Melissa Cunha
Company Manager, Actor, Stage Manager
Melissa is a Persian American interdisciplinary artist and embodied actor. She is among the founding Core Members of Bike City Theatre Company. She has worked as a: stage manager, production manager, company manager, director, educator, and actor for BCTC. Her projects within the company have included GUTENBERG THE MUSICAL!, THE RAPE OF THE SABINE WOMEN, THE TERRA SHOW, THE GREAT STAMPEDE, CLOWN JAIL, and THEATER ON THE BLOCK as well as leading several of BCTC’s afterschool and summer educational programs.
Melissa received her B.A. in Dramatic Arts and Film Studies at UC Davis, where she focused on experimental Shakespeare with Peter Lichtenfels. This is where she found her passion as an embodied actor for devised, experimental work. Her credits included ROMEO AND JULIET, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, RICHARD III, GONE MISSING, and THE SHAPE OF THINGS. During her undergraduate work at UCD, Melissa had a passion for collaborating with her peers, and became a founding member of Millennial Theater: a company focused on original, and inclusive devised pieces of work. Apart from acting, she interned for Music Circus at Broadway Sacramento. She also focused on stage managing and assistant stage managing for the local Davis Shakespeare Festival on their shows CYRANO DE BERGERAC, BELLS ARE RINGING, ROMEO AND JULIET, and DSF’s Youth Theater’s THE TEMPEST.
After graduating, she performed internationally on ELEMENTS by Shogo Ota in Bogotá, Colombia. Melissa later became a certified yoga instructor focusing her studies on the importance of the human body and wellness.
Melissa went on to receive her M.A. in Theater Arts with a focus on education and acting from University of CA, Santa Cruz. At the university, she taught beginning levels of acting for undergraduates and held her own yoga class for actors. Her credits at UCSC include Karen in THE CHILDREN’S HOUR, and assistant directing for Kinan Valdez on AMERICAN NIGHT: THE BALLAD OF JUAN JOSE.
Following graduation from UCSC, she trekked across the country to NYC where she worked on film and experimental theater with The Builders Association with Marianne Weems. She understudied and assistant stage managed for their production of ELEMENTS OF OZ.
Currently Melissa is heading up BCTC’s summer educational program for the Davis Joint Unified School District, as well as developing BCTC’s Experimental offerings, which will debut as part of the Salon Reading Series when it returns.