ABOUT ME

Karissa is an award winning Filipino American theatre artist based out of Chicago. Originally from Idaho, she strives to bring her multicultural experience and passion for diversity to her work in acting, playwriting, producing, directing, and casting.

She is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder at Bramble Theatre Company and was featured in American Theatre Magazine’s “Theatre Workers You Should Know” in 2020 for her advocacy work in casting.

An O’Neill Finalist, her plays have been produced and/or developed at Goodman Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, American Blues Theatre, The Gift Theatre, A Red Orchid Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Boise Contemporary Theatre, City Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre, Avalanche Theatre, Our Perspective: Asian American Plays, and Bramble. She is member of the Dramatists Guild.

A proud SAG-AFTRA actor, she has a BA in Theatre Arts from Boise State University and an MFA in Performance from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she received multiple acting awards including three nominations for her acting work from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Irene Ryan Awards and represented UH at those regional competitions. She is also a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf, Class of 2019. Her theatre credits include working at Court Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Goodman Theatre, The House Theatre of Chicago, and Renaissance Theaterworks. Television work includes Chicago Med, Chicago PD, The Big Leap, Exorcist, and Electric Dreams.

She and her husband Mark love to take their rescue dog Sibby out on hikes. When not in rehearsal, Karissa can usually be found watching Kim’s Convenience on Netflix, cooking her grandmother’s Filipino recipes, and skulking in local bookshops.