Deaon Griffin-Pressley
AEA
REPRESENTATION
Theatrical Commerical/Television
THE LUEDTKE AGENCY, LLC STELLAR TALENT
Penny Luedtke Cindy Schirmer
E: luedtke@luedtkeagency.com E: cindy.stellartalent@gmail.com
P: 212.765.9564 P: 954.241.7376
ACTING RESUME
ACTING REVIEWS
TOPDOG/UNDERDOG
(Shakespeare & Company)
Aug 16- Sept 8, 2019
"a haunting, gut-wrenching production…with performances by Deaon Griffin-Pressley and Bryce Michael Wood that tear at your heart while pulling out the ground beneath your feet at the same time.” —The Berkshire Eagle
"AN ELECTRIFYING REVIVAL...Topdog/Underdog cracks across the stage like a thunderclap...a must-see"-TheaterMania (Editor's Pick)
"the most dynamic, artful, affecting performances I’ve seen this season...theatre at its best."-Berkshire On Stage
“REVELATORY...Parks' incisive writing, rhythmic and expertly attuned to nuance and linguistic choices, is given bravura delivery by Griffin-Pressley and Wood, working under the fine-grained direction of Regge Life.” -Albany Times Union.
“an overwhelming piece of riveting drama that is raw, deeply emotional, and must be experienced to be appreciated" -Broadway World
AS YOU LIKE IT
(Shakespeare & Company)
Aug 9- Sept 2, 2018
" The young hero of the play, Orlando, was played by Deaon Griffin-Pressley who endowed the boy with manliness and a seriousness that made him both charming and alarming at the same time. Never a punctual character his youthful assumption that whenever he comes is time enough to arrive sounded exactly right for the younger son of a deposed Duke, a man with no inheritance or rights of his own. Griffin-Pressley was never the wistful lad of Olivier's interpretation, but was instead the single-minded youth bordering on a seriousness that would stand him in good stead in the future. This was just the right course for this production".
-Berkshire Bright Focus
MACBETH
(Shakespeare & Company)
July 3 - August 5, 2018
"n other supporting roles, Deaon Griffin-Pressley as Malcolm, King Duncan’s heir, gives a memorable performance in a minimum of onstage time. His speech questioning his value as the future king is stunning"
-In The Spotlight
"(an eager and earnest Deaon Griffin-Pressley)"
-Bershire Eagle
"Another highlight is the scene where Malcolm (Deaon Griffin-Pressley) through misdirection tests the loyalty of Macduff (Thomas Brazzle)"
-Berkshire On Stage
RICHARD III
(Actors’ Shakespeare Project)
February 7- March 11, 2018
"Deaon Griffin-Pressley is a vividly charismatic Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, later to be Henry VII, eventual victor over Richard and the darkness he represents in the Battle of Bosworth".
-The Boston Globe
"Richmond’s speech before the Battle of Bosworth Field is always powerful but more so in the hands of Deaon Griffin-Pressley as he walks through the aisles addressing the audience. Given in this setting it is particularly effective".
-Boxing Over Broadway
"Deaon Griffin-Pressley (as Hastings, Rivers, Richmond and others) and Paula Plum admirably create a series of well-drawn characters".
-WBUR
“…Griffin-Pressley also manages to make compelling the otherwise thankless role of the Earl of Richmond, who appears in Act V to vanquish Richard and restore order to the land. He invests this largely blank slate of a man, who would become Henry VII and the founder of the House of Tudor, with the spirit of virtuous idealism”.
-The Arts Fuse
“Richmond is the savior-warrior who doesn’t show up until the last few scenes where he makes a few nice speeches, kills Richard in battle, and is crowned the new king. On the page and in the productions I screened, Richmond was noble enough, and a strapping fellow, but sort of an empty suit of armor.In Swedenborg Chapel, however, Deaon Griffin-Pressley filled him out. Richmond’s prayer for victory was sincere as well as urgent. His exhortation to the troops was heart-felt and inspiring. His voice and his stance exuded strength, self-confidence and faith in the future. In other words he was young and hopeful — a vivid contrast to the rest of the dramatis personae who, by the end of the evening, were morally bankrupt or compromised, damaged, or defeated, or dead”.
-Anita Diamant New York Times Bestselling Author
“Particularly noteworthy in their varieties of roles are Paula Plum and Deaon Griffin-Pressley.
Griffin-Pressley emerges most eloquently and notably as Richmond, savior of the day and slayer of Richard, offering the declaration of battle with energy and conviction”.
-Boston Diary
THE TEMPEST
(Shakespeare & Company)
August 10- Septemeber 3, 2017
"Deaon Griffin-Pressley is a handsome, almost giddily smitten Ferdinand”
-WBUR
“Uniquely it is the Miranda (Loudon) and Prince Ferdinand (Deaon Griffin-Pressley) who do steal the show, becoming the heart of this Tempest”….Loudon and Griffin-Pressley create a Miranda and a Ferdinand who are believable (and thus engaging) as young lovers, developing their relationship so that it stands distinct in the play. There’s humanity in their humor….Griffin-Pressley (whose versatility reminds me of a young John Douglas-Thompson, lauded in the NYT as “one of the most compelling classical stage actors of his generation)
-Spotlight News
“Ferdinand (a charismatic Deaon Griffin-Pressley) whose extensive experience performing Shakespeare is apparent here".
-Theater Mania
“…especially the young Ferdinand (played with beguiling ingenuousness and male imperative by Deaon Griffin-Pressley)”
-Berkshire Eagle
“Deaon Griffin-Pressley and Mark Zeisler execute the text with precision, vital to keeping the whole thing afloat”.
-MetroWest Daily News
CYMBELINE
(Shakespeare & Company)
July 4- Aug 6, 2017
"It was a great treat to see Shakespeare & Company in Lenox do Cymbeline last night. The play was sharp, bawdy and just plain fun".- Elizabeth Warren
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
(Shakespeare & Company)
July 1- August 21, 2016
“Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music creep in our ears,” says Lorenzo (the effervescent Deaon Griffin-Pressly) at the top of Act Five. “
"But sometimes Packer’s permission to overplay pays off. Thomas Brazzle is almost too antic as the clown Launcelot Gobbo, but when the African American actor is humiliated by Lorenzo, played by another African American actor Deaon Griffin-Pressley, it brings out racial undercurrents fueled by class distinctions. In this moment, both men are excellent; It’s a wonderful validation of Shakespeare & Company’s long-time policy of colorblind and gender-neutral casting".
TWELFTH NIGHT
(Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre)
April 15- May 22, 2016
“One of the most successful invocations of the spirit of childhood is Deaon Griffin-Pressley’s portrayal of Orsino, whose tumultuous onslaught of emotions seem to have been transported straight from his teenage years. Griffin-Pressley plays each and every feeling as both incredibly intense and incredibly genuine; music, the food of love, reduces him to a writhing ball of sensibility on the floor, rising only to burst into a tortured singalong. The result is hilarious and endearing”- PlayShakespeare
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
(Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre)
Oct 14-Nov 1 2015
"Or William LeDent's Tranio and Deaon Griffin-Pressley's Hortensio, as their second-rate romantic maneuvering makes first-rate comedy".
-Philadelphia Inquirer
"In any case, our focus in Khan’s production rests on the play, to which she brings an intelligent interpretation and an amusing tone. Greg Giovanni and Deaon Griffin-Pressley entertain as Bianca’s would-be suitors".
-Phindie
ROMEO & JULIET
(Hypokrit Theatre Company NYC)
Feb 4-Feb 22, 2015
"... Mercutio, played with energy and enthusiasm by Deaon Griffin-Pressley. In particular, Deaon Griffin-Pressley gives a commanding performance, possessing both raw energy and dramatic restraint...".- StageBuddy