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Colleen Kelly

Professor & Director, M.F.A. Acting Program

Address
208 Drama Bldg.
Charlottesville, VA

Biography
Colleen is a founding board member of the Association of Theatre Movement Educators and recipient of the ATME Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a past vice president of the Virginia Theatre Association and a past vice president of the Society of American Fight Directors. Colleen, a member of Actors’ Equity Association, has worked professionally as an actor, director, fight director, and dance choreographer. Her work has been seen at professional theatres such as the American Shakespeare Center, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, the Old Globe Theatres, La Jolla Playhouse, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Clarence Brown Theatre, and San Diego Repertory Theatre. Film and TV credits include dance choreography for the film Sommersby and fight direction for the PBS television series Tell About the South. Publications include articles in Theatre Symposium and The Fight Master. Colleen has taught at the University of San Diego/Old Globe Theatres, headed the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s MFA/Professional Actor Training Program and served as director of training at the American Shakespeare Center. For the U.Va. Department of Drama, Colleen has directed several productions including Chicago1940′s Radio HourThe Imaginary Invalid and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Colleen has been a master teacher for projects supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities and has given presentations at several national and international conferences. Grant awards include a Teaching Tolerance Grant from the Southern Poverty Law Center and the U.Va. Fall 2012 Challenge for Newly Hybrid Technology-Enhanced Courses.  Colleen earned her M.F.A. at Ohio University and B.S and M.A degrees at Eastern Michigan University.