Healer | Storyteller
Marisa has two shows in development.
Wrapped in the unique shell of late-blooming queerness and polyamory, MAYA JANE is a story of self-discovery that follows a fat Black photographer navigating the recent death of her mother and her subsequent inability to pick up her camera. When Maya and her boyfriend decide to open their relationship, Maya begins to awaken to herself through the eyes of her new lovers
Set in the near future, BUNDLED follows a woman living in a run-down suburb who wins a lottery for her, her husband, and their two children to join a bundled, corporate-sponsored community where they will get to live how the privileged live. But soon, she will discover this new world she's trying to navigate might not be the dream she expected.
The Diversity Editor
Marisa uses her experiences as a Black Queer woman, former Broadway actor, and current writer by applying her unique perspective to bring added integrity to scripts, production teams, and networks in the TV and film industry.
Marisa works with entertainment industry professionals by using the principles of Spiritual Activism, Anti-Oppression, and Community & Collaboration to cultivate more authenticity and trust within organizations.
Historically Extraordinary
Marisa, alongside Harlow Raye Etienne, is recording a podcast that uses researched historical context as a launching pad for conversations that explore identities and life choices that go against what is today considered "normal" but was once mainstream.
From nonbinary to polyamory to policing, Marisa and Harlow challenge today's dominant societal and cultural ideas by exploring the history while offering a peek into the lives of people who are living extraordinary lives.
Academic Research
As of November 2023, Marisa’s research includes using Black feminist theory, narrative theory, and cultivation theory as lenses through which to view how intersectionality, misogynoir, and anti-Blackness via the white gaze contribute to the delegitimization of Black women and femme activists. Specifically, how these theoretical frameworks influence the creation and shaping of culture via the media and how that influences Black women and femme activists’ representation in the press.
