has created roles in the development of many new plays and musicals most notably In Transit, Spring Awakening's Duncan Sheik & Steven Sater’s new work The Nightingale and Urinetown's Greg Kotis & Mark Hollmann's new mastermind ZM, all at The O’Neill Theatre Center - as well as Dollface and Behind the Limelight (Broadway’s Chaplin), both at Powerhouse Theatre/ New York Stage and Film.
A dynamic singer, Denise has drawn praise from around the music scene with her solo show COVER GIRL. She can be heard on various voice-overs, jingles and recordings and has sung with many national and international recording artists. Denise has had the distinguished honor of singing at the White House for the President and First Lady.
Denise can be also heard weekday mornings as co-host on the Hudson Valley's Energy 103.1 morning radio show.
Denise has a BFA in Acting and was a company member of Half Moon Theatre in Poughkeepsie where she founded and served as Director of Half Moon Theatre School of the Arts for 6 years along with her husband, John Summerford. She teaches her audition and voice master classes at many universities and acting academies across the country as well as running a private voice and acting studio in New Paltz, NY. Denise has successfully coached students through pre-screens and college program auditions with ACCEPTANCES to Carnegie Mellon, Pace, Emerson, Rider, NYU Tisch, Point Park, Boston Conservatory Berklee, Wagner, Marymount, Ithica, Purchase, Baldwin Wallace, Syracuse, Hartt, Hunter, Fordham, North Carolina, AMDA and the list keeps growing!
Denise is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, SAG/AFTRA, AGVA and NATS (National Assoc of Teachers of Singing).