Mara teaches various Physical Theater courses, focusing on the Actor Creator and Apparatus Based Theatre.
NU Theatre
Mara graduated from the Niagara Theater Program in 1985 under Bro Augustine Towey, where she played such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Lady Macbeth in The Scottish Play, as well as Blithe Spirit, Skin of Our Teeth, Cradle Song, Artpark Repertory Theatre for 3 seasons, Albert and I, Peter Pan, The Nightingale, Satyagraha, to name a few.
Professional Experience
Mara is the founder of In-Flight Theater, based in Baltimore from 2006-2018, where she developed a signature style of theatre that combines sculpture, text, and aerial elements together in solo performances as well as in collaborations with theatre, dance, and aerial companies in the United States and abroad. She is currently the creator and director of The Artpark Devised Performance Intensive where participants study the creative process with cutting edge European performance companies who specialize in original physical performance. Mara has written, performed, produced, and toured 6 original aerial plays and is the recipient of commissions and grants from The Robert W Deutsch Foundation, The Clipper Family and Creative Alliance Grant for New Works, The New Artists Fund of the University Of Maryland at College Park, Dementia Care Matters in Brighton England Performance Grant, The Ruby Artist Award, The Baltimore B Grant Award of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, Center Stage/DC Endowment For New Works, Free Fall Performance Grant, Baltimore City Community Arts Grant, The Ellis Rabb Fund for Visiting Artists Rhodes College, Quest Fest For The Deaf Commission For New Works, The Native Cultures Grant of California, the Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award for solo shows Air Heart, and Naomi’s Flight 2008 and 2013.
Mara has served as an instructor and collaborator with Shakespeare in Delaware Park for A Midsummers Night Walk 2021, Teatro Abya Yalla in Costa Rica, Vacio, University of Costa Rica in San Jose, Rhodes College, University of Missouri Kansas City Graduate Program, Maryland Institute College of Art, Cal Arts Graduate Directing Department. Mara has been a resident artist at The Baltimore Theater Project, The Round House Theater DC, Center Stage VA, The New Market Theater in Brighton England, The Tennessee Williams Theater in Key West, The Studios of Key West, and The Creative Alliance of Baltimore, Clown Staff for The San Francisco School of Circus Arts and for Pixar’s creation of It’s A Bugs Life. Mara is the founder of The Baltimore Alley Aerial Festival which for three years combined cutting edge aerial performances with graffiti artists from NYC and Baltimore within the urban landscape of Baltimore.
Current Projects/Research
This season, Mara will be directing the workshop performance of Us and Them: Aerial Investigations, kicking off the 2022-2023 season.
Professional Affiliations
Mara trained at The San Francisco School of Circus Arts, Trapeze Arts Oakland, and The Toronto School of Circus. She is a protégé of aerial pioneer, Terry Sendgraff, and a graduate of The Dell’Arte International School Of Physical Theatre where she served as an instructor and company member for seven years.
Training
- M.F.A. in Theatre, Towson University
- B.F.A. in Theatre Performance, Niagara University
- Certification in Physical Theatre, Dell’Arte International
- Yoga Certification (200 Hours)
- Personal Training Certification from NCSF
- Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner: www.buffalofeldenkrais.com