ABOUT...
CHRISTOPHER DE PAOLA is a playwright, an Emmy Award nominated actor, and a carpenter/builder. Christopher's career spans the cities of Chicago, Miami, New York City, and Los Angeles. He founded the South Florida Playwrights’ Initiative, a new play development workshop designed to bring new work to the Miami Dade/Broward area. Christopher has assisted New Theatre, Victory Gardens and Chicago Dramatists with new work. He is co-founder of Local 75, a workshop focused on seeking out and developing working class plays. Christopher is an alumnus of the Resident Playwright Program at Chicago Dramatists, where he also co-founded, produced and hosted Instant Theatre, a monthly evening of new work. His play THE IMAGINE MAN was presented in the Victory Gardens festival Ignition: Emerging Playwrights of Color. He spent a season as head writer on the WCIU television series GREEN SCREEN ADVENTURES. His two plays MORNING TRAFFIC and DREAM WATER were commissioned and published by Pearson Education/Scott Foresman. His plays STREETS COME KNOCKING and RECOVERED were presented in Chicago Dramatists' 2006 & 2007 Many Voices Project. Productions include: DIRTY (New Theatre, FL); WHAT I KNEW THEN (NYC); THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN MEN & WOMEN (NYC).
Christopher is an Emmy Award nominated actor for his role as co-star and host of the series GREEN SCREEN ADVENTURES. He has extensive acting credits in Florida, Chicago and NYC. Chicago acting credits include: Death & the Maiden; Jon; Eye of the Storm; Autobiography; Cynical Weathers; Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams. NYC credits include: The Guest Lecturer; Butterflies Are Free; King John; Don Juan In Hell; Romeo and Juliet. Other credits include: Rumors; Standing on Ceremony; A Chorus Line; Charley’s Aunt; A Few Good Men; Ten Little Indians; Once Upon a Mattress; Wait Until Dark; Harvey; and the world premiere of Kia Corthron’s Catnap Allegiance. Christopher is also a founding member of the NYC improv troupe Devil's Dancebelt. He has been a Florida Division of Cultural Affairs Theatre Fellowship panelist, as well as a Broward County District Thespian Adjudicator. His teaching credits include playwriting and acting classes at Barry University, Nova University, Ohio University, Marietta College, Steppenwolf Theater, After School Matters, John Casablancas and various Chicago Public High Schools. He holds a BFA in Acting from Otterbein College, and an MFA in Playwriting from Ohio University.
In the trade skills, Christopher has been a scenic carpenter for multiple tv/film productions, as well as the catalogue division of the furniture and housewares company Crate & Barrel, and for the multiple Tony award winning Steppenwolf Theatre.