ABOUT CARISA

Director • Actor • Writer • Comedian

Carisa Barreca is an award-winning director, actor, writer, and comedian who has spent over 17 years making audiences lean in, laugh together, and be a part of unforgettable live experiences. A longtime staple of Chicago’s legendary comedy scene, she is a veteran of Second City’s resident stages and director of both the National Touring Company and the Resident Stages. Most recently, she helmed Pandemonium Please Hold on the Chicago Mainstage, earning Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for Best Director.

Carisa thrives in the space where different artistic worlds collide. She has shared the opera stage with Sir Patrick Stewart and Renée Fleming, performed at the Kennedy Center, and helped create The Art of Falling, a massive, critically acclaimed collaboration with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago that played to packed houses at Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre. A prolific storyteller, she has written for and starred in the hit Second City revue She the People, and took home Best Actress at the Midwest Film Festival for her original web series, Doomsdate. You can also spot her on screen with recurring and guest roles on FOX’s The Big Leap and Empire, NBC’s Chicago Fire, and Pop TV’s Hot Date.

As the Artistic Director of Matter Dance Company, Carisa brings a unique toolkit to the director's chair. Because she is an actor, she understands how to protect and guide her cast. Because she is a comedian, she instinctively feels the rhythm of a room. And because she is a choreographer, she builds vibrant, unforgettable physical imagery. Carisa is obsessed with the exact moment an ensemble clicks and a story comes to life, and she does whatever it takes to make that magic happen.