Marissa Liotta
Hi there, thanks for stopping by...
I was born and raised in the tiny state of Rhode Island where I grew up doing a lot of community and school theatre and all of the activities that generally come with being a "theatre kid" (choir, ballet, voice lessons, theatre summer camp, etc). In 2016, I moved to Washington, DC to pursue my Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre from Catholic University.
A lot of amazing things happened in college. And a lot of not so amazing things happened in college. At one point I had it all typed out before I realized it sounded like I was prepping an autobiography, so I deleted it (for now...I'm totally open to book deals). The long story short is I met some of the best people in the world, developed as a singer, actor, and even a sort-of dancer, and also suffered from some of the worst self-doubt and self-hatred I had faced in my entire life.
I graduated in Spring of 2020, right into a little thing called COVID (Heard of it? It was pretty under the radar). My entire world slamming to a halt and everything I'd known to be true being ripped out from underneath me did a number on me (as it did to everyone, I imagine). But in a weird, twisted way, it woke me up from this pity hole I had dug for myself during my time in college. I had allowed myself to be completely defined by theatre, both my successes and my failures. If I didn't get a callback or wasn't cast in a show or didn't feel like the most talented person in the room, I must be a not only a failure as an actor, but also as a person. When COVID ripped theatre (and like...normal life) away from everyone, it forced me to reexamine this mindset I had taken to be gospel for the past four years.
I can't pretend that I've now reached Nirvana, and I have some kind of eternal inner peace, but I have defined myself beyond "good actor" or "bad actor". My self worth is not tied to what I used to perceive as "success" and "failure". My relationship with theatre is more about finding projects I feel passionate about and work that challenges me rather than worrying about not booking "enough" jobs, whatever that means. I'm auditioning, rehearsing, and performing because I love the work. I love the collaboration. I love finding out what I don't know and letting my new knowledge fuel my work onstage and off. I love working with performers, directors, and theatre companies who value the importance of personal connection and collaboratively telling stories from the everyday to the fantastical.
I also find a lot of happiness now just by living the life of a 20-something in Washington, DC. I do weekly bar trivia with friends and compete on a recreational volleyball team. I run 5Ks with times that are objectively middle of the road but make me feel successful. I do fun things with my boyfriend and my friends, including hiking, visiting museums, drinking a lot of coffee, and incessantly sending each other short form video content online.
I'm assuming if you've made it this far, you're a real person and not one of the Russian bots that seem to love my website. So, thanks! I hope you found some of the information about me that you where looking for.
And I mean it when I say I truly look forward to whatever is next on this adventure.