Originally from the mountains of North Carolina, Joanna Whitney discovered her passion for characters and storytelling at a young age, eventually finding herself onstage and embarking on a journey of self-discovery through the study of acting. After receiving her BA in Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she spent two summers working backstage in props at the Santa Fe Opera, followed by an acting internship at the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, then on to the esteemed Apprentice Program at Actors Theatre of Louisville. At ATL, in addition to performing and studying acting and movement with theatre professionals, she worked with Anne Bogart and the SITI Company going on to complete their summer intensive training in Suzuki and Viewpoints at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. From there she moved to NYC before eventually pursuing her MFA in Acting at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. At UW-Madison she had the incredible opportunity of working with internationally renowned director and scholar Richard Gough of the Center for Performance Research in Aberystwyth, Wales. Under the instruction of Susan Sweeney she was introduced to the vocal work of Roy Hart which focuses freeing the voice of physical and psychological limitations. It was at UW- Madison that Joanna discovered her passion and talent for teaching, and the transformative powers of the study of acting. Since moving to the Lehigh Valley, PA in 2010, Joanna has focused on teaching and coaching. She has taught acting and theatre classes at DeSales University, Lehigh University, Cedar Crest College (directed as well), and Muhlenberg College.

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