Bio
With over two decades as a Theatre Educator and Musical Theatre Director, Elissa Marks Marele She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Theatre Education from The University of South Florida and a Masters of Education in Interdisciplinary Arts from Nova Southeastern University. Elissa is an Award Winning Artistic Director with alumni living and working as professional theatre actors, directors, and composers in New York, Georgia, and Florida. Elissa was most recently the Theatre Director at Dekalb School of the Arts. Prior to that, she proudly ran the Middle Learning Theatre Program at The Galloway School. From 2010 - 2016, she was the Artistic Director of the Musical Theatre Company at Woodland High School’s Performing Arts Program. Elissa grew up in South Florida where she trained at Fort Lauderdale Children's Theatre. It was there that she fell in love with directing and knew she wanted to become a drama teacher. Before she moved to Atlanta, Elissa was the Drama Director at Pope John Paul II High School (currently Saint Paul II Academy) in Boca Raton, FL and was actively involved in Florida State Thespians and the South Florida Cappies Program. Elissa was awarded the Teacher's Creative Innovation Award in 2018 and her productions have been recognized with Shuler Hensley nominations, Cappies nominations and awards, as well as Critics Choice honors in both Florida and Georgia.