Academic CV 

Troy Coleman is a Ph.D. student in Theatre & Performance at the State University of New York Buffalo (UB), focusing on "Villains and Performer Wellness." With degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University, he integrates his scholarly insight with practical performance experience as a stage and screen union actor (AEA & SAG-AFTRA). Troy is trained in stage combat and is a certified Consent-Forward Artist through Intimacy Coordinators & Directors (IDC).

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Troy’s research on villains and performer wellness explores the methodology of playing villains to understand the impact of roles that inflict unjustified physical or emotional harm. His goal is to prioritize safety and mental health for performers on and off stage, developing approaches to playing villains that avoid creating genuinely harmful experiences. His research incorporates gender studies, critical masculinity, trauma awareness, and socioeconomic influences. In short, he wants to help train safer, scarier baddies.

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I am working on the pedagogy for playing villains because I want to find out the impact of roles that inflict physical or emotional harm on others in order to better understand how to prioritize mental health and wellness while engaging with these characters to create safer performance environments. I hope to provide performers, be they the villains or heroes of the show, the ability to look at themselves in the mirror and honestly say there is no one I would rather be than me.

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Master's Thesis: Villains & Performer Wellness

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