Susan is a founding member and the Artistic Director of The Nittany Valley Shakespeare Festival. She is a professional actress and member of Actor's Equity who has performed regionally as well as on Broadway. Susan received her BA in theatre from Penn State University where she was a member of Helen Manful's famous Theatre 100 Company. She received her MFA on scholarship from the University of Washington's Professional Actor's Training program under Jack Clay. Susan received a fellowship from Daniel Sullivan and Douglas Hughes with the Seattle Repertory Theatre during their Tony Award winning year for best regional theatre and later studied in New York City with Herbert Berghoff at HB Studio. Some of her roles include Desdemona in Othello and Lady Anne in Richard III for the Seattle Shakespeare Festival, Cleopatra in Anthony and Cleopatra, Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream for the Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival, Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream for the Bellevue Shakespeare Festival with Mark Chamberlin, Rosalind in Edward Payson Call's Love's Labor Lost for the University of Washington, Maggie in Lend Me a Tenor at the Portland Repertory Theatre directed by Geoffrey Sherman, Janice in Tim Nelson's Eye of God for the Seattle Repertory Theatre with Hal Holbrook directed by Douglas Hughes, The Inspector in Inspecting Carol at the Seattle Repertory Theatre and its National tour and The Tempest with Ken Ruta - both under the direction of Daniel Sullivan. Susan performed in the dancing ensemble with Bill Irwin and Friends in Largely New York at The Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco, as well as the Seattle Repertory Theatre, and later joined the five Tony-nominated show at the Saint James Theatre in the principal role of Videographer on Broadway, where she also performed with the show for the Tony Awards at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre.
Since returning to Pennsylvania, Susan has appeared as Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire directed by Charles Dumas, Rita in Educating Rita for next Stage at The State Theatre, Aphrodite in Pam Monk's one-woman show, An Evening with Aphrodite at the University Club, both directed by Elaine Meder-Wilgus. She has directed As You Like It for the State College Shakespeare Festival on the steps of Pattee, Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast and Tally's Folly for The Next Stage, and Pam Monk's La Verna at the University Club.
Susan is a founding member of the Seattle Shakespeare Company, now in its 19th season. She has taught acting for the University of Washington, the Northwest Actors Conservatory, and many workshops in high schools throughout the Seattle area and Pennsylvania.