ABOUT

Marina Montesanti is a theatre director and a Tony Award-nominated co-producer as part of Iconic Vizion Productions. Broadway (co-pro): Fat Ham, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical. As Director (selected): I Hope this Letter Reaches Mitclan, Lenfest Center for the Arts; The Visit, Lenfest Center for the Arts; In The Bronx Brown Girls can See Stars Too, Lehman Stages; Uncle Vanya, Columbia University; Lizzie, Madison Theatre; Dear Mr. C, University of the Arts; EXIST, Columbia University; Savana Glacial, Irondale Theatre; Derecho, La Tea. Assistant Director; 1776, A.R.T. As Associate Director to Sergio Trujillo & Luis Salgado.

Montesanti has worked with Roundabout Theatre Company, Gibney Dance, BAM, Signature Theatre, The Metropolitan Opera, and others. SDC member, SDCF Charles Abbott Fellow, TPOC Bway, Statera Mentorship Member - MAESTRA Music, Inc. Marina also taught at CAP21 for the Musical Theatre BFA Program. Director of new works awarded: The Jonathan Larson Grant, Hansberry Lilly’s, Kennedy Center National Playwriting award, Leah Prize.

Education:

MFA in Directing, Columbia School of the Arts.

BFA, Dramatic Arts, The New School for Drama.

PHILOSOPHY

I am excited by theatre where the boundaries of reality dissolve, different orders of time coexist, and space undergoes a transformation that can only be activated by the collective imagination.

As a director, I strive to create art that transcends tragedy, transforming shattered memories and tumultuous circumstances into a catalyst for liberation and empowerment.

I seek to return the story to the character who was wronged, or the one history refused to see. The story’s truest core becomes my compass and from there, I build—with love, curiosity, and the magnificence of the ensemble.

I also believe theatre should predict the future. I tend to work on plays and musicals that resonate across cultures (most of the time, through laughter) and have a cyclical warning to them.