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Heather Benton is the Head of the B.F.A. Acting Program and Associate Professor in Acting & Movement in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Montclair State University. She specializes multiple acting and movement techniques and teaches multiple courses in Acting and Movement within the BFA Acting curriculum. Techniques include Practical Aesthetics, Viewpoints and Suzuki training. Benton is currently completeing her certification in the Lucid Body Teacher Training Program in at the Lucid Body Institute in New York City (May, 2025) and is looking forward to adding this dynamic technique to the BFA Acting Program acting curriculum.

Benton directs and devises for the Department of Theatre and Dance season, creates original devised pieces for the BFA Acting Senior Capstone annually and creates international bi-lingual devised pieces with TAI School of the Arts/ Escuela Universitaria De Arts in Madrid, Spain and the Theatre School at Universidad Mayor in Santiago, Chile.

Main Stage Directing credits at MSU: MARIE ANTOINETTE by David Adjmi, Memorial Auditorium (2024), THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Simon Stephens, Memorial Auditorium (2022), WEDDING BAND by Alice Childress, Alexander Kasser Theatre (2018); IPHIGENIA AT AULIS by Euripides, Alexander Kasser Theatre (2016); WINTERTIME by Chuck Mee, L. Howard Fox Theatre (2014).

Senior Capstone Projects & Devised Theatre at MSU: REVELATIONS LOOPED, immersive devised piece with original text and scenes from contemporary plays (2024); WHAT WE HOlD ON TO, devised verbatim theatre (2023) PROJECT TWILIGHT ZONE, adapted episodes from the original "Twilight Zone" TV series and original material (2022); RIDERS ON THE STORM, devised with original text & SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS by Bess Wohl (2020); YERMA by Simon Stone, adapted from Frederick Lorca’s play (2019); TEN X SHANLEY, devised with scenes from plays by John Patrick Shanley (2018);S ENTIENCE, SEX, LOVE AND INFORMATION, devised with original text and LOVE & INFORMATION by Caryl Churchill (2017); POLAROID STORIES by Naomi Iizuka (2016).

International Collaborations: IDENTITY, bi-lingual devised, co-created with MSU Professor Debbie Saivetz in collaboration with TAI Madrid (Madrid, Spain); EL ENCUENTRO, bi-lingual devised, co-created with MSU Professor Debbie Saivetz and Universidad Mayor (Santiago, Chile) professors, Leonor Lopehandia & Gabriel Diaz of the Universidad Mayor (2017-2018).

Acting & Movement Coaching/ Choreography credits at MSU: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Kate Hamill, TOP GIRLS by Caryl Churchill, MAD FOREST by Caryl Churchill, TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare, PUNK ROCK by Simon Stephens, THE DRUNKEN CITY by Adam Bock, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE adapted by Simon Reade from the novel by Jane Austen, THE PERSIANS by Aeschylus, THE WINTER'S TALE by William Shakespeare, CLYBOURNE PARK by Bruce Norris, MIDDLETOWN by Will Eno, THE BIG MEAl by Frank LeBlanc, EQUUS by Peter Schaffer, CLOUD NINE by Caryl Churchill, ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare, PENANCE: GHOST OF DON JUAN by Molly Rice, GRAPES OF WRATH adapted from John Steinbeck’s novel by Frank Galati, 1001 by Jason Grote, ARCADIA by Tom Stoppard.

Specialization

Professor Benton is a hybrid physical theatre artist specializing in acting/ movement/ devising/ directing. Techniques include Stanislavski, Practical Aesthetics, Lucid Body, Viewpoints and Suzuki.

She is currently working towards her Lucid Body Teacher Training certification with Fay Simpson and assistant teaching at the Lucid Body House in New York City (May 2025 completion).

Heather is an acting company member of the New York based physical theatre company, Blessed Unrest, where she leads trainings and works as an actor/ writer/ collaborator.
She also writes and performs under the pseudonym, Matilda Woods.



An acting company member of The Untitled Project: Untitled Othello: a theatre collective

She is a compan

Resume/CV

Office Hours

Fall

Tuesday

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Thursday

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Links

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• B.F.A.Acting Webpage
• New Works Initiative Webpage
• Department of Theatre and Dance Webpage
• Devised Theatre Project of the Americas Video
• Iphigenia Remixed Article: Creative Research