Ibby Cizmar

Assistant Professor of Theatre Acting & Directing

Ibby Cizmar, Assistant Professor of Theatre specializing in Acting and Directing, holds an M.F.A. in Acting from the Actors Studio Drama School/New School for Drama and a Ph.D. in Drama from Tufts University. She has previously taught at Franklin & Marshall College, Bucknell University, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.  Her book project focuses on Ernie McClintock’s Afro-American Studio for Acting & Speech (est. 1966) and the Jazz Actors Theatre (est. 1991). McClintock developed a technique known as Jazz Acting inviting actors to explore, research, and respond in the context of an improvisational conversation, an identifying aspect of a jazz ensemble. Her research works to excavate McClintock’s legacy and aims to include Afrocentric methods in actor training. Her published essays are featured in The Routledge Companion to African American Theatre & Performance, Text & Presentation, and Twentieth Century and Contemporary American Literature in Context.