David Skeist

David Skeist is a multi-disciplinary theatre artist based in Brooklyn, NY. He is the Producing Director of Caborca and has appeared in most of that company’s productions including Distant Star adapted from the novel by Roberto Bolaño (Abrons Arts Center) and award-winning feature film by Javier Antonio González The Entitlement. His long career in downtown and experimental theatre has included collaborations with Elizabeth Swados, Richard Foreman, David Gordon, Len Jenkin, Adam Rapp, Niky Wolcz, Javier Antonio González, Doris Mirescu, Meiyin Wang, Shira Milikowsky, and Stolen Chair Theatre. Most recently he appeared in the US premiere of Romina Paula's play Fauna, directed by April Sweeney (Torn Page). He played the title role in episode 1, “Rat Man” of Graham Sack’s virtual reality series The Interpretation of Dreams, and has appeared in several independent films and episodic TV shows. He is the Director and Dramaturg of Susan Hyon’s ongoing solo performance Soo Jin Pretty Nail (and more), and was assistant to André Gregory for the final years of his work on Ibsen's The Master Builder, culminating in the film by Jonathan Demme. 

David is also a composer of choral music and his work has been featured in classical and experimental productions by Swados, Wolcz, Kristin Linklater, and the companies M-34, Cloud of Fools, and Caborca. Current musical projects include Rubalee, a heavy metal choral musical about the endangered right whale in development with Caborca; Hymn to Life, a staged choral setting of Timothy Donnelly's long poem about extinction in development with M-34; and ...en jumelle, an ongoing site-specific work by French choreographer Laurent Pichaud. David has been on the faculty of Columbia University and New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. He currently teaches Acting at Barnard College. He holds an MFA in Acting from Columbia.