A Little About Me

My name is Miranda Poett. I grew up on my family’s cattle ranch in the central coast of California, before attending a beautiful little, hippy boarding school in the woods called Midland. And when I say little I mean, 13 kids in my graduating class, little. But it was there, at our small amphitheatre nestled in the trees, that my love of theatre transformed from hobby into something I knew would be a lifelong pursuit. After I had the privilege of attending the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Summer Seminar I discovered a deep love for The Classics. This new obsession would inspire the basis for my Senior Thesis; my first ever self produced project. I’m not sure I comprehended what I was getting myself into at the time, but that year I directed, designed, and performed the late Lynn Regrave’s one person play Shakespeare for my Father, which remains one of the most transformative and impactful experiences of my career and constantly inspires my artistry to this day. 

  In the fall of 2010 I said goodbye to my beloved west coast for colder winters and better pizza as I began the next chapter of my journey at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.  The structure of Drew’s theatre BA allowed me to expand my interests beyond just performance. The design program was as strong as the acting track and it wasn’t long before I fell in love with Lighting Design and would begin to expand my view of myself as an artist. While, due to unforeseen circumstances I had to leave Drew after my third semester, my time there lay an incredible foundation for my training and helped shape me into the multi-disciplinary artist I am today.  

After leaving Drew I spent a year back in California, working in the cellar of a winery not far from home, before making my inevitable return to New York. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stay away from the east coast long, and in January of 2013 I said farewell to the ranch and made Brooklyn my new home. It took me a few months to find my footing in this strange new city, but around August that year a friend from high school, Emma Rosa Went, invited me to come audition for her all female production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. I would go on to play Longaville, and it was during this process that I was introduced to a theatrical community that would go on to shape the next several years of my life. 

In the spring of 2014, I was accepted into The New School for Drama’s BFA program, and finally had the opportunity to continue my education and training. Over the next four years, beyond the usual course of studies, I would go on to develop a deep love for mask and clown, find a new appreciation for my body as instrument through feldenkrais and Alexander, rediscover my voice and love for singing, and begin to truly hone my Shakespeare skills. I had the privilege of performing in 4 of the school’s Main Stage productions which allowed me the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting directors and designers in the field and even originate a role in Monstrosity, a new Lucy Thurber piece directed by Sherri Eden Barber. My time at The New School culminated with my Senior Thesis Project, House of Andronica: A Titus Redux, which was a 30 minute reworking of Titus Andronicus that focused on Titus as a Woman and Mother. This experience felt like a full circle moment as I closed out my undergraduate education, and in May of 2018 I finally received my diploma. I am eternally grateful for my time at The New School and the many important lessons I faced there, both artistically, and personally.

While I was at The New School I continued to work and grow outside of our west village cohort. For almost 5 years I was a Core Member of an NYC based, indie theatre company named The Skeleton Rep(resents), founded by Ria T. DiLullo, who’s main principle was the exploration of modern myth. Over the course of my time with the company I would learn what it meant to truly build a show from the ground up. I was an actor, producer, social media manager, and resident Lighting Designer.  We produced countless readings and workshops, working with some of the most exciting upcoming playwrights such as Elijah Guo, Emily Claire Schmitt, Dani Martineck, Matt Barbot, to name a few. We found an artistic hub at The TankNYC and produced 4 fully staged, exciting new productions. The last of which was a remount of Devices of Torture, which we had premiered at FringeNYC a few years earlier, in January of 2020. 

And then COVID hit. I was lucky enough to participate in several zoom readings, help a friend develop a new play, and even Gaff a short film that was nominated for Best Horror at Toronto Festival of Cift and San Francisco Indie Short Festival. Most recently I had the absolute honor of filming my first ever TV Pilot as the series lead. Left of the Dial, directed by Andrew Lawton and produced by Kinetic Studios will premiere this December and I can’t wait to share it with you.

~Miranda Poett

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