Jennifer J. Toohey, M.F.A.

Jennifer Toohey is an Associate Professor in the theater department at Buffalo State. She is a voice and speech and musical theater specialist with teaching certifications in Fitzmaurice Voicework and Knight Thompson Speechwork. Toohey has been awarded the Dr. Muriel A. Howard Presidential Award for Equity and Campus Diversity, the President’s Professional Development award and has project funding from the E. O. Smith Arts and Humanities Faculty Development Fund. In 2019 Jennifer was a dialect coach for the season of the Shaw Festival, in Ontario, Canada, and directed at Theatre of Youth in Buffalo. She has worked as an actor, director, and accent coach for 20 years at theaters across Canada and the U.S., including Drayton Entertainment, Road Less Travelled Productions, The Paul Robeson Theatre, Florida Stage, Palm Beach Dramaworks, and Mad Cow Theatre. She has presented workshops and sat on panels for the Voice and Speech Trainers Association and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Toohey has taught Voice and Speech, Acting and Musical Theater at New World School of the Arts in Miami, The University of Miami and Rollins College before accepting her position at Buffalo State. Toohey studied vocal performance at the prestigious Wilfrid Laurier University and holds a B.F.A. in acting from The University of Windsor and an M.F.A. in acting from Florida Atlantic University. Toohey is a proud member of the Canadian Actor’s Equity Association and the Voice and Speech Trainers Association.