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Kamusta! Hiya.

I’m mara palma

Creator of Worlds
Filipina-American Daughter
CEO, Standout Story Coaching

 

A Filipina woman with dark hair and brown skin smiling with one hand at her temple, the other inside her lower left pocket.

mara@marapalma.com

Los Angeles, CA

About mara

A multi-passionate individual in Los Angeles, CA

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.

Recent Work

Square image with two photos of Filipina women with dark brown hair, a laptop with the logo for THE BONESETTER'S DAUGHTER on screen

Educational video content: mental health & the arts

THE BONESETTER’S DAUGHTER BY AMY TAN, BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE

this girl laughs, this girl cries, this girl does nothing by finegan kruckemeyer, artwest gallery & playhouse

MAKING OF THE GODS (STAGED READING) BY REBECCA K. HSIA, CALARTS – COFFEEHOUSE THEATER

I’ve gotten to work with some amazing arts organizations!

Let’s Work Together, shall we?

mara@marapalma.com

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