Marianna is THE person to work with. The education she provided me in both a Scene Study and in Private Coaching setting is incomparable and truly changed my life as actor (that is not an overstatement). Her knowledge as a director, performer, and teacher is unparalleled - and it lends itself to a versatile, challenging and FUN educational experience. I would work with her on any project, any day!

—Jackson Grove, Boston Conservatory BFA Class of 2021

Marianna inspires creativity and boldness and joy and power in her students. She made me feel not only that I had potential, but that there are actual ways for me to meet that potential. She helped me see that being a young actor didn’t mean I was going to do great things someday; it means I can do great things now. Her mentorship and coaching and trust are what made that thinking possible. I have never been so excited to show a director what I could do.

—Elise Piliponis, Northeastern University Class of 2022

For years, I've known Marianna as one of the most prolific actors of our time and have consistently been in awe of her ability to command a stage. In more recent years, I've had the opportunity to work with her as a director and coach. Marianna is compassionate, generous, and intuitive, with an eye for subtlety and nuance that benefits all those with whom she works. She has taken all that she has learned on stage, shaped it, and used it to become the most thorough, specific, and insightful of teachers. Everyone she works with is better for it.

—Alex Lonati, Community & Artistic Programs Manager
SpeakEasy Stage Co.

Marianna brings emotional intelligence and curiosity to all her work. She is as comfortable with Chekhov and Shakespeare, as she is digging into a world premiere, and creating characters that have never existed before. She infuses her work both onstage and in the classroom with humanity and generosity. She is rigorous, kind, and makes any working space she inhabits, a place of creative joy.

— Melinda Lopez, Playwright and teacher

Marianna Bassham has a knack for taking the most complex, enriching ideas and breaking them down in a way that anyone could understand.

—Steven Sawan, Boston Conservatory at Berklee MFA Class of 2022