Marie Ramirez Downing

Assistant Professor, Director of the Acting Program

Marie Ramirez Downing
Contact:
Office
Ives 67
Office Hours
Thursday:
12:00-13:00 And by Appointment
Biography

Marie is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, Performance (Acting, Voice and Movement) at Sonoma State University. She holds an M.F.A. in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, a B.A. in Theatre Arts, Acting from California State University, Fresno and is a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher via Kristin Linklater and the Linklater Center for Voice and Language in New York City (2012). She is also a Bronze Founding Member of the Linklater Centre in Orkney, Scotland. Marie has taught at a variety of Universities and Colleges. Most recently she was an instructor at Chico State (2015-2020) where she taught Acting and Social Wellness, Theatre Politics Performance and Power, Performance of Identity, Foundations of Acting and Movement for the Actor. She was Visiting Assistant Professor of Voice and Movement at Texas Tech University School of Theatre and Dance and a Guest Lecturer of voice, speech and presentation skills at U.C. Berkeley, Santa Clara University, The Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and The Theatre School at DePaul University. Marie has been an advocate for, and committed to CSU, Summer Arts and will coordinate a new course Performance of Identity: Past and Present Voices Meet in the Summer 2021. The course will feature Latinx playwright Octavio Solis and Lisa Wolpe - actor and founder of the all-female, multi-cultural Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company as her guest artists. Marie has presented identity and heritage, voice and acting workshops at The Association for Theatre in Higher Education, The Voice and Speech Trainers Association, The Southern Theatre Conference, and The Western Academy of Management. She is an elected member of the Board of Directors for The Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), a member of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and a KCACTF co-coordinator of The VASTA VOCAL EXCELLENCE AWARD as part of the VASTA Engagement committee.