Brittany Bara came home one day from elementary school and announced she was going to sing in the local talent show. That was fine, replied her mother, as long as she realized she would be doing so in front of other people.

That fact didn’t deter her in the least. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would soon be cast in one of the children’s roles in the high school production of The Music Man.

“My mom likes to tell that story,” said Bara, who is today a music theatre faculty member at Viterbo University. “It was pretty much from then on I realized I was going to do this (the performing arts).”

Bara went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in music theatre from Emerson College in Boston and spent a decade working as an actor in New York City. While doing so, she found enjoyment in helping many friends work on their craft and prepare for auditions. The move to teaching was a natural progression, she said.

Enrolling at the University of Pittsburgh to purse a Master of Fine Arts in performance pedagogy, she would graduate in 2016. Bara also became a Linklater certified voice teacher.

Bara began at Viterbo University in fall 2022, where she teaches foundational acting, voice and speech, and music theatre lab courses. She is the director of this month’s Viterbo production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

 “I have the best group of colleagues I could ever ask for, and I’m lucky to call them friends,” she said. “The community here is very special. The department is super collaborative, and the students are amazing.”

Outside the classroom and theatre, Bara enjoys spending time with her family, board games, the outdoors, and cooking and baking for friends.

“As artists, we’re always dreaming,” said Bara of her future plans. “There is really good energy in the department and we’re doing a deep dive into the curriculum. I would also like to start performing again. I’m excited to do that.”