Jenna Duncan is a jack-of-all-trades. She can sing, act, dance… and compete in ski racing. Born in Connecticut, she quickly moved with her family to Vermont to pursue ski racing at a greater level, an activity she began doing when she was just two years old. She continued doing it through high school, but then stopped when she started college to pursue theater full-time.
“I wanted to be in a city. I love D.C. and I would have rather give up the sport to come to a good location…and I wanted to study theater which obviously requires time.”
Duncan has been doing theater since she was 10 years old. Theater, however, always took a backseat to ski racing until she began attending George Washington University. Now a junior, she majors in Theater with a double minor in Creative Writing and Journalism and dedicates all of her time to theater-related endeavors.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show produced by Forbidden Planet Productions was Duncan’s first exposure to Student Theater at GWU.
“I got cast in Rocky and the rest is history,” said Duncan of her first show with the school and the company. Soon afterward, she became involved with the other theater companies by performing in their various shows as well as directing Tick, Tick… Boom! during her freshman year.
In addition to performing with the organizations this year, she also works as the Artistic Director of Forbidden Planet Productions. Due to her continuous experience with the company for the past nearly three years, she plans to take the lessons she has learned from her mentors and previous Artistic Directors and combining them with her own theatrical beliefs.
“One of the fundamental things about running a company that I believe in as an Artistic Director is creating a season that is cohesive and put together. It was really fun to try and work out (the shows) and I think it’s one of the things that has been (successful) so far this year.”
Duncan hopes to pursue Arts Marketing and Administration after she graduates from the university and her greatest pursuit is to eventually host the Tony’s.
“Either host the Tony’s or marry Ryan Gosling.”