Jill Brennan-Lincoln, MA
Chair, Department of Theater Arts; Associate Professor, Theater Arts
Jill Brennan-Lincoln, MA is a seasoned actor, director, producer, and academic leader with over 25 years of experience bridging professional performance with higher education. She currently serves as chair of the Department of Theater Arts at Azusa Pacific University, where she directs theatrical productions, teaches courses in acting for stage and screen, and leads the BFA Senior Industry Showcase, held at Warner Bros. Studios and recognized in The Hollywood Reporter.
Her acting career spans Broadway, regional theater, film, and television. Selected stage credits include Moon Over Buffalo (Arena Stage and Cleveland Playhouse), The Taming of the Shrew, Steel Magnolias, and A View from the Bridge (Alley Theatre), Psychopathia Sexualis (Manhattan Theatre Club), and Leaving Iowa (Laguna Playhouse). On screen, Brennan-Lincoln has held recurring roles on Gilmore Girls (as Crazy Carrie), Boston Legal (as Gracie Jane), and Desperate Housewives (as Tish Atherton), with additional selected credits including If These Walls Could Talk 2 (HBO), Judging Amy, The Drew Carey Show, and When Billy Beat Bobby (ABC).
She is the executive producer of multiple episodic short films through APU Theater Arts. Her recent projects have been official selections or finalists in festivals such as the Best Short Fest, the Miami Short Film Festival, the Houston Comedy Film Festival, and the Portland Comedy Shorts Film Festival. Brennan-Lincoln has also produced and directed over 20 professional Industry Showcases, which have been credited with advancing the careers of emerging actors and have garnered media attention in outlets including The Hollywood Reporter.
Committed to arts accessibility and education, she helped Theater Arts found the High School Audience Outreach Program and launch the Southern California Christian High School Theatre Competition to expand engagement with high school students throughout the region.
In addition to her academic and producing work, Brennan-Lincoln co-founded the Brennan/Gould Acting Studio in Los Angeles, where she trained actors for careers on the stage and screen and directed professional showcases for talent agents and casting directors. Her play, The Passing of a Peace Pipe by a Shoshone Princess, was published in the John Lion New Plays Festival Anthology.
Brennan-Lincoln holds a BFA in Acting from Southern Methodist University and an MA in Theater and Dance from California State University, Los Angeles, where her thesis explored transformational theater and the role of performance in fostering authentic learning and connection. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, and she maintains an active presence in both professional and academic arts communities.
Education
- MA, California State University, Los Angeles
- BFA, Southern Methodist University
Academic Area
- School of the Arts
Expertise
- On-Camera Acting
- Audition Techniques
- Acting Techniques
Courses Taught
- THTR 171 – Acting Fundamentals for the Stage
- THTR 216 – Performance and Cast
- THTR 361 – Acting Fundamentals for the Screen
- THTR 471 – Advanced Acting for the Camera