Mark Allen
DIRECTOR

Mark Allen is a teacher, writer, director, and organizational consultant.  Throughout his career he has founded several arts organizations; and has worked in the theatre as an actor, director, and arts administrator. Mark began his career as Administrative Director of the Folger Shakespeare Classical Theatre in Washington, D.C. He has also worked in corporate advertising in New York, and as Executive Director for regional and statewide human service organizations in the field of child abuse prevention. Mark also served as Chief Operating Officer for a national nonprofit human service organization. Mark founded the Center for Performing and Fine Arts in 2005.

In addition to running CPFA, Mark periodically teaches advanced acting, directing, and Shakespeare theatre. He also directs many of the plays that appear on the CPFA stage.

Mark is married to his college sweetheart, an artist he met at Dickinson College when he didn’t cast her as the lead in the musical Mame. The rest is history, and they recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. Mark is the incredibly proud father of three truly amazing children – Chelsea, who has completed a master’s degree in comparative religions and is finishing a book based on her experiences in Europe and the Middle East; Griffin, a budding musician who is a student at both University Scholars and the Center for Performing and Fine Arts; and Evan, a high school athlete who is pursuing his love of football and snowboarding.