Tschernisch has studied T'ai Chi Ch'uan and theater in China, Canada, India and the U.S. She worked with the San Francisco Actor's Workshop and the Stanford Repertory Theatre prior to coming to CalArts in 1968 for the planning of the Institute. She was Assistant to the Provost and Dean of Theater for 1968-70. She was CalArts' first exchange professor to the Hochschule der Kunste in Berlin and to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. She has received three California Arts Council grants for programs in T'ai Chi Ch'uan in the federal prisons and was originator, performer and consultant for KCET-TV's T'ai Chi Ch'uan . At CalArts, she has directed Total Eclipse, Treats, A Pagan Place, Close of Play and original works by student playwrights. In 1990, she was head of Directing for the Film, Video and Theater Program and was the Director of Performance, School of Theater, for the years 1991-93. She has taught acting and T'ai Chi Ch'uan in the California Summer School of the Arts Innerspark program since 1987. She maintains a private studio for the study of T'ai Chi Ch'uan and acting.