Maria is from an unusual little town in southeast Iowa called Fairfield. While surrounded by cornfields, an abundance of John Deere equipment and “more pigs than people”, Maria went to a school where meditation was part of the curriculum. From kindergarten through her senior year of high school her education included Sanskrit, yoga and all sorts of other things you don’t find at your average school. Maybe it was observing this bizarre combination of communities or maybe it is in her blood (her father is an artist) but at an early age Maria developed a keen sense of curiosity about human behavior and relationships that is still with her today. Luckily Fairfield possessed a lively little theatre community where Maria could allow her curiosity to grow. From there a passion was born and soon she was performing regularly at the Iowa Theatre Company and with her award winning school in statewide drama competitions.
At 18 Maria moved to New York City to study theatre at Marymount Manhattan College, from which she graduated with honors. During her time at Marymount her credits included, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern and The House of Bernarda Alba. It was also at Marymount where Maria became involved in other aspects of the creative process. Her first autobiographical solo show, Girl…, was written and performed while at Marymount. She also became Assistant Director and Visual Designer for Where The Women Are, a collaborative theatre piece showcasing the lives of five diverse women, which toured throughout the Northeast performing at the Culture Project in NYC, New York City public school and ACTS Theatre in Portland, Maine, just to name a few.
Maria has also studied at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland, the Neighborhood Playhouse and The Michael Howard Studios in NYC. She also continues her education in creative writing at The New School.
Since graduating, Maria has become actively involved in creative and administrative duties with Stone Soup Theatre, performing in three shows, co-authoring two and assisting with development and outreach. She also continues to work as a director, most recently assistant directing a movement theatre based production of Macbeth at HERE Arts Center.
An avid traveler and yoga student, Maria recently returned from five months backpacking in southern India and studying yoga at The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India.
