MARIA-CHRISTINA OLIVERAS

I joined the Wesleyan University Theater Department in 2019 with twenty years of professional acting experience that spanned Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theaters, international festivals, and work in film and television. At the heart of my artistic practice is a deep dedication to new work (the majority of my work has been in world premieres) and re-exploring the classics through a contemporary lens.  I deeply believe in serving stories–using my instrument as an actor to embody character, illuminate the complexity of humanity, and provoke questions, and strive to bring rigor, passion, curiosity, versatility, craft, and joy to every creation, whether in the rehearsal room, onstage or on set.  

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Since my appointment, I have continued to perform professionally in major theater productions and leading roles on and off-Broadway and regionally; made major strides in film/television; thrived and expanded my repertoire into voice-over and radio plays during the pandemic; and participated in numerous new play and musical workshops:

Most recently, this past Winter, I performed  the dual roles of Belarius and the Queen in a modern verse adaptation of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, translated by Andrea Thome, directed by Stephen Brown-Fried.  It was produced off-Broadway at Classic Stage by the National Asian American Theater Company and Play On, and was an all-Asian American, all-femme production. This was a deeply satisfying creative collaboration.  I was able to dive deep into two very different roles–male/female, mother/father, warrior/queen.  Exploring these binaries and the complicated nuances within them called upon multiple skill sets and techniques, extensive voice and text work with the verse language and physical transformation, and meticulous dramaturgical work–meeting these technical demands furthered my development as an artist.  I was honored to receive a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play for my work in this.  

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Previous to that, in Fall 2024, I originated the role of Tina in the off-Broadway world premiere of A Woman Among Woman by Julia May Jonas at the Bushwick Starr.  Lauded for my “sharp and dangerous” take by New York magazine, this was a modern, feminist take on Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, and reflective of the type of work I am drawn to.  Similar to Cymbeline, I strive to reclaim narratives and offer my voice as a Filipina Puerto Rican woman to powerful, deeply complicated characters, re-defining not only what power looks and sounds like, but also who has the power to say the words, take space and be seen.

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In Winter 2022, I was thrilled to return to Broadway, starring opposite Tony-Award winner, Stephen McKinley Henderson in the 2015-Pulitizer prize winning play, Between Riverside and Crazy, by Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by Austin Pendleton. This was such an important piece for me, as this landscape reflected the working-class lives and communities I come from. And as an artist, this piece expanded my skill set–helping me further develop my skills in voice/dialect, refine my moment-to-moment work, and meet the technical demands of comedy.

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While on sabbatical in Fall 2022, I took on the leading role of Persephone in the Broadway national tour of Hadestown, directed by Tony-Award winner, Rachel Chavkin and written by Grammy-Award winner, Anaïs Mitchell. Playing this powerful, iconic figure challenged and expanded my capacities as an actor and singer, and once again, I was honored to help redefine what power looks and sounds like in cities across America and internationally.  I returned to the role from April-September 2023.

I continue my long-time collaborations with Tony-Award winner, Emmy-nominated acclaimed actor, activist, producer, John Leguizamo.  Over the past 10 years, I have helped develop Kiss My Aztec!, a new musical he co-wrote with David Kamp and Ben Velez, which was directed by Tony Award winner Tony Taccone; I have been a part of its development since 2013. We most recently did a production of it at Hartford Stage in the Spring of 2022, which many from the Wesleyan University community were able to attend.  This is such an important project to me, as it centers, celebrates, and illuminates Latine history.  It has also been vital in my development as an actor and collaborator.  Its many permutations have demanded flexibility, versatility and a wide range of skills, which I was constantly developing to meet the projects’ needs.  It is a project that continues to have life, and will likely be produced again in NYC in the 2026 season.

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I have also served as an actor for 69 workshops and readings with celebrated companies such as Eugene O’Neill Theater Conference, Second Stage, New York Theater Workshop, Clubbed Thumb, Atlantic Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, among numerous others.  I think it is vital to offer my voice in rooms at the beginning phases of inception, and offer my perspective as a woman of color.

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Furthermore, inspired by my Wesleyan University colleagues who devise original work, I have also developed quite a bit of my own creative content during my tenure.   My most exciting and challenging creative endeavor coming out of the pandemic was writing, performing and producing my first original cabaret show, The Glory of Love in August 2020.  I performed it at Feinstein’s/54 Below, and received rave reviews, and was nominated for the Broadway World Award for Best Solo Cabaret Debut.  I was thrilled to be invited back by 54 Below, so I am currently devising my next solo cabaret called On Saints and Sinners, to be performed in May 2026.

 

And even through the challenges of the pandemic and its devastating, paralyzing effects on the live entertainment industry, I was able to deepen and expand my performance practice. I was fortunate to participate as an actor in a number of ZOOM readings, workshops and productions, podcasts, film and television projects, and took the opportunity to create my own work.   ZOOM streaming highlights include a workshop/reading of  Danielle Stagger’s Content with the award winning off-Broadway theater, Second Stage, directed by Patricia MacGregor in May 2021; a reading of Football Play, written and directed by Pulitzer-Prize nominee, Kristoffer Diaz in February 2021; and a production of a play written specifically for the ZOOM platform, Bad Gal Boss by Kate Hamill, with the award-winning off-Broadway company, Primary Stages, directed by Tony Award winner, Moritz van Steuepenagel.

 

I was also excited to add podcasts to my repertoire during the pandemic: I played Ariel in Shakespeare@Home’s production of The Tempest, and am in the midst of recording Things with Friends by Kristoffer Diaz for The Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, one of the premiere hubs for new works’ development.  In 2024, I also did voice-over work for the video game, Grand Theft Auto.  

 

I took major strides forward in the television world, booking a recurring guest star, playing Deputy Mayor Esme Reyes’ on the CBS network show, "NCIS:NOLA" in Winter 2020-21, directed by Levar Burton (Roots, Star Trek, Reading Rainbow), and starring Scott Bakula (Quantam Leap).  I also booked the role of Reporter Pilar Diaz in the award-winning short film, Matthew, and in March 2024, appeared on the CBS network show, "Blue Bloods" as Detective Bea Johnson.  

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Looking forward, I remain deeply committed to developing new work, revisiting classics through a critical lens, and mentoring the next generation of theater-makers. I am currently working on a modern adaptation of William Inge’s Picnic, set in the Bronx and centered around a Quinceañera, and am working on an album, in conjunction with my upcoming cabaret, On Saints and Sinners, forthcoming in Spring 2026.  This summer, I will continue work on a new musical at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and continue my collaborations with artists like John Leguizamo.  My artistic life is hybrid by design—fluidly crossing the lines between stage and screen, tradition and innovation, teaching and performance.  And I remain dedicated to bringing my voice as a first-generation, Filipina, Puerto Rican woman to the theatrical landscape and beyond.