Preisser is the founder and artistic director of APPI, a New York-based theatrical production company that creates dance, music and theater pieces with universal themes and aggressive interpretations of classics. He is a visiting artist and professor of theatre and directing at
City College of New York (CCNY), and is working with Professor Eugene Nesmith, Associate Professor, and Chair in the Department of Theater at
CCNY, to create CityArts Theatre (CAT), a professional summer theatre company for the school. Preisser was the founding artistic director of
The Classical Theatre of Harlem from 1999 to 2009, and the director of the Theatre Division at
The Harlem School of the Arts from 1999 to 2007. Preisser also worked as a guest director at
SAR High School during the 2021-2022 academic year, where he directed productions of
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and
Peter and the Starcatcher. Plays by Preisser include
Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe and
Caligula Maximus, both co-written with
Randy Weiner,
Electra,
Black Nativity Now, co-written with
Tracy Jack, ''Dialogues of Plato's Retreat
and Blak Athena''. Award-winning and notable Preisser productions include
The Man Who Ate Michael Rockefeller, based on the short story by Christopher Stokes, which had its world premiere in an Off Broadway production at New York's West End Theatre in 2010; his 2009 production of
Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe starring André De Shields (four Audelcos);
Melvin Van Peebles´
Ain´t Supposed To Die a Natural Death (seven Audelcos); his 2006 production of
King Lear with André De Shields, which opened the 75th Anniversary season at The Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C; and his critically acclaimed original adaptations of
Caligula,
Medea,
The Trojan Women and
Electra. Other productions in New York include
Macbeth, which toured Germany in 2004,
Hamlet,
Day of Absence,
Derek Walcott's
Dream on Monkey Mountain, and
Romeo and Juliet. Preisser's theatrical productions have been recognized with the American Theatre Wing Award (Outstanding Artistic Achievement),
Drama Desk Award (Artistic Achievement), Edwin Booth Award (Outstanding Contribution to NYC Theater),
Lucille Lortel Award (Outstanding Body of Work), two
Obie Awards (Sustained Achievement and Excellence in Theatre) and numerous Audelco Awards. ==Projects in the works==