David Zupancic, right, with 2015 Saturday Night Alive headliners Jarrod Spector and Jessie Mueller. The event raised $914,000 for DCPA Education programs. Photo by John Moore.

The DCPA has announced that David Zupancic has been named Director of Development, and Timothy McCracken will be the new Head of Acting for Education.

Zupancic, a native of Pueblo, has been serving as interim Director of Development since the retirement of Dorothy Denny last year. McCracken will replace Larry Hecht, who has been teaching with the DCPA for 18 years, including having a major role on the faculty of the now-closed National Theatre Conservatory masters program.

“David has served with distinction as Associate Director of Development since joining the DCPA in 2000 and has worked tirelessly the last year as the interim Director,” said DCPA CEO Scott Shiller. “In his time as Interim Director, David has hired extraordinary staff, led Saturday Night Alive to record-breaking revenue and has inspired other departments to help fund-raise. He is collaborative and committed.”

(Photos above: Larry Hecht, left, and Timothy McCracken.)

Hecht and wife Ashlee Temple (a DCPA Teaching Artist and local director) are retiring at the end of the DCPA’s summer education session and moving to California. He has appeared as an actor in many DCPA Theatre Company productions, including A Skull in Connemara, The Pillowman, Glengarry Glen Ross, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and many more. In the meantime, Hecht will be starring as Doctor Faustus in Wittenberg. for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder.

McCracken is a professional actor, playwright, acting teacher and director who has worked in theatre, television and film for more than 20 years. He has performed with the DCPA Theatre Company, Curious Theatre Company, the Arvada Center and Colorado Shakespeare Festival. His DCPA Theatre credits include Benediction, Jackie and Me, The Giver, When We Are Married, Reckless, A Christmas Carol and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. New York credits include Troilus and Cressida for the New York Shakespeare Festival and My Neoptolamus for the New York Theatre Workshop.

(Photo above and right: Tim McCracken may look sweet, but he played a seriously bad dad in the DCPA Theatre Company’s “The Giver” in 2012. Photo by Jennifer M. Koskinen.)

McCracken, a native of Napa, Calif., earned his MFA in Theatre from the DCPA’s National Theatre Conservatory and a BA in Theatre from Whitman College. He has taught at Webster University, Washington University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. He is married to Denver actor Tara Falk. They are the parents of son Con.

“His organizational skills and classroom talents are legendary. His enthusiasm is unmatched,” Hecht said in naming his own replacement. “This is a thrilling step for DCPA Education.”

McCracken is also known around town for his work managing restaurants such as Root Down and, more recently, the new Ophelia’s at 20th Street between Larimer and Lawrence streets.

As Head of Acting for the Academy, Hecht coordinates the curriculum for the adult education programs. He serves, in essence, as a bridge for serious acting students who want to make the leap from the classroom onto legit area stages. His major initiative is his popular Master Class Project. Recently, Hecht led 15 students into the intimidating world of Stephen Sondheim, which he followed up with a student version of Macbeth.

More about David Zupancic:
In the past, Zupancic has been responsible for three membership groups: Best of Broadway Society, Directors Society, and Marquee Club. In addition to serving as major gifts officer for gifts from individuals, including a significant gift to renovate the Directors Room, he has secured recent corporate sponsorships from Anadarko Petroleum, Microsoft, Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management, Wells Fargo Advisors, KeyBank, Larimer Square, BKD CPAs & Advisors, and Fairfield and Woods. Atlantic Trust’s sponsorship renewal for the 2015-16 Season marks the company’s 12th consecutive year of participation. Zupancic also successfully solicited foundation grants from Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, Oscar G. Mayer & Elsa S. Mayer Family Foundation, Walter S. Rosenberry III Charitable Trust, and Mabel Y. Hughes Charitable Trust.

More about Larry Hecht:
Art and Artist: The Golden Age of Larry Hecht

Larry Hecht, center, with wife Ashlee Temple and DCPA Education master-class student Daniel Traylor at the 2015 Saturday Night Alive. Photo by John Moore.

Video: Tim McCracken and son’s Ice Bucket Challenge“