Kathleen Denny

Alum 2001

Long based in Oakland, writer and performer Kathleen Denny serves up smart, fresh, and funny stories from life, work, and family. Her new show Out of Line (formerly known as Tolerance?!) is a true and funny account from her years as a union machinist and mechanic in the air transport industry.

Her previous one-woman show, Nice is Not What We Do, gathered 20 characters for a family funeral. Nice is Not What We Do received four stars from Winnipeg Free Press and sold out at San Francisco Fringe. This surprising dramedy about family relationships toured Winnipeg, Orlando, Boulder, Fresno, and San Francisco, and has delighted audiences at cabarets, cafes, and one monastery.

She developed her performance work at The Marsh, Berkeley Rep School of Theater and through work with Mark Kenward, Jill Vice, Julia McNeal, Ann Randolph, David Ford, Raz Kennedy and others.

Family and her work as a union machinist and airframe mechanic inspired essays and commentaries published in periodicals such as The Sun and Skirt!Mag, as well as on National Public Radio. Her writing won a residency at Soapstone in Oregon, as well as the Mesa Refuge.