Who is Marissa?

	When I was in fourth grade we were doing a play about a man who was ultimately beheaded, (Classic inspiration story) most of the class felt uncomfortable performing that moment but I loved it. Besides the obvious experience of a fourth grader wanting to reimagine a beheading, I wanted the audience to understand the full story of this character we had dedicated so much time to. Looking back now it kind of seems hilariously morbid that that was the moment of inspiration I chose to stake my flag in but it’s the one that has stuck with me forever. The idea of telling someones ultimate truth as a performance has driven me ever since, only now have I been able to recognize it. 
	I performed all through out high school and then earned a scholarship to AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts where I got my Bachelors in Acting. I spent three years crying uncontrollably, wearing only black clothes and rehearsing on street corners. And it was a freaking blast. It was there where I also found Stand Up comedy and started performing for a traveling burlesque troupe, (that would do shows in Ethiopian restaurants) while I was also in and out of plays. In school I had read All New People by Zach Braff and fell in love with these characters, they had my comedic stamina and an emotional depth that I had yet to tackle. I brought on two incredible creatives and we produced the show for three weekends at the Actors Workout Studio in November 2017. Because of this show, the play and myself were nominated for the Valley Theatre Awards. I won Best Actress in a Play and gave the most awkward speech of my life, which goes to show, you should always believe in the best version of yourself because then maybe I would have written a freaking speech. After All New People I moved straight into producing a play called The Legend of Bonny Anne for the SHELA Festival. This show was an original piece written by one of the most brilliant women I know and I was honored to be part of her journey.
	Along with producing this show I also choreographed the stage fights and played one of the leads.  Now for the last year and a half I have been solely focusing on Stand Up Comedy and writing (Well before the pandemic). I've performed at notable places like the HaHa Comedy Club, The Ice House, IOWest, The Comedy Chateau, and Flappers Comedy Club. This path that was chosen for many of us is insane, there is no reason in the world we are doing it, except that we must. So Please enjoy my site and shoot me an email if you’d like to work with me.