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.”
Two acclaimed butoh performers Kota Yamazaki and Mina Nishimura have returned to UC Davis to create the choreography for “Every-Body, No-Body,” scheduled for Dec. 6 through 8. The original work features graduate and undergraduate dancers/performers. Our photographer, Justin Han, recently attended a rehearsal to capture the work in development. All photographs by Justin Han, copyright UC Regents
Here are publicity photographs and set model for the upcoming production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. The Tony Award-winning comedy plays the Main Theatre, Wright Hall, Feb. 23-25 and Mar. 2-4, Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees on Feb. 25 and Mar. 4.
Publicity photos by Huan Yu, copyright UC Davis, Set model photo by John Iacovelli, copyright UC Davis
Here are publicity photographs and design concepts for the upcoming production of The Shape of Things. The contemporary drama plays the Lab A Theatre, Wright Hall, Jan. 19-21 and 26-28, Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees on Jan. 21 and 28.
Publicity photos by Huan Yu, copyright UC Davis, Set model photos by Elizabeth Kang, copyright UC Davis
Here is a preview of Gospel According to First Squad which is being its regional premiere at UC Davis. Production runs September 29 through October 8 at Wright Hall’s Arena Theatre. All photos are by Huan Yu, copyright UC Davis
Enter the Enchanted Cellar, a costume rental service operated by the UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance, and you can be transformed into Harry Potter, Princess Leia, Superman or the Wicked Witch of the West. Browse through this photo gallery for a look at some highlights from our imaginative collection of costumes.
For additional information or to set up an appointment, please contact Roxanne Femling at rcfemling@ucdavis.edu or call 530-752-0740.
UC Davis Theatre and Dance professor Margaret Laurena Kemp performed her three-part performance art piece, Untitled Project Involving Bodies, Dirt, and Space, in the Arboretum, May 7-8, 2016. The work was directed by Ph.D. candidate Lisa Quoresimo. The photos are courtesy of UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, copyright UC Davis.
Russia’s past and present mingle in UC Davis production of Gogol’s satire
Nikolai Gogol’s “The Government Inspector” — a savage satire from 1836, involving rampant greed and corruption in Czarist Russia — is one of those plays that you read about in history books, but seldom get to see on stage.
Americans still read the novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy (who came after Gogol), and the great plays Anton Chekhov wrote between 1896 and 1904 are still staged in these parts (witness the Art Theater of Davis production of “Uncle Vanya” this fall).
The UC Davis Theatre and Dance Department welcomes back alumna Patricia Miller to direct the biting satire “The Government Inspector.” It will be performed Nov. 12-22 at the Main Theatre in Wright Hall.
“The Light & Dark Arts: A Radical Magic Show” at the University of California, Davis, looks closely at the ways in which secrets are embodied in today’s society, drawing parallels between magic acts and issues such as economic manipulation, political deception, vanishing resources and social transformation.
This student-centric performance by the Department of Theatre and Dance is directed by Aaron Gach, Granada Artist-In-Residence. The production pulls back the curtain and illuminates the most shadowed corners of today’s real-world theatre of conflict.
The UC Davis’ Department of Theatre and Dance’s winter production of Woyzeck is set to open on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. The production will run through March 8 in the main theatre at Wright Hall.
The play, written by German dramatist Georg Büncher, tells the story of the eponymous protagonist, Franz Woyzeck, a working class man who deals with psychological trauma. The story explores themes of class, violence and the fragility of the human psyche. The Theatre Department’s Granada Artist-in-Residence, Bob McGrath, will direct Neil LaBute’s adaptation of Woyzeck.
Department of Theatre and Dance presents “Woyzeck”
UC Davis’ ‘Woyzeck’ features madness, murder
Special to The Enterprise
February 13, 2015
Neil LaBute’s intriguing adaptation of Georg Büchner’s “Woyzeck” will be presented by the UC Davis department of theater and dance Feb. 26-March 8 on the Main Stage of Wright Hall. “Woyzeck” is a theatrical examination of a young man who is abused by a power structure that dehumanizes him, driving him to madness and murder.
Department of Theatre and Dance presents ‘The Fantasticks’
University Talent To Perform Holiday Musical
Written By By JASON PHAM — Arts@Theaggie.Org
Published On November 25, 2014
Filed Under Arts, Front Page Story, Top Stories
On Dec. 4, the UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance will debut its fall musical, The Fantasticks, at Wyatt Theatre. The musical is directed by staff member Kathy Morison and will mark the department’s first holiday-themed production.
The UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance 2014-15 season presents three productions directed by internationally renowned Granada Artists-in-Residence, three student showcases, as well as unticketed ITDP (Institute for Theatre, Dance and Performance) programs which open up the artistic process to the community. The new season also brings the 14th Annual UC Davis Film Festival—a co-production with Cinema and Digital Media, Art Studio and the Department of Design as well as the Main Stage Dance Theatre production being put on in the Spring.
The UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance will host The Grapes of Wrath Symposium on Friday, March 7, to explore John Steinbeck’s work directly as well as the larger social, cultural and historical issues it raises, while celebrating this 75th anniversary year since the publication of the epic novel. The symposium, open to the public and free-of-charge, will be held in Lab A at Wright Hall from 10:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
