Marissa Ontiveros, Theatre Artist
Marissa Ontiveros is a Chicanx, Brooklyn based theater artist hailing from Los Angeles, California. She is committed to centering student’s identities and creative choice while supporting social-emotional learning through storytelling and movement. Proudly serves as a Teaching Artist at various arts organizations in every borough across NYC including Brooklyn Acting Lab, St. Nicks Alliance, CO/LAB Theater Group, Brooklyn Art Exchange, and Learning Extended Arts Programs (LEAP), where she utilizes movement, storytelling, puppetry, and play. She holds a BFA from New York University Tisch School of the Arts, receiving her training from Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the classical program at Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Recently, she’s been named a Fellow for the Performing Arts Legacy Project, an intergenerational, community-based project in collaboration with the Actors Fund aimed at working with performing arts Professionals aged 62+ to document their legacy and create a deep representation of the legacy of their artistic careers and promote positive aging.
TAP Work:
“This semester has been unlike any other due to the pandemic, both personally and professionally for so many of us. I’m immensely grateful to the TAP staff for intentionally creating a space for TAs that acknowledged the challenges of digital learning for ourselves and students, while still upholding the high level of professional development and collaboration that I was excited to experience throughout this program. Our “Care Teams” and racial Affinity Groups created spaces that allowed us to be open and create together in a way that many artists have been craving throughout the isolation of the pandemic. Additionally, I was able to delve into the Administration Fieldwork track and come out of it feeling more confident in both hard and soft administration skills as well as a better understanding of grant writing thanks to Katie!”
Most Memorable TAP Moment:
“My most memorable TAP moment would be the short chances for collaboration in breakout rooms throughout the semester, where I’d get a chance to work with TAs of a wide range of art forms, experiences, and knowledge to share in meaningful ways. Working with the “Theater Group” in breakout rooms I had a chance to facilitate an activity “Yes It Is,” and later share it with the full TAP community which was a helpful chance to practice teaching in these new digital spaces. Another favorite breakout room of mine was one of the Elective workshops, “Clowning for Creativity and Mental Health”, facilitated by Ania Upstill, which reminded me of the playfulness of object work and inspired me to bring more clowning into my own classrooms.”
Find out more about Marissa here:
