Bio

Full-length plays include: Venus Rising (Northern Stage) Sex and Other Disturbances (Edgerton winner, Portland Stage Company, 2018, semi-finalist, The Bridge Initiative,  Saving Kitty (Eliot Norton award Winner for Jennifer Coolidge Best Actress, The Nora Theater Company,  Mad Love, (O’Neill semi-finalist,  Clauder winner/Kilroy list, premiered at Northern Stage,  and is an audio drama titled The Defenestrator, produced by Wondery.

In the Fall of 2019 Kay Mellor’s  UK Musical Comedy, Fat Friends was  “Americanized” by Marisa and is being prepared for a US reading. 

In March of 2010 Marisa’s short play CUBS WINS! will be re-incarnated as a short opera in the Boston Opera Collaborative’s production of OPERA BITES.

Marisa’s many 10-Minute plays have been produced in the Boston Marathon of 10- Minute Plays, Barrington Stage, New Jersey Repertory and in many other theaters around the country and include Heideman finalist Total Expression.

Marisa is the co-founder of SMITH AND KRAUS PUBLISHERS, Publishers of trade books for the school, college and theatrical communities with over 700 titles in print.

Screenplays: Second Wind and Surprise Engagement for producer/director Andrew Silver. 

Full-Length Plays

VENUS RISING

Productions:

• Northern Stage, Dir. Jess Chayes, January-February 2019

SEX AND OTHER DISTURBANCES

Productions:

• Portland Stage, Dir. Nadia Tass, May 2018

• MandD Playhouse, North Conway NH, June 2022, Director Christopher Bellis

Awards:

• Playwrights First, New Play Award, semi-finalist, 2015

• The Bridge Initiative, New Work Contest, semi-finalist, 2017

FIVE BY FERBER (That’s Marriage, a one-act adapted from a short story by Edna Ferber)

New Jersey Repertory Company, June 2018

SAVING KITTY

Productions:

• Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Dir. Rand Forrester, July 2012

• New Jersey Repertory, Dir. Evan Bergman, June-July 2013

• Nora Theater Company, Dir. Lee Mikeska Gardner, July-August, 2015, starring Jennifer Coolidge.

• The Studio Players, Naples Florida, Dir. Scott Lilly, March 2023

 Selected Readings and Workshops:

• Williamstown Theater Festival, Dir. Moritz von Stuelpnagel, starring Jennifer Coolidge

• Lark Play Development Center, Dir. Giovanna Sardelli, starring Harriet Harris

• The Hayworth Theater, L.A., Dir. Ray Abruzzo, starring Wendie Malick

Awards:

• NH State Winner, Clauder Competition (Portland Stage, Maine), 2011

• Jennifer Coolidge, Eliot Norton Award winner for Best Actress, 2015

MAD LOVE

Productions:

• Northern Stage, Dir. Maggie Burrows, January-February 2016

• New Jersey Repertory, Dir. Evan Bergman, October-November 2016

Selected Readings and Workshops:

• New Works Now festival, Northern Stage, Dir. Theresa Rebeck, 2015

• University of Delaware’s Professional Theater Rep, the Lark Play Development Center, The Dorset Theater Festival and Dartmouth College.

Awards:

• NH State Winner, Clauder Competition (Portland Stage, Maine), 2012

• Eugene O’Neill Play Conference Semi-Finalist, 2013

• The Kilroy’s List, Honorable Mention, 2014

Radio Play/ Podcast of Mad Love, retitled The Defenestrator, produced by Wondery Production, Los Angeles, California. Producer: Jeffrey Glaser, March 2017.

THE DIVINE FAMILY COMEDY

Production:

• A Signal and Noise Production, The Eclipse Grange Theater, VT, Dir. Faith Catlin

Awards:

• Finalist, Lark Playwright’s Week

• Semi-Finalist, Playfest! Harriet Lake Festival of New Plays, Orlando Florida

10-Minute Plays

Marisa’s 10-Minute plays have been produced in the Boston Marathon of 10- Minute Plays, Barrington Stage in NY and in other theaters in VT, NH, Florida, New York and Massachusetts. They include: The Dress Rehearsal, Getting into Vassar, The Pre-Nup, Polar Bear Swim, Day One, Welcome to the Beekman Arms, No Love, Please, Cubs Win!  and Total Expression (Heideman Award Finalist, Actors Theater of Louisville.)

SHORT PLAYS (one-hour)

THE LUMPKIN SISTERS' CHIRSTMAS CAPER

Productions:

• Panache Productions at the Hanover Inn, Dir. Carol Dunne

• Yellow Taxi Productions, Dir. Suzanne Delle

PUBLICATIONS

Saving Kitty

“The New England New Play Anthology,” Publisher: Stage Source, Ed. Patrick Gabridge, 2017

Monologue from Getting into Vassar, “Mother/Daughter Monologues, Vol. 3,”
Publisher: International Centre for Women Playwrights.

 
The Dress Rehearsal

“Best 10-Minute Plays for 2 Actors,” Smith and Kraus, 2007.

 
Polar Bear Swim

“Best 10-Minute play of 2012,” Publisher: Smith and Kraus. 

The Pre-Nup and Total Expression

Appear in the Boston Theatre Marathon of 10- Minute Plays, Publisher: Smith and Kraus, 2009 and 2010.

 
No Love, Please

“Best 10-Minute Plays of 2016,” Publisher: Smith and Kraus.

 
Cubs Win!

“Best 10-Minute plays of 2017,” Publisher: Smith and Kraus

 
Saving Kitty

Productions in Print, Publisher: Smith and Kraus, 2013

 
Mad Love

Productions in Print, Publisher:  Smith and Kraus, 2015

Artists Residences and Writing Groups

• Resident Artist at The Marble House Project, Dorset, Vermont, September 5-Sept. 23, 2016

• Artist in Residence at The Hermitage Artist’s Retreat on Manasota Key Florida for 2015—present.

• Associate Artist at the Lark Play Development Center 2007-present.

• Writer at the Theresa Rebeck Writer’s Colony, Dorset, Vermont 2008- 2015 (one week annual retreat).

• Writer at the Monthly Meeting of the Minds, Lark Play Development Center, 2012, 2014.

Film

Second Wind, Dir. Andrew Silver, starring June Brown, Tamzin Merchant, Tamzin Outhwaite and Harriet Walter, an Andrew Silver Production, 2014.

Surprise Engagement, Dir. Andrew Silver, starring actors above, an Andrew Silver Production, 2016.

Web Series

The Russian Cousin  (2 episodes) produced and directed by Theresa Rebeck. Pre-production, June 2017.

Education

Wesleyan University, B.A. Theater.

Related Experience

Marisa is the co-owner and Publisher of Smith and Kraus Publishers, the leading publisher in the US of theater books for the trade with over 700 titles in print.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE: Playwright Marisa Smith will serve as the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (State College of Florida) Annette Dignam Writer in Residence for 2018.