Maria-Christina Oliveras

Through a series of fun masterclasses and performances, members of The Second City integrated the company’s tenets of improvisation into the curriculum of four Wesleyan performance courses. Since its premiere in 1959, The Second City has revolutionized improv as an art form and launched the careers of iconic performers ranging from John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Gilda Radner to Mike Myers, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Keegan-Michael Key. When Dean of the Arts and Humanities Roger Mathew Grant learned that The Second City would be available to come to Wesleyan, he thought about how improvisation is a foundational…

Assistant Professor of Theater Maria-Christina Oliveras was supposed to be a lawyer. While growing up in the Bronx, Oliveras became fascinated with musicals thanks to her father, an immigrant from Puerto Rico with a passion for “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Man of La Mancha.” She performed at her high school in New Rochelle, then majored in Theater at Yale University. As an undergraduate, she interned at the Manhattan Theatre Club and started acting professionally in "South Pacific.” After two years auditioning in New York, she pursued her M.F.A. at the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver before joining with a…

Watch the full event recording online here. And RSVP for the Theater Deparment's next event, "A Conversation with Associate Professor Rashida Shaw McMahon" at 4 p.m. Oct. 19. "Thank you again for all your support and presence," Oliveras said. "The first of many conversations, as we collectively lean into the stickiness and beautiful potential change of this moment."

This summer, award-winning actor, singer, producer, and new assistant professor of theater Maria-Christina Oliveras acted in the world premiere of Kiss My Aztec, a new musical on Latino history. Written by John Leguizamo and Tony Taccone, winners of the 2018 Special Tony Award for Latin History of Morons, the musical debuted May through July at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Performances will continue at La Jolla Playhouse starting Sept. 8. Oliveras became involved in the musical's developmental process in 2014, when it started out as a play and evolved over time. "I am a new works junkie. There is nothing like 'brain-childing' a piece…

The Second City Teaches Improvisation to Wesleyan students

“Building Muscles of Empathy:” Oliveras on Teaching Acting, a Pre-Broadway Run at Hartford Stage, and Embodying Antiracism

BIPOC Artists and Theatermakers Discuss the Challenges of Working in White Spaces

Theater’s Oliveras Performs in World Premiere of Kiss My Aztec!