As an actor she has performed in New York and regionally at such theaters as Clubbed Thumb, Target Margin, Salt Theater, Milwaukee Playhouse, The Hangar Theatre, Hartford Stage, Virginia Stage Company, and The Kennedy Center. She was featured as Mary Grim in Hal Hartley’s film, Henry Fool and performed internationally with Teatro delle Radici as Lady Macbeth in their original production, Shakespeariana.
Maria studied the Suzuki method of actor training at UCSD with Steve Pearson, and traveled twice to Toga-mura to study with Suzuki and the SCOT company. She taught acting and Suzuki for 30 plus years in theater programs, and during her tenure at Long Island University, developed a hybrid acting technique combining Suzuki with elements from Viewpoints, Stanislavsky and other physical trainings. Her book, Re-Purposing Suzuki: A Hybrid Approach to Actor Training was published by Routledge in 2022. She has given work demonstrations and master classes in festivals and conferences around the world.
Maria also uses this technique to create and devise performances. Her solo performances, Ennobling Nonna and The Space Inside, have been featured in regional and international festivals. She has directed and co-created several ensemble-based performances that have been featured in festivals in Italy, Canada, Prague, New York and Scotland. Re-Membering Antigone, an adaption of Sophocles’ Antigone, won several honors at the 2012 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, including Best Director, and Best Devised Work. Her collaborative creation, Conditions of Love, an original piece based on the texts of Shakespeare and the music of Stephen Sondheim, was featured at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Maria received her M.F.A. in Acting from the University of California, San Diego and is a member of the Magdalena Project, an international network of women in theater.
