Hello :)
Mia grew up romping, rolling, rambling, and rambunctiously throwing themselves into marinara sauce and many other zesty, expressive festivities. As a tried and true misfit, what Mia lacked in social status, they made up for in creative, and frequently dramatic, imaginings. Raised as an only child in Vermont, Mia’s backyard was her set, canvass, dance floor, studio; a multi-functional playground for wherever her made-up worlds took her.
Through their upbringing and beyond, Mia’s creative energy knew no bounds. As a young person she did countless plays and musicals as well as taking dance and visual art lessons. Creative writing and poetry have always been a means for her emotional processing and making sense of her human experiences.
As a certified, and now proud, weirdo, Mia delights in being able to provide a sense of creative permission-giving and freedom to those who engage with their work, whether that be in the classroom, inside of the immersive, devised performances, or through one of the many community arts initiatives they have helped bring to life.
One of those current initiatives is a project called MakeSPACE that functions in collaboration with the Philadelphia School District. Mia represents Yes! And…. Collaborative Arts in her leadership role on this project. Facilitating Professional Development sessions with teachers from Philly Schools is one of the many places in Mia’s career where their role is to be the silliest and most “embarrassing” (whatever embarrassing means….) in the room, aiming to model reclaiming the fullness of one’s self expression as an act of rebellion, ownership, self-worth, and radical acceptance. Mia believes practicing inclusivity with oneself (accepting all of our parts) is a vital first step to practicing inclusivity with others.
Mia is a moving human. They believe movement of all kinds is the secret ingredient in the Sunday gravy of life. Her big Italian family is filled with a long lineage of artists and maker/creators. It is through the process of connecting with this heritage through movement that Mia invests in the process of understanding herself. Moving is a sacred process for Mia. While dance, acrobatics, and other codified movement styles have been a prominent part of her professional work, her personal movement practices are intertwined with her oxygen; literally. Mia believes to breathe is to move.
Mia has been developing a research project entitled, ‘The Playground’ for almost a decade now. Her research is rooted in unearthing the movement practices of ancient, indigenous bodies and cultures.
Mia believes that one reality of our colonized western world is that our bodies have also been colonized. In application this means that our bodies frequently reflect the dominant culture of the environment in which we live. Here in American, that dominant culture is and has always been, white supremacy culture. Mia’s research breaks down how the pillars of white supremacy culture show up in the body. Mia believes to make art is to shape culture; that engaging artistically comes with a responsibility as it contributes to collective identity.
The TLDR:
Mia’s ethos is love
For them that looks like truth, growth, understanding, and building community
In a world lacking a lot of tangible love, Mia’s art seeks love through grasping, releasing, trying, failing, flying, falling, trying again, embracing, letting go, getting messy, reregulating, grappling, and collaborating.
Mia MOVES through and with mess. And aims to empower others to do the same.
Art is health. Breath is movement. To be alive is to be creative.
If you don’t believe me, give me a chance to show you, and/or if you DO believe me and you’re interested in working together:
Mia’s work in Philly has been featured at The PMA, The Please Touch Museum, The Philadelphia Flower Show, in schools throughout the city, and in Collaboration with artists such as Reggie Wilson, Jillian Jetton, Mackenzie Raine Kirkman and Sabriaya Shipley. Mia has two degrees in acting and performance.
Mia’s materials:
Performance Samples:
Movement
TYA Podcast
Original Work
Supporters of Mia’s work include:
