Maria Nicolacakis is a lifelong educator, a writer, and a SAG/AFTRA performer with over 25 years of experience in arts and education. As an educator, Maria has worked with diverse populations, from at-risk teens in the city, to college students at USC, CalArts, and Emerson College, where she is currently on faculty. She recently completed the “Transformational Teaching” program, and is a three-time winner of the Emerson College Professional Development faculty grant.

Maria’s voice over work spans film, video games and television, including multiple seasons on Elementary and CSI:New York. She is a founding Ensemble Member of the critically acclaimed Syzygy Theatre Group, the first 99-seat theater company in Los Angeles to provide full AEA contracts for all mainstage productions.

A native midwesterner, Maria began her career in Chicago, where she performed in numerous plays, humored audiences at the ImprovOlympic, and toured nationally in over 25 shows in repertory. Maria is a former dancer, most notably as a guest artist with the New York City Ballet.

• UCLA I College Counseling Certification | With Distinction

• California Institute of the Arts | MFA, scholarship recipient

• Emerson College | BFA magna cum laude, Harvard/ART Internship, Gold Key Honor Society

• Sackett Street Writer’s Workshop NYC | Non-fiction Creative Writing Workshop

• Named a VOYAGE LA’S “HIDDEN GEM”! Read the interview here.