Introducing our New Graduate Students

Teisha Duncan (MFA) is a Jamaican Actress, Singer, Educator, and Director. She is a graduate of The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Jamaica School of Drama (Diploma in Drama in Education) and Howard University (B.F.A. in Musical Theatre); she also studied Children Musical Theatre composition at the Musical Theatre Institute in Lugano, Switzerland. She is a stalwart of the Jamaica Musical Theatre Company having participated in four award winning productions. She has worked with the University Players as a principal actress and as a director directing plays at Howard University in Washington DC, and for Jamaica school of Drama and the Tallawah competitions in Jamaica. Teisha was one of the founding creators of the Centerstage Theatre workshop where young actors under her creative
instruction and through the guidance of the directors of Jambiz International were mentored as they honed their theatrical talents. She has garnered success on the international theatre scene as well. She gained critical acclaim in New York for her portrayal of the role of Caroline in Caroline or Change in its first return to New York after its successful Broadway run. She also toured the Dominican Republic with Lydia Diamond’s play ‘The Bluest Eye”.  Teisha spent three and a half years in the UK, Ireland and Switzerland Tour with Disney’s The Lion King; where she portrayed The Queen Lioness ‘Sarabi’ and was a ‘Rafiki’ cover. In Jamaica , Teisha hosted workshops in character development, voice and speech and musical theatre techniques for the Ashe Performing Arts Ensemble and Tribe Sankofa .

Brittany Bara (MFA) is a Dallas, TX native, has been acting and singing since age 7.  She moved to Boston to pursue her passion at Emerson College, where she graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Musical Theatre.  Her journey then continued to Missoula, MT where she toured with the Missoula Children's Theatre for the next 2.5. years; with MCT she was able to travel all over the US, Canada and western Europe.  Once tour life had run its course, Brittany began splitting her time between NYC and Meredith, NH.  In NH, she was lucky enough to be able to help start and develop a new summerstock theatre company, serving as both GM and performer (and youth theatre director).  In NYC, she continued to hone her craft at the Linklater Center, while actively performing around the city.  For the past year, she has started her teacher training to become a designated Linklater teacher, and is so excited to continue her development at the University of Pittsburgh.

Courtney Colligan (PhD) grew up in Northeast Ohio before moving to Virginia to attend Christopher Newport University. She has her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and English where she performed in shows such as Mary Stuart, Comic Potential, and Brighton Beach Memoirs. Upon finishing her undergraduate career, Courtney moved across the state to attend Virginia Tech where she received her Master of Arts in English. At Virginia Tech, Courtney received the Graduate Teaching Assistant Instructor of the Year award and completed her thesis on cross-gender productions of Shakespeare. She hopes to continue to study Renaissance theatre, specifically revenge tragedies, as well as gender studies with a focus of reworking our binary understanding of Shakespeare’s characters.

Emma Squire (PhD) recently completed a MA in Theatre at Miami University of Ohio, where her thesis explored the male impersonation acts of American vaudeville and its links to contemporary queer performance. After graduating with a BA in Art History and History from Gustavus Adolphus College, she worked as a stage manager and technician for theatre, music, and dance. This summer she presented at the Women and Theatre Program Pre-Conference and ATHE. Her current research interests include American popular entertainment, vaudeville, and queer theory.