Visca Goes From The Attic to the Playhouse

By JACQUELINE PRIMO | Reporter

Dennis Michael Visca plays the charming, funny, lovable and suave Tony, an Italian attorney in Lisa Phillips Visca’s “Climax,” a sensual thriller that has been selling out shows at the Santa Monica Playhouse since it opened on Aug. 15.

“Playing Tony in ‘Climax’ and performing at the Santa Monica Playhouse has been enjoyable and challenging at the same time,” Visca told the Palisadian-Post over coffee during a morning interview in early September.

Visca’s bright blue-green eyes, engaging smile and chummy, benevolent demeanor make it easy to see how he has the ability to light up the stage—he does so in person as soon as he walks into the room.

“Working with the Playhouse gives you the tools and the freedom to explore your character [which] allows your role to reach its full potential. ‘Climax’ is such a fast-paced, intense story with so many twists and turns, there’s never a dull moment for the cast or the audience. Tony is the life of the party. What more can an actor ask for?” said Visca, a lifelong actor.

Note: careful readers may notice that Dennis and Lisa share a last name. That’s because the pair, now married, has been together for nearly 30 years. They met in 1984 at a party.

“I brought some really bad wine, told Lisa she smelled good, and we went from there,” Visca told the Post. “Lisa and I share a passion for family and the arts, which has kept us together for almost 30 years. We live behind the Bel-Air Bay Club, love the Palisades and can’t picture living anywhere else.”

Although Visca exudes self-confidence, an ability to laugh at himself and a total lack of ego both on stage and in person, his positive outlook did not come from always-glamorous beginnings.

As a young man in his 20s, after growing up in Detroit and graduating from Western Michigan University with a Bachelors in Theatre, Visca moved to LA to pursue acting, touring locally as a drummer in his then-girlfriend’s band.

While he was working hard to establish himself in the industry, Visca said he learned that “self-confidence in who you are” is key as an actor.

“Casting directors are attracted to the actor who gives them a feeling they are self-confident,” Visca said between sips of his coffee. “I wanted to be a working, steady character actor rather than going for the fame.”

Alongside Visca in acting classes at the Beverly Hills Playhouse Acting School in the late 1970s were a number of people who eventually hit it big, including Patrick Swayze.

Soon after coming to LA, Visca moved into The Attic Theatre and Film Center, where he produced and starred in his own showcase “Interview with God.”

“I took care of the theatre in exchange for acting workshops,” Visca told the Post with a laugh, acknowledging how unbelievable the story sounds. “I literally slept on the floor.”

Following his showcase, in 1980 Visca acted as supporting cast alongside Swayze (a Hollywood newbie at the time) in “The Brick and the Rose,” the show gleaning The Attic Theatre a Drama-Logue Critics Award for Best Ensemble Performance that same year.

His character’s name in “The Brick and the Rose”? Tony.

“Then in 1981 the strike came,” Visca said, who was about 30 years old at the time. From there, Visca launched his career as a platform speaker in multiple cities before getting married and ending up in the apparel industry.

Now, at 64, Visca, who has two sons—Taylor, 25, and stepson Guy, 36—is making a comeback.

“I feel very comfortable now on stage,” he said. “Doing the plays, it keeps you sharp.”

In addition to playing the role of Tony in “Climax,” for which Visca said he channeled his Italian father and uncles, he starred last year in Lisa Phillips Visca’s “Turning 30” as the lovable Sammy, also at the Santa Monica Playhouse.

“Climax” runs through Nov. 1 on Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. General admission tickets are $29.50 with special group rates available and discounts for seniors, students and military. Visit santamonicaplayhouse.com/climax for more information and to purchase tickets.