BWW Blog: Introducing Me! - Marissa Tomeo

Helloooooo BroadwayWorld! My name is Marissa Tomeo (she/her/hers) and I'm a new student blogger here to share all things about being a theatre major and college student during this global pandemic! Here's me on the left!

This is my headshot, I can guarantee you I'm much more fun than the picture suggests! I'm a goofy nerd who is, not to brag, a fantastic friend. I love to knit and crochet, craft, make and consume memes, and, of course, see and perform in theatre and art.

I'm currently a senior at Muhlenberg College, where I double major in Theatre and English. On campus, I'm heavily involved in acting in theatre productions. Some of my favorite roles in college have been Creon in an all female-identifying production of Antigone, as well as playing multiple parts in a show called Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind that is equal parts hilarious and devastating.

I was supposed to play Margaret in an adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III this past spring, but Muhlenberg sent us all home before it could take its full form. I used to sing for one of the college A Capella groups, the Muhlenberg Dynamics, as well as the college and chamber choirs, but had to stop because I was so busy with classes and shows! Muhlenberg decided to only have the freshmen on campus for the fall semester of this year, which, I'm gonna be honest, really stinks.

I don't have a senior fall semester on campus, which means I don't get to watch the leaves change, I don't get to see the beautiful sunsets (like this one on the right!) behind the Fishbowl (our theatre and arts building), I don't get to see any of my friends, and I don't get the chance to create beautiful, exciting, in-person theatre with my peers and teachers. Four years ago when I was a senior in high school beginning to apply to colleges, Muhlenberg wasn't even on my radar. I was so fixated on attending NYU that when I didn't get in I was completely devastated. At the last minute, I decided on Muhlenberg, a college that I initially auditioned for as a practice college audition since I wasn't seriously interested in going there.

My freshman year was rough. I had a hard time finding friends because I was so quiet and anxious. I really missed my identical twin (who attends the Fashion Institute of Technology for Fashion Design in NYC), my parents, and my room at home. Sophomore year was better, but right as I started to feel like I finally belonged, I tore my ACL and had to leave school for a while to get and recover from surgery. Junior year was fantastic! I took some amazing classes with wonderful friends and professors and really took time for myself to grow as a person and as an actor. I started to feel like I belonged in a group of friends for the first time.

But then Corona swept across the globe, and college students everywhere were ripped from their independent lives and regressed back to being their high school selves as adjusted to life back home. Or at least that's how I've been feeling! But I've been trying to make the most of being home for the last 7 months. I've been taking virtual acting classes through Larry Singer Studios with working adult actors who have so much talent, as well as lots of advice about both acting and life. I've also been working at an ice cream place where I've worked for the last five years while still trying to learn as much as I possibly can from my virtual classes.

Most recently, I've been rehearsing for a virtual production of a comedy called The Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, which has definitely been a unique, funny, and sometimes frustrating experience! Regardless, I'm ridiculously excited to be blogging for Broadway World, and I can't wait to continue to share more of the trials and tribulations of zoom theatre, online education, and senior year!

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