John Detty

John Detty is a Director, Actor, Producer, Narrator, Audio Engineer, Choreographer, Singer, Musician, Stilt Walker, Pun Enthusiast, and serves as Artistic Director for Detty Studios. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, John has lived, studied, and worked all over the world and is a proud member of both SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity Association.
John has been acting professionally since the 7th grade. He earned his BFA in Acting in 2011 from Ball State University and has been a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association since 2013. John has studied all over the world, including at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa, and under some amazing teachers, including Tony-Award winner Sutton Foster. Though he has played lots of different roles all over the country, John has found his niche on stage to be playing Himbos* (any character that is Broad of Chest, Pure of Heart, and Dumb of Ass) and Himbiciles** (any character that is Broad of Chest and Dumb of Ass but not Pure of Heart). Some favorite past on stage roles include Gaston** (“Beauty and the Beast”), Ash** (“Evil Dead: The Musical), Mac** (“The Nightman Cometh”), The Cat in the Hat* (“Seussical! The Musical”), Nick* (“Shear Madness” - New Orleans regional premiere), Lancelot* (“Spamalot”), Cinderella’s Prince**/The Wolf (“Into the Woods”), Claudio* (“Much Ado About Nothing”), Lysander* (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”), and Captain Hammer** (“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”).
As a director, John strives to tell interesting stories in dynamic and entertaining ways. John started directing theatre at age 16 and never looked back, directing such shows as “Evil Dead: The Musical” (nominated for Best Direction, Best Ensemble, and Best Lighting for Broadway World and for Best Direction, Best Musical of the Season, and Best Props by Dayton.com), “The Nightman Cometh” (The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia tribute musical), “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” for the Ft. Tryon Medieval Festival in Manhattan, several school productions, and a bunch more. He also has directed several film and audio projects, including “Fired” (Made for the New Orleans 48 Hour Film Project; Winner of Audience Favorite), the 12-episode web series “Pause and Reflect,” and many corporate and commercial projects. When directing, John’s philosophy is simple; Create a safe, fun enviroment in which people can play, find the right people, and get the fudge out of their way. Works every time.
When John moved to New York City in 2011, he quickly found himself in front of a camera as much as he was on stage. After joining SAG-AFTRA in 2012, John began checking boxes off his bucket list, working on such dream jobs as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” “30 Rock,” and “Saturday Night Live.” Some other favorite past film projects include “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Braindead,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “The Greatest Showman,” “Unforgettable,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Royal Pains,” and “Gossip Girl.” John was even framed by the mayor and sent to prison as his character, Ryan McLaughlin, on “Blue Bloods.”
By day, John works as a narrator and audio engineer for audiobooks. After an unofficial internship for two years at the SAG Foundation Voice Over lab in New York (studying under Nithya Rajendran), John fell in love with audiobooks; They were just another medium to tell interesting stories in dynamic and entertaining ways. Since then, John has narrated several audiobooks and worked as an audio engineer with some of the best narrators in the business, including Marni Penning, Andi Arndt, Kelli Tager, Amanda Stribling, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw, Dustin Dorough, Eve Passeltiner, Siiri Scott, and Kit Swann. For all audio engineering, coaching, or directing services, please email ActorJohnDetty@gmail.com or visit DettyStudios.com.