Hi! I'm Bryn. Thanks for visiting. 
Here's a bit of my story:

I grew up in suburban Kansas City, MO, in a town called Blue Springs. I was brought out of my shell by acting at around nine–quite literally, I was that shy girl in class who suddenly found her voice upon the stage. In the theatre I witnessed, and have continued to be inspired by, the inclusion of anyone clamoring to express themselves.

Education has been a huge part of my life. I hold a BS in Journalism (Creative Advertising) from the University of Kansas, as well as a BFA in Theatre Arts from Emporia State University (KS). My professors noted my hunger for learning, and I was encouraged to continue my educational quest; I earned my AEA card and an MFA in Acting from Florida State University's Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Thereafter, I spent 10 years in New York City discovering the kind of artist I wanted to be. My path in New York took me from acting and improv comedy, to casting to playwriting, to producing and directing. My artist peers saw me as a strong collaborator, and I began to direct almost exclusively, taking the helm in bigger and bigger projects. 

In 2012, my husband, Michael Poignand, and I formed our own ensemble, Anthem Theatre Company, with the help and enthusiasm of dear old friends, Johnny Kinsman and Lindsay McConchie.  We moved our Anthem venture to Boston from New York in April 2013, so that the four of us could be a part of this city's ever-growing arts-rich culture, and to expand on our mission: to create excellent work that compels audiences to seek out more theatrical experiences, and to make it a part of their lives. 

Seeking artistic, working-director mentors in the Boston area, I gained a coveted spot in Boston University's MFA Directing program in the Artistic Director track, and am now a proud graduate of BU's CFA Class of '16, as well as the recipient of a Master's Certificate in Arts Administration. My path since then has been one of daily revelations about my work as a total artist. Ever-synthesizing the tools I've gathered in my educational endeavors and my artistic life as a director, my deepest interest is in exploring how education and art, acting and directing, voice and movement, community and the individual, intersect. For 6 years, I was an adjunct professor at Salem State University, teaching subjects like Directing, Acting III, Dramatic Theory & Criticism, Voice for the Performer, Applied Movement, Dialects, and Public Speaking. ​Now, I am so grateful to be able to put my intersecting skills to work full time, as Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education & Training.

My freelance directing work, happening alongside my arts administration work, has been lauded as "precise", "powerful", and "fearless". I have had the great good fortune in my directing life to flow back and forth between classics and new works, between fringe and large theaters. I seek out stories and value lessons that confirm that we are all cut of one cloth and that our problems aren't new. My taste runs toward plays with complex language, and my style bends toward minimalism and expressionism; I like to think that my directing lifts up the words of the playwright and honors the craft of the actors. 

Please enjoy the rest of this site, including the individual pages for my directing and teaching work.
​If there's anything else you'd like to know, feel free to contact me! 
-- Bryn