Chair of Theatre Department
Assistant Professor
Education
- M.F.A., Performance Pedagogy, University of Pittsburgh
- Toward M.F.A., Acting, George Washington University
- B.F.A., Acting, Point Park University
Courses Taught
- Acting I, II, III (including Shakespeare and comedy styles)
- Dialects and Accents
- Directing I and II
- Improv and Experimental Theatre
- Voice and Speech I, II, III
Presentations / Publications / Performances
Sheila McKenna works regularly as an actress and a director, most often with new and/or experimental work. She has played a broad variety of roles, including classical (“Fool” in King Lear, The Rep), modern (“May” in Footfalls, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre), and contemporary (“Vermandero”, Dog Face, Quantum Theatre/Festival D’otono, Madrid). McKenna has originated roles in plays by Christopher Durang (Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge), Michele Lowe (String of Pearls, Mezzulah, 1946), Nigel Gearing (Le Gran Meaulnes) and Tammy Ryan (In the Shape of a Woman), among others. A frequent collaborator of Ryan’s, McKenna has directed the world premieres of her plays Baby’s BlSues, The Gift of the Pirate Queen, and FBI Girl. Her directing work includes productions for The Rep (Pig, Anton in Show Business), Quantum Theatre (El Paso Blue), and Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre: Harold Pinter’s The Room, Riders to the Sea and Shadow of the Glen (the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cited these plays in their Top Ten Best Theatre of 2008); the world premiere of Bruce Dow’s Wilde Tales and Come and Go, What Where, and the staged reading of Happy Days for BeckettFest.
McKenna often collaborates with André Koslowski, artistic director of Pennsylvania Dance Theatre, exploring experimental dance-theatre. In 2009 they co-directed The Queens for The Rep. As a regular guest artist with PDT, McKenna performed in Koslowski’s For Those That Came Before in July 2010.
She has directed Top Girls, Warrior, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Cloud Nine for the Conservatory Theatre Company, and seven productions for Playhouse Jr.
Pittsburgh audiences are familiar with McKenna’s performances at City Theatre (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Murderers, The Underpants, among others), Quantum Theatre (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and PICT (Henry IV, Travesties), among many other companies. Her acting for The Rep includes “Nadia Blye” in David Hare’s The Vertical Hour, “Debra” in Kimberly Akimbo, and “Harelip” in The Third Lie.
Among memorable collaborations, she has played opposite Fred Rogers (Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood) and a UFO (Unsolved Mysteries). She is half of a drag music-comedy act, The Muthers Brothers (with Elena Passarello), and her film work includes An Unremarkable Life, Alone in the Neon Jungle, and Achilles’ Love. She has written two short plays, Wanted and Hum, both produced by the Women’s Work Festival.
Memberships
- Actor’s Equity Association
- AFTRA
- SAG
Selected Awards
- Outstanding Alumni Award, Point Park University, 2007
- Performer of the Year, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2005