About mara

creator of worlds.

I knew early on that I wasn’t like other kids, and I always felt like the odd one out… until I joined the theater club at my middle school (aka The Thespian Club). Throughout my life, I always wanted to be the smartest kid in class, doing everything according to the rules. Honestly, I was kinda a huge perfectionist who was scared of doing anything wrong and disappointing someone else. But when it came to performing, I was one of the loudest and most EXTRA kids. Performing was how I learned (still am!) how to be brave and slowlyyyyyyy try things that scared me. In theater, I learned the rules so that I could break them later! Never seen a Filipina Stepmother in Cinderella? I got you. Wondering who that brown girl playing Prospero in The Tempest is? It me. Laughing at the tiny, 5 foot 3 high schooler channelin’ her best physical comedy in Scapino? Still… me!  

It was important to my family and me to pursue a good education beyond high school, but at that point I also knew how important the performing arts, specifically theater, was to me. I could have gone a couple different directions, but I chose a liberal arts school where I got to combine other interests with theater. I even got to fulfill two different dreams: a semester in London to study acting, and a summer internship in the Philippines, reconnecting with my ancestry. I graduated with a Theater Studies and Political Science dual degree, and immediately started working after graduation at another university while I pursued an acting career on nights and weekends.

Over several years, I grew restless and sought out new opportunities, eventually moving around the country. Along the way, I discovered teaching and teaching artistry. I found that my experience as an artist informed my ability to teach, and working with my students made me a better artist. I have worked inside classrooms, after-school clubs, and even a youth probation site.

Now, I want to make an arts education accessible to anyone who wants to pursue it. I was drawn to playwriting in college because I felt like I had more power and control over my fate — the roles I wanted to see were coming to life right in front of my eyes. And I was doing THAT! That’s why it’s my mission to help high school students who have experience in the performing arts apply to their dream colleges through writing a stand-out essay… and taking the power back into their own hands. And don’t forget, the parents who want their high schooler to succeed.