Debbie Swann graduated from Kansas State University with a B.A. in Theatre and English. From there, she earned her Master's in Theatre from Texas State University and trained in England at The Shakespeare Center, The Academy of Dramatic Art and The Royal Shakespeare Company. Before moving to Colorado, she taught, designed and directed theatre at Central Community College in Columbus, Nebraska. Debbie joined Colorado State University (CSU) in 2013 and teaches various acting courses as well as Introduction to Theatre, for which her publication, The Art of Entertainment, has been used since 2018. Debbie also teaches in the Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts program, teaching classes about global history and cultures as expressed through the arts. When not teaching, Debbie enjoys working with her students in her capacity as Director of Kids Do It All, a summer musical theatre camp for children ages 7-14. Each summer, Debbie and CSU Camp Counselors welcome over 300 kids into the University Center for the Arts at CSU, helping them write, design, and star in their own original plays.
As an avid artist herself, Debbie can be found making theatre at both CSU and within the Fort Collins, Colorado community. Some of her favorite CSU credits include Lysistrata, Machinal, Silent Sky, Paradise Lost, and performing alongside her students in Spring Awakening. Credits with Fort Collins’ OpenStage Theatre & Company include Steel Magnolias, Natural Shocks, and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (director), and performing in Spring Awakening (OPUS Award), Avenue Q, and the Henry Award-nominated Don't Dress for Dinner. If she’s not on campus or in the theater, she is probably hiking or traveling or traveling with her family.