Carisa Barreca is an accomplished performer, host, writer, director, and choreographer with a diverse career spanning theater, television, and dance. An alumna of The Second City's Resident Stage, Carisa wrote and performed in three critically acclaimed revues: Soul Brother, Where Art Thou, Clown Car Named Desire, and Apes of Wrath. She also had the honor of performing at Lyric Opera alongside Patrick Stewart and Renée Fleming in The Second City’s Guide to the Opera.
Carisa performed at the Kennedy Center and Goodman Theater in Twist Your Dickens. She also wrote and performed in The Art of Falling, a collaboration between Hubbard Street Dance and The Second City, which premiered at the Harris Theater in Chicago and the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles.
As a director, Carisa helmed the award-winning 2023/24 Mainstage Revue Don’t Quit Your Daydream and the Jeff Award Recommended e.t.c. Revue Best Kept Secret: Tell Everyone! She also directed and choreographed, and performed in the long-running, award-winning She The People, which she helped create as a writer and associate director.
Carisa’s television and film credits include recurring roles as GiGi on Big Leap, Lizzie on Empire (Fox), Sue on Hot Date (POPTV), as well as appearances on Chicago Fire. She is also the creator, writer, performer, and producer of her award-winning web series Doomsdate.
In addition to her acting and writing work, Carisa is a founding member and Artistic Director of Matter Dance Company, which has been voted Best Dance Company by the Chicago Reader, with Carisa being recognized as Best Choreographer.
During the pandemic, Carisa hosted the highly praised virtual series Girls Night In!, welcoming guests such as Colin Mochrie, Rosie Jones, and Flo & Joan.
Currently, Carisa is the Director of the National Touring Company at The Second City.