Bryna Kearney is a New York based actor, director, and musician with a surprisingly endearing sardonic sensibility. Raised in North Carolina and Connecticut, she went on to study theatre, dance, and voice at Phillips Academy Andover in Andover, MA. She then attended NYU Tisch’s Experimental Theatre Wing before returning to Connecticut where she worked with companies across the state as an actor, director, and choreographer.
She was an original member and board member for Slant of Light Theater Company where she discovered a true passion for developing new works, directing their first original main stage production, and co-writing and directing their first children’s touring production.
Bryna moved back to New York City in 2014 and began training with The Simon Studio and TAP NYC. She soon found a home on stage as a regularly featured actor at The AlphaNYC Theater Company, and by 2017 Bryna was also directing at least one show per season in a wide variety of styles ranging from the classical, to feel-good camp, and everything in between. It was here that she found herself adding a new passion to her palate, the desire to help develop new actors. The playground of The AlphaNYC offered a safe space for her to give actors of all skill levels an opportunity to experiment and thrive. In so doing, Bryna was able to return to her collaborative roots, and continue expanding herself.
Since then, Bryna has had the opportunity to work on several large scale, main stage productions as both a director and an actor. Waste, Fraud, and Abuse [New musical from The Screaming Majority, 13th Street Repertory Theater: Co-Writer and Director], The Owl Girl [NYC premiere, The Center at West Park: Director and Lead], God Save Queen Pam [Off Broadway: Original Cast Member], Bare: A Pop Opera [Mainstage Theater, The Barrow Group: Choreographer]
Though the Covid-19 pandemic threatened to quash her theatrical pursuits, Bryna quickly pivoted, creating a signature style to direct full scale productions over Zoom that almost made audiences forget they were watching actors converse from across time zones. In the summer of 2021, Bryna returned to directing in person. The project, Under Woodside by Julianne LaValle, a modern reimagining of Under Milkwood, was an immersive poem of theatre and music that toured NYC’s parks to sold out audiences.
2021 also gave birth to The Ponce Funeral Home Project, a musical collaboration with Jonathan J. Sharp. True to Bryna’s eclectic tendencies, the pair produces music in a variety of styles, with Bryna often appearing as lead singer and lyricist.
Most recently, Bryna has added film to her repertoire, joining SAG-AFTRA in 2022. She continues to work in all three mediums, theatre, music, and film, forever gravitating toward projects where exploration and collaboration are paramount.
A true nerd at heart, however, she does make sure to allot a little time each week to brushing up on her Star Trek trivia, thereby aiding her most prominent, non-theatrical passion – telling jokes that no one thinks are funny.