Meet Our Students

Theatre and Dance students are active participants in the life and culture of the Department of Theatre and Dance, the University at Buffalo community, and the extended Western New York region. Students balance a rigorous schedule of coursework and performance/production work throughout their tenure at UB, and gain additional experience through internships, teaching opportunities, conference participation, and professionalization opportunities working alongside professionals at UB as well as regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Our Students

Naila Ansari, MFA Dance
11/13/19
A native of Buffalo, New York, Naila Ansari Woods is a Cum Laude graduate of Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts program. She is an original and former principal dancer for the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, a “Top 25 Dance Companies to Watch” in Dance Magazine for the 2012-2013 season. Naila also danced and performed works for the legendary Lula Washington Dance Theatre out of Los Angeles, CA.
Darryl Semira Heusinger, MA Theatre and Performance
11/13/19
Darryl Semira Heusinger has been a professional actor for the last 21 years. His Broadway credits include MAMMA MIA!, the original Broadway cast of BOMBAY DREAMS, and the first national tour of MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT. Darryl has also appeared on TV and at regional theatres throughout the country in world premieres of shows by Charles Strouse, Maltby and Shire, and Maury Yeston.
Bella Poynton, PhD Theatre and Performance
8/22/19
Bella Poynton is a playwright, director, and PhD candidate from Buffalo, NY. She was a Regional Playwriting Resident at Road Less Traveled Productions from 2016-2018 and is the Artistic Director of The Navigators Theatre Company in New York. Recently, her work has been produced and developed by MadLab Theatre, Quantum Dragon Theatre Company, Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Anteaus Theatre Company, The Bechdel Group, The Great Plains Theatre Festival, Post-Industrial Productions, and Otherworld Theatre.
Mary Schnepf, MFA Dance
8/28/19
Mary Schnepf is a 3rd year Dance MFA student at the University at Buffalo with a focus on multi-disciplinary approaches to performance and archival research on the evolution of storytelling, music and dance in the Americas.