Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Carpinelli.
Hi Maria, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
With four year old twins and a newborn, my parents were hungry to keep us occupied. Instead of sticking us in front of the TV, or sending us to our room, they thrust my sister and I into spaces filled with art. This included daily trips to the library to watch puppet shows, music classes sitting on my mom’s lap, or even banging pots and pans in the kitchen to a beat. I fully credit these early exposures to art and music for a lifelong passion to the magic art brings to our world. In 2020, I started my college audition process from the bonus room above our garage, during the worldwide pandemic. After a grueling nine month process filming dance tapes outside and taking voice lessons over Zoom, I committed to James Madison University and graduated in 2025 with my Bachelor’s in Musical Theatre. Since then I have been performing professionally across the Richmond metro area, including in the world orchestral premiere of The Rocky Horror Show with Richmond Triangle Players and the Richmond Symphony this Halloween. I also had the unique opportunity to lead the world premiere of small quiet good by Chandler Hubbard as Medusa.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I assume that any artist when posed this question is able to point to many struggles throughout their career- I don’t think an artist’s life is complete without them. As I mentioned, I spent my college audition process filming tapes in the bonus room above my garage and Zooming with schools from my bedroom. While I did find success and had multiple great program options to choose from, I couldn’t deny my desire to study at James Madison University. JMU is my parents’ alma mater and a school I have loved for my whole life. The only issue was, I got waitlisted for the musical theatre program. I was devastated. I knew JMU was where I wanted to spend my college years, but without the musical theatre program, it wasn’t going to look like what I had dreamed of. I had to make a decision – would I abandon the school I had loved for years and jeopardize my training, or would I pursue musical theatre at another university? I decided to commit to JMU’s acting major in April of 2021 and spent my freshman year feeling really lost. I made friends and experienced some great training and performance opportunities, but I knew this course of study wasn’t right for me. I spent my freshman year training and re-auditioned for musical theatre program in January. With silence from the professors, I finished my freshman year with a plan to create my own path at JMU without the musical theatre program. However, in July before my sophomore year of college, I found out I was accepted and would start in the program in the fall. Although this was nothing close to the extent of the struggles I have faced in my academic and professional career, it forced me to reckon with what I really wanted my life to look like and chase it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I like to say at my core I am a storyteller. I spent my time in undergrad studying and performing as a musical theatre artist, an actor, a devisor, a puppeteer, a children’s educator, and an academic. In a less poetic fashion, I am an artist and performer currently working out of the Richmond, VA metro area.
I completed my honors senior thesis at James Madison University in Theatre for Young Audiences and Solo Performance and I love thar genre, however it’s just one side of me. I actually often find myself drawn to material that is gritty and nuanced. Although it may not seem that way, so many of those qualities I am attracted to are found across varying performance genres. While performance for young students might not usually fall into the category of “gritty and nuanced work,” I tend to challenge that! One of the “rules” surround TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) work is that it disguises life lessons through art. The specific attention and significance that lies within that concept is monumental. I find my ability to illuminate these details and the humanity in any piece to be my specialty.
In more practical terms, I have been known for my honest and captivating performances and my controlled and powerful vocals. I am honored to have been welcomed and celebrated in the Richmond theatre community and to have worked here very consistently for almost a year now.
What’s next?
That can be a scary question when you are 23, however I can confidently say I really am looking to the future with a positive outlook. In the most immediate future, I will be playing Nellie Collins in Floyd Collins at Firehouse Theater in Richmond in November. This will be my first leading role in a professional musical and I am psyched. Beyond that, I am planning a move to New York City following my run and am so looking forward to finally living in the city I have been dreaming about since I was young. I am pleased to continue my work with my agents, Engage Artists Agency, and am excited to see what the Big Apple will bring!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mariacarpinelli.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_m.bridget_/?hl=en
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-carpinelli-7ab0872a7/
- Youtube: @mariac4961
- Other: mcarpinelli03@gmail .com (my email), info@engageartists.com (agent’s email)
Image Credits
Tom Topinka, Jason Collins, Aron Sutton, Richard Finkelstein
