Help Yasmeen Finish Grad School & Create Powerful Theatre

Hello! My name is Yasmeen Duncan—I’m a 26 year old actor, theatre educator, arts administrator, and proud Detroit native currently based in Boston, MA. I’m reaching out for help as I complete my final year of graduate school, earning my Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Education and Applied Theatre at Emerson College. As one of only four Black students in the entire program, I carry both the weight and the joy of representation—and I am committed to using my art and education to transform lives, especially in communities like the ones that raised me. I have worked hard in my degree program in the last two years, and am currently working on my Master's Thesis performance and project. 

I moved away from my home and my family on my own in Detroit, MI all the way to Boston, MA to pursue my dreams. I’ve worked professionally in theatre for the last 5 years, performing in productions such as The Color Purple, Hairspray, The Drowsy Chaperone, JaJa’s African Hair Braiding, and I’ll soon be performing in To Kill a Mockingbird; And working at theaters like Trinity Repertory Company and The Public Theatre in New York. I’m passionate about creating work that heals, liberates, and empowers, whether on stage or in the classroom. My journey has taken me from Central Michigan University where I received my BFA in Acting and Directing, and was awarded Excellence in Directing from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and the CMU Presidents Award for outstanding research in my field. I went to study Acting in 2019 in Oxford, England U.K. for a month under the British American Drama Academy. I have been teaching and directing in Detroit, Boston, and New York City, where I currently serve as Site Operations Leader at STEM From Dance, empowering girls of color through creativity and STEM this summer. I am a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc and also a community affairs liaison for the organization Women Living In Purpose. 

My work also includes facilitating prison theatre, developing and facilitating community programming like ArtsEmerson’s Play Reading Book Club for seniors, and working with Black-led companies like the Front Porch Arts Collective. I have also been a theatre teaching artist over summers with organizations like Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and Wheelock Family Theatre in Boston. Through performance, education, and radical care, I hope to one day found my own theatre company and resource center and become a college professor and director mentoring future artist activists. But right now, I need help. Tuition, fees, and living costs have added up—and I’m seeking $10,000–$15,000 to stay in school and finish this last year strong.

If you believe in the power of art, education, and transformative storytelling, I humbly ask you to invest in my future. Every donation, no matter the size, brings me closer to my dreams—and brings the dreams of so many young artists I serve into reach, too. Thank you for seeing me, for supporting me, and for believing in the work.

With love and gratitude,Yasmeen