seth panitch

To the shock of everyone in the Greater Los Angeles area, Seth Panitch graduated Chadwick High School Cum Laude before swearing off Theatre forever and entering college as a Pre Med major at Tufts University in Boston. After madly careening through every conceivable combination of majors known to Man, Seth fled the tundra of New England for the savannah of Los Angeles, transferring to Occidental College, where he, to the shock of no one in the Greater Los Angeles area, majored in Theatre, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude. Offered a place in the University of Washington’s Professional Actors Training Program by Jack Clay, Seth began his study of Classical Theatre and graduated with an MFA in 1993.

Since then, Seth has worked as a director in Havana, Cuba (becoming the first American to direct a professional production through the Consejo Nacional de Artes Enscenicas), in multiple Off Broadway venues in New York, Los Angeles and regionally at the Texas Shakespeare Festival; performed as an actor Off Broadway and regionally at major Shakespeare Festivals; has had his plays produced in New York, Los Angeles, Alabama and Philadelphia; has been published as a documentary filmmaker by Insight Media; and has taught acting in Havana, Cuba at El Instituto Superior de Arte, at the University of Colorado and in Los Angeles at Rio Hondo College and Long Beach City College. Last year, Seth was admitted to both the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and the Illuminati, although he resolutely refuses to brand either organization’s name on his chest.

In 2005, Seth was hired as Professor of Acting to head the MFA and BA Acting programs at the University of Alabama’s Department of Theatre and Dance, where he teaches courses in Shakespeare, Advanced Acting, Classical and Modern Comedy, Shaw in Performance, Physical Characterization (including mask, clowning, Suzuki, Tai Chi and Karate), Acting for the Camera, Careers in Theatre and Stage Combat. He serves as a Faculty Director for Mainstage productions and occasionally as a Faculty Guest Artist, acting in productions as well. He has co-directed the hugely successful UA MFA/Senior Showcase in New York City for the last four years, which has connected scores of graduating students with agents and casting directors, assisting their transition to a professional career. Along with a fierce commitment to recruitment, he leads an active service life, currently serving a second term as Senator in the Faculty Senate, and sits on committees at the Department, College and University levels.

His life’s greatest joy is the burgeoning success of his former students. Recent graduates have gone on to have exciting careers in New York and regional theatres, on television and film, and have joined Theatre faculties at Universities across the country.

“Be Passionate, be Professional, be Prepared… but most of all, be Personal.”