Sean Dillon Whether providing direction and instruction in the performing arts, pursuing solo ventures or competing in Los Angeles’ 48-hour film project, Sean Dillon assistant professor of theater arts, is a true performing artist. For the last four years, Dillon and his production company partner Curtis Krick, have participated in Los Angeles’ 48-hour film project, a weekend-long filmmaking competition in which teams are allotted 48 hours to write, direct and produce a short film. Dillon and Krick are two-year consecutive winners in this timed test of creativity, in which several randomly selected components ranging from film genre and line of dialogue to character name, dictate the artistic elements of the 48-hour project. The clock begins to tick after teams select these various film categories from a hat. Dillon’s entries, “Doughboy Beware,” a silent spoof of a World War I military training video and “Significant Others,” a mocumentary based on a relationship agency which provides partner fill-ins during times of couple turmoil, produced wins for the duo. The stage became an outlet for self-expression in high school. Acting enabled Dillon to interact with peers and improve his social skills. “I had a little difficulty relating to people and I found theater was a really good way to get involved in something that would be a collaborative process and also allow me to express myself a little more,” Dillon says . Unable to foresee a future in acting as an undergrad at ULV, where he double majored in English and theater, Dillon remained behind the scenes until he was reunited with the stage while taking an introduction to theater course. He auditioned for “Peer Gynt”, a course requirement, and was unexpectedly cast in five separate roles. “I had to play a role and then run backstage and change costumes then come back on as another character,” Dillon says. “That’s what I think had me hooked.” His experience in “Peer Gynt” led to further theater involvement, both onstage and backstage, including acting roles in campus productions of “All’s Well that Ends Well” “Deathtrap” and “The Seagull,” as well as several directing gigs. “La Verne was a really great environment that nurtured my interest in theater, I tried to get involved as much as I could while I was here,” Dillon says. He compares theater, “a truly collaborative art form” to a musician’s role in a band, in which all members play an integral role in the overall sound. Dillon says he revels in the development process. “In theater, you can go any place, tell any story, actors can be any person and that communication can change the way people think,” Dillon says. “If it’s done right, it’s a really powerful art form.” Dillon continued a relationship with the University, directing a theater production following his graduation and teaching part-time before and after working towards his graduate degree. After receiving a master of fine arts in directing at Purdue University in Indiana, a shortage of teaching opportunities launched his career in the professional television and film industries with Universal Pictures and Disney’s Buena Vista Productions. He began in the features development department, then climbed the company ladder at Universal Pictures, eventually tackling international publicity for six years, while continuing to teach part time at ULV. Disney’s non-scripted television branch, Buena Vista Productions, was his final undertaking in the television world before accepting a fulltime faculty position at La Verne in 2006. His love of theater runs the gamut, from short and experimental plays to Shakespeare. When not teaching, Dillon’s free time is dedicated to filmmaking endeavors mainly associated with his production company, Biscuits and Gravy, created with his partner Krick. The team recently completed a feature-length film, titled “Death Valley,” and has also produced everything from educational and instructional videos to festival-style short films. “Death Valley,” is a classic horror tale complete with a blood-thirsty monster. Principal photography has been completed on his second feature-length film, (a comedy entitled "Am I Blue?") which has now been edited.  As for his work at ULV: “Hopefully I’ll continue to be able to learn as much from the experience of teaching as I’m able to teach,” Dillon says. “Teaching gives me the opportunity to work creatively all the time and to face new challenges every day.” RETURN TO FACULTY LISTHome.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0