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IMDbPro

Debra De Liso

  • Actress
  • Director
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Debra De Liso
Watch Debra De Liso Acting Reel
Play demo reel2:48
Debra De Liso Acting Reel
4 Videos
8 Photos
Debra De Liso has been a theater and film artist for over 30 years, working as an actor, choreographer/dancer, director, playwright and teacher. She received a fellowship to UCLA, earning an MFA and the Jack Nicholson Prize for Acting. She also graduated Phi Kappa Phi with a Masters Degree in Theatre from California State University, Los Angeles, where she won the Best Actress award during her undergraduate years. She was accepted at the Royal National Theatre Summer Training Programme and studied with several talented teachers, including Sir Ian McKellen, Prunella Scales and John Castle. She was also fortunate to have been a student of José Quintero and Jim Kirkwood.

Debra is now delighted to share her extensive training with her own students at the University of Southern California, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and her own company of actor/writers.

Highlights from Debra's acting career range from playing the title role in a critically acclaimed production of "Agnes of God" at the Edinburgh Festival, Scotland, to the physically demanding performance as a Siamese twin in "Air For One" in Santa Barbara, to sparkling Los Angeles reviews of her portrayal of Blanche Dubois in "A Streetcar Named Desire," and Lorraine from "Lie of the Mind." Debra played the lead role in Donald Freed's world premiere of "1951-2006" at LATC along with starring in Freed's "The Einstein Plan" with James Cromwell.

She has acted in film and television in such diverse shows as the action-comedy "Sledge Hammer!" to the cult classic The Slumber Party Massacre. She has written two screenplays and is in pre-production to direct her first feature film.

Debra is a member of the Classical Theatre Lab in Los Angeles, where she keeps in shape working with artists such as Alan Rickman, Lynn Redgrave and Alfred Molina.

From the age of 12 to 20 Debra was a competitive gymnast and ballet student. She went on to perform in several dance concerts and choreograph over 20 theater productions. She has delighted many audiences performing her original comedy solo piece, "Lamp Dance." She was the Chair of the Physical Education Department at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts for eight years. She has taught methodology from her Master's Thesis, "The Physicalization of a Role," at several institutions.

Debra has guided the writing of and directed over 600 one-person shows at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, USC, and in professional theaters. She thoroughly enjoys the challenging and personal work of taking actors through the writing process into performance. She has written her own solo performance piece about the visionary dance artist Isadora Duncan and a musical comedy with talented music arranger Jonathan Sacks. She also conceived of the hit show, "Cock Tales," an evening of wickedly original male monologues about sex from some of L.A.'s best playwrights.

Debra directed Jay Sefton's solo play which won Best Solo Play L.A. Weekly Award, and Hal Ackerman's "Prick" which won Best Solo script at the United Solo Festival in NYC.

Debra received a three-year California Arts Council Grant to teach acting and playwriting at a woman's prison, which was some of the most difficult and rewarding work she has done to date. In the July 2002 issue of "Femme Fatales" magazine Debra is featured in an article about her Hollywood journey from early film work in low-budget horror films to finding her niche in theater, dance, and helping others in need through her Theatre into Film production company "Walk A Mile Works."
BornMay 3, 1956
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMay 3, 1956
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Photos7

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    Known for

    StarCraft: Brood War (1998)
    StarCraft: Brood War
    9.0
    Video Game
    • Raszagal
    • Valkyrie(voice)
    • 1998
    Fête sanglante (1982)
    Fête sanglante
    5.6
    • Kim(as Debra Deliso)
    • 1982
    Anne-Marie Martin, Harrison Page, and David Rasche in Mr. Gun (1986)
    Mr. Gun
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Angel
    Abbe Kanter and Michael Jaye in Tyrants in Therapy (2001)
    Tyrants in Therapy
    TV Series
    • Dr. Ophelia Bloom(as Debra Deliso)

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actress



    • Small Town Stories
      • Lorraine
      • In Production
    • The Exquisite Continent
      • Dominatrix
      • In Production



    • Tree of Nails (2024)
      Tree of Nails
      Short
      • Rita
      • 2024
    • Carlos Carrasco and Michael Gonzales in Losing Faith: A fable based on the Night Stalker case (2024)
      Losing Faith: A fable based on the Night Stalker case
      Short
      • Carol Kyle
      • 2024
    • Debra De Liso, Sandy Hackett, Rahul Rai, Emily Skye, Angel Garet, Mary Cameron Rogers, Carolina Alvarez, and Nare Israelyan in The Meal (2023)
      The Meal
      2.3
      Short
      • Susana
      • 2023
    • Double Consciousness (2022)
      Double Consciousness
      Short
      • Alexandra
      • 2022
    • Debra De Liso and Annalisa Monet in Livin' with Lisa (2022)
      Livin' with Lisa
      Short
      • Lisa's Mom
      • 2022
    • UED: First Light (2022)
      UED: First Light
      7.8
      Video Game
      • Alyndrea (voice)
      • 2022
    • Lindsay LaVanchy in Initiation (2020)
      Initiation
      5.0
      • Dana Thompson
      • 2020
    • Trickster (2018)
      Trickster
      3.4
      • Patty
      • 2018
    • You're Dead. Continue?
      Short
      • Rita
      • 2018
    • One Day
      Short
      • 2017
    • Dead End Job (2015)
      Dead End Job
      Short
      • Agatha
      • 2015
    • David and the Psychiatrist
      TV Series
      • Dr. Harriet Rosenbaum
      • 2012
    • Leader of the Pack (2012)
      Leader of the Pack
      7.9
      TV Series
      • Kerry (as Debra Deliso)
      • 2012
    • Speedbag (2006)
      Speedbag
      • Puritanical Mother (as Debra Deliso)
      • 2006
    • October Moon (2005)
      October Moon
      4.8
      Video
      • Actress on TV (as Debra DeLiso)
      • 2005

    Director



    • Small Town Stories
      • Director
      • In Production



    • Debra De Liso and Joaquina Gentil in The Trials of (No)MAD (2021)
      The Trials of (No)MAD
      Short
      • Director
      • 2021
    • For Dedushka: A Solo Performance
      Short
      • Director
      • 2013
    • Comedically Serious
      Short
      • Director
      • 2013
    • Behind the Seen
      Short
      • Director
      • 2013
    • David and the Psychiatrist
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2012
    • Abbe Kanter and Michael Jaye in Tyrants in Therapy (2001)
      Tyrants in Therapy
      TV Series
      • Director (as Debra Deliso)
      • 2005–2006

    Producer



    • Small Town Stories
      • executive producer
      • producer
      • In Production



    • Sanctuary (2024)
      Sanctuary
      Short
      • co-producer
      • 2024
    • Behind the Seen
      Short
      • supervising producer
      • 2013
    • Touched
      8.4
      • associate producer (as Debra Deliso)
      • 2006

    • In-development projects at IMDbPro

    Videos4

    Debra De Liso Acting Reel
    Demo Reel 2:48
    Debra De Liso Acting Reel
    The Slumber Party Massacre: The Slumber Party Massacre Collection
    Clip 1:00
    The Slumber Party Massacre: The Slumber Party Massacre Collection
    The Slumber Party Massacre: The Slumber Party Massacre Collection
    Clip 1:00
    The Slumber Party Massacre: The Slumber Party Massacre Collection
    The Slumber Party Massacre
    Trailer 1:59
    The Slumber Party Massacre
    Trickster Trailer
    Trailer 1:53
    Trickster Trailer

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Official sites
      • Official Site
      • Playwriting, Performing, Faculty at USC over 20 years
    • Alternative names
      • Debra DeLiso
    • Height
      • 1.68 m
    • Born
      • May 3, 1956
      • Alameda, California, USA
    • Spouse
      • Daniel John Smith(1 child)
    • Children
      • Alexandra De Liso Smith
    • Other works
      Playing Isadora Duncan in "A One Person Show: Isadora Duncan" at the Wray Theater, Rio Hondo College, Whittier, California
    • Publicity listings
      • 1 Interview
      • 1 Article

    Self-verified on IMDbPro

    • Gender / Gender identity
      • Female
    • Pronouns
      • she/her, she/they
    • Race / Ethnicity
      • White

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Professional dancer

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