Marissa Ghavami

Marissa Ghavami is an artist, advocate and creator based in New York City. She has worked as an actor, singer, voice over artist and model across theatre, film, television, radio, print and commercials since she was a child. Film and television highlights include starring in the recently released feature film The Gift of Christmas (2020) alongside Academy Award Nominee Bruce Davison and Dee Wallace (E. T.

Marissa was a Director's Pick for a 2020 (postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19) Queer Writer Fellowship at the Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. She is a Key in the Ring of Keys Organization.

Founded the nonprofit Healing TREE: Trauma Resources, Education & Empowerment in 2014.

She is the lead producer and attached as the co-director of a short Untitled Healing Trauma Documentary which is in development and which has Charles Baker ("Skinny Pete" of Breaking Bad (2008) and El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)) attached to voice over.

Marissa first gained national attention singing on NBC's legendary Showtime at the Apollo (1987) and was there discovered by Suzanne De Passe (Motown, The Jackson 5). More recently she has sung at NYC hot spots Joe's Pub at the Public Theater (in Dana Levinson's piece for the Musical Theatre Factory's Women & Trans Round Table), Birdland Theatre (alongside Tony Nominees Ariana DeBose and Kevin Chamberlin) and 54 Below (alongside Christina Bianco). She recently sang backup for Barry Manilow in The Carousel of Hope Ball. She also recently sang in The Rigano Songbook's "Screen To Screen" which won Ken Davenport's Rave Theater Festival Social Distancing Fest. She also lent her voice to the Ghostlight Concert benefitting The Actors Fund for COVID-19 Relief and St. Jude Hospital. She was seen on stage as the lead in the Off-Broadway staged reading of They Told Me To Use It at the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival directed by Ren Dara Santiago. She has done voice over work for such widely known brands as Audible (narrating Dr. Jamie Marich's Trauma and the 12 Steps: An Inclusive Guide to Enhancing Recovery), McDonald's, Ford and JCPenney. Additionally, she has done commercial and print work for Belvedere, PepsiCo's AMP Energy Drink, Girl Scout Cookies and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Marissa trained as an actor at the William Esper Studio under the renowned, late Bill Esper, has studied Advanced On Camera with Bob Krakower and takes ongoing acting classes with Karl Bury, Larry Moss' associate. She trained as a singer with the acclaimed Seth Riggs, Liz Caplan and, ongoing currently with Mike Ruckles. An advocate as well as an artist, Marissa is the founder of the nonprofit Healing TREE (Trauma Resources, Education & Empowerment) which advocates healing from abuse and trauma rather than coping with the symptoms, in order to transform lives and, ultimately, society. Healing TREE achieves this by providing trauma-focused resources and education and by producing and partnering with relevant film, television, and theatre, empowering the social change necessary to create a healing movement. Marissa has given educational and inspirational speaking engagements including post show talk-backs, workshops, trainings, breakout speeches, keynotes and Continuing Education Units (to doctors, nurses, psychologists, therapists and social workers), on abuse, trauma and healing at college campuses, medical clinics, residential treatment facilities, domestic violence shelters, theatres and conferences across the country. She led weekly Healing TREE Live events during physical distancing, amplifying Black voices, with special guests who are working artists from film, television and theatre as well as internationally recognized trauma experts. She also led a virtual event for The Mighty, a popular mental health community with a Facebook following of nearly 1. 5 million. Additionally, she is a healing trauma-focused coach and consultant, providing individual coaching, as well as consulting for arts professionals and organizations. As a creator, Marissa co-wrote (with award winning playwright David Caudle) and was the lead producer on Silk, a short film for Healing TREE, which was directed by John Magaro (The Many Saints of Newark (2021), The Umbrella Academy (2019), Carol (2015), The Big Short (2015)) and stars Crista Marie Jackson (The Greatest Showman (2017)), Fran Kranz (The Cabin in the Woods (2011), Much Ado About Nothing (2012), Garcia (Tales of the City (2019)) and Louisa Krause (Billions (2016)).

the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)), as well as roles in Paramount's theatrically released feature film Not Fade Away (2012), directed by David Chase and starring James Gandolfini, and on CBS's Without a Trace (2002).

A short narrative nod to the classic film Gaslight (1944), Silk will hit the festival circuit in 2021 and is currently screening (virtually) at colleges with accompanying workshops on the most insidious forms of abuse and trauma. Mass (2021), an upcoming feature film which she co-produced, was written and directed by Fran Kranz and stars award-winning actors Jason Isaacs (the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) film series, The Patriot (2000)), Reed Birney (Tony-winning actor of The Humans, House of Cards (2013)), Martha Plimpton (Emmy and Tony nominee, Raising Hope (2010), Running on Empty (1988)) and Ann Dowd (Emmy winner, The Handmaid's Tale (2017), [link-=tt0368008], Garden State (2004)). She co-produced and made her directorial debut co-directing the PSA Locked Inside Us for Healing TREE.