JAN WILLIAM DALTON
ACTOR
Dalton has been passionately active as a theatre actor and director throughout most of his life. Born in Alberta, Canada, he grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. After achieving a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from UC Berkeley, he acted in several shows in the SF Bay Area and then lived for a year in Vienna, Austria where he appeared in several productions at Vienna's International Theatre as well as film, radio and tv commercials. After day-job employment in San Francisco and Traverse City, he retired from a career working with the legal community, and now resides in Leelanau County with his beautiful, and always supportive wife, Julie. They raised two wonderful sons who both attended Suttons Bay HS and the University of Michigan, both with honors.
2021 marks his 27th year associated with northern Michigan theatre. During his most active years with the Old Town Playhouse, he directed several plays, acted in dozens more, and sat on both the Artistic Board and Artistic Committee. Favorite acting roles will always include Dracula, The Importance of Being Earnest, Lonely Planet, Camelot, Dial M for Murder, Lion in Winter, Anatomy of a Murder, The Woman in Black, Noises Off, Doubt (won the 2011 State of Michigan AACTFest Competition), The Drawer Boy, Vanya, Sonia, Masha & Spike, and most recently, Indecent. He also directed several shows including The Philadelphia Story, Tartuffe, An Ideal Husband, Much Ado About Nothing, Comedy of Errors, The Mousetrap and Enchanted April. He has also acted in and directed several productions with the Riverside Shakespeare Company performing in various outdoor venues throughout the Grand Traverse Area. When he is not working on his next theatre project, cooking, gardening, or enjoying sports (Go Blue!), he is planning his next trip to Europe, with his wife and best friend, Julie. Je t’aime! Allons-y!