Biography
As an Associate Professor in the Theatre Department at Columbia, Kendra coordinates Voice and Foundations Performance for the Acting program. She teaches acting, accents and dialects, and voice for both undergraduates and graduate students, with particular emphasis on the fully embodied use of language. Her research practice investigates the voice as a creative force, and the integration of vocal technique with various physical theatre modalities. She is a professional dialect coach and has worked at several Chicago theatres as both dialect coach and actor, including, Steppenwolf and Steep Theatre, where she has been a member since 2011. 聽She is a multiple Joseph Jefferson Award nominee and winner for much of her work there. She has served as a board member of Rough House, a puppet theatre collective in Chicago. She holds an MFA in Acting from The Theatre School DePaul University, and an AB in English, Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Sigma Nu and Magna Cum Laude from Fordham University, Bronx, NY, further training American Conservatory Theatre, Arthaus Berlin, Lecoq (with Taylor, Prattki, Brown, Coletto), Molik/Parente Voice and Body, Roy Hart, Viewpoints, Philip Zarillii, Meredith Monk Ensemble.
Instructional Areas
Voice and Language, Shakespeare, Modern Poetic, Vocal Technique, Theatre Foundations, Accents and Dialects
Creative Practice and Research Interests
integration of voice and movement as a foundation for actor training, voice as content and conduit for the actor-creator, researching and working with new forms and narratives, global plays/plays in translation, dialects
Degrees
B.A., English Fordham University 1989
M.F.A., Drama DePaul University 1996