Frankie DiCiaccio

Frankie DiCiaccio (they/them/theirs or he/him/his) is an actor, theatre-maker, educator, and social advocate splitting their time between New York City and northern Illinois.

At NIU, Frankie’s teaching spans the areas of Performance (embodied movement, devising) and History, Literature, and Criticism (directing, script analysis, and theatre history.) They have also taught at Northwestern University’s National High School Institute, the College of Staten Island, and the Actor’s Training Center. Frankie’s pedagogy centers on the concept of access through release, which can serve to open students’ eyes to the thrill of courageous, embodied, and impulse-driven work.

As a director and choreographer, Frankie has worked at theatres including Steppenwolf, LaGuarding Performing Arts Center, Rabid Bat Theatricals, The Dare Tactic, DePaul University, and Northwestern University. At NIU, Frankie has directed and choreographed Taylor Mac’s The Walk Across America for Mother Earth, Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information, and Frankie’s own adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II. Frankie’s performance credits span New York (The Shakespeare Forum; The Drama League; Head & Company in residence at the Mark Morris Dance Center); Chicago (TimeLine; The Music Theatre Company; The Jump Rhythm Jazz Project; Haven Theatre; The Shakespeare Project; Lyric Opera); Boston (American Repertory Theater, Club Oberon, Club Café); Buenos Aires, Argentina (Centro Rojas); and Moscow, Russia (Moscow Art Theater School American Studio). In 2017, Frankie was nominated for a Broadway World Boston Award for Best Actor in a Musical for their portrayal of the Preacher in Sammi Cannold’s site-specific production of the musical Violet. Frankie has appeared in numerous independent films across New York, Chicago, and Boston. Frankie is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

In addition to theatre, Frankie is the founder of the Queer-Oriented Rural Resource Network (a community project dedicated to helping members of the LGBTQ+ communities living in rural areas access the resources they need) and they are Assistant Director of Barb Food Mart (a food pantry serving families with children in the DeKalb Public School District, D428).

diciaccio
Performance and History, Literature and Criticism
Education: MFA, American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theater School Institute at Harvard University
E-mail: fdiciaccio@niu.edu