Marissa Savaris currently attends Fordham
University Law School in New York.
1. Majors: Dramatic Art & English.
2. Did you have any internships during or after
college? “No, during college I did not have the
chance to intern or work anywhere. I was President of Studio 301
Productions my senior year and a member of Tri Delta, so between
those commitments and classes I had barely any extra time.”
3. Did you travel during or after
college? “I studied abroad in Oxford, England the
summer before my Senior Year. It was the Oxford: Portal to
Fantasy program through the English Department with Amy Clarke.
We studied children’s and young adult fantasy literature that had
roots in Oxford, ranging from Harry Potter and Alice in
Wonderland to Howl’s Moving Castle. At the risk of sounding
cheesy, it was the most magical experience.”
4. Did you have any internships/apprenticeships/jobs
after you graduated from UCD? “Yes, immediately
after graduating, I moved to the east coast to work as a Company
Management Intern at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the
Berkshires. Once the summer was over, I moved to New York to be
the Company Management Intern at Manhattan Theatre Club. MTC
produces Broadway productions at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
on 47th Street and Off-Broadway productions at City Center on
55th Street. It is one of only four non-profit organizations in
NYC with a resident home on Broadway. I had the opportunity to
work on some incredible productions, including
Constellations with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson. I
worked briefly at MTC as the General Management Assistant, and
then moved to the American Associates of the National Theatre as
the Development & Special Events Assistant. The AANT is a
501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports the work of the
National Theatre in London and any productions that transfer to
New York, such as War Horse, The Curious Incident of
the Dog in the Night-Time, and Angels in America.”
6. Hometown? Where are you located now?
“Oak Park, California. “I currently reside in New York,
where I just finished my first year of law school at Fordham
University School of Law. I hope to pursue a career in
entertainment law.”
What was your major(s)? “Double majored in
English/Theatre and Dance.”
Did you do any research/projects in your time as a
Theatre major? “I wrote a one-act play for the Dead Arts
Society student theatre club with Professor Rossini advising. I
was assistant director ’Do Not Obey’ for Margaret
Laurena Kemp and Lisa Quoresimo. I performed in 6 department
shows, including ‘Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play’ and ‘Romeo and
Juliet.’”
Did you have any internships or other jobs during
college? “I had an internship through the English
department as they developed ‘Play the Knave,’ an interactive
Shakespeare-performance game.”
Did you travel while you were a student or after you
graduated? “I studied abroad in London for
two weeks over winter break.”
Have you had any internships/apprenticeships/other jobs
after graduating? “Since leaving UC Davis, I worked as
an apprentice at Capital Stage in Sacramento for a year. I now
work for a solar panel company and at Big Idea Theatre in
Sacramento.”
“In my last quarter at UC Davis, I was cast at Davis Shakespeare
Ensemble for their summer repertory. I have worked consistently
with them, and this will be my third season when I return in the
fall. During the run of those, my first season I was accepted
into the Capital Stage Apprenticeship Program and started that at
the end of August 2016.”
Where is your hometown, and where are you located
now? “I grew up in Santa Cruz, CA and now
live in Sacramento.”
Advice? “Work hard, play fair, and try to keep a
sense of humor about yourself. It’s a tough business but if you
want it, you’ll make it happen somehow.”
Emelie Mahdavian, a UC Davis PhD candidate in Performance
Studies, will have her film ”After the Curtain” premiere at
the the Dance on Camera Film Festival at the Walter Reade Theater
on Tuesday, February 16.
The film is to be screened at the upcoming San Luis Obispo Film
Festival on March 17 and 19. For more information, visit SLO
Film Fest 22.
UC Davis alumna Natasha Halevi is an actress in a series
called “Lunch Break Feminist Club,” that was recently accepted
into the Hollywood & Vine Film Festival. The series will
show on December 11th in Hollywood, California.
Please click
here for more details.
Four UC Davis Theatre & Dance MFA alumni were just
nominated for ‘Outstanding Production of a Play’ by Theatre Bay
Area! Their production of “Gruesome Playground Injuries”
included the following alums:
Cast: Maria Candelaria (Class of 2013) and Bobby
August Jr. (Class of 2013)
Director: Iu-Hui Chua (Class of 2013)
Scenic and Costume Design: Maggie S. Chan (Class of 2012)
Alumna Claire Bennett (MFA 2006) has been nominated for a
2014 Emmy Award for her work as Production Designer on
“Modern Family” (ABC). Go to the
Television Academy website to see all Emmy nominees in this
category.
What are you doing these days? We want to hear about your life
since you graduated. Are you working, attending grad school,
or performing somewhere? Please fill out this form to tell
us about your work, accomplishments, awards or future plans.
