About

Marissa Orjalo is an award-winning Filipina-Canadian multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. She began acting at the age of five, with film & television credits including ReGenesis, The Smart Woman Survival Guide, and Going Up. Marissa is a respected actor, composer, singer, playwright, teacher, and academic within the Toronto theatre community.

Marissa is a trained Classical opera singer and Classical piano player with the Royal Conservatory of Music. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto & Sheridan College’s Theatre and Drama Studies Program. Marissa furthered her studies with a Master of Arts, supported by the Joseph Armand Bombardier 2021 SSHRC award, researching Filipinx theatre methodologies in Canadian rehearsal rooms. She additionally completed Stratford Festival’s Birmingham Conservatory in 2024.

She has been with the Stratford Festival since 2023, and goes into her third season this year as Shakespeare’s Perdita in The Winter’s Tale, and as Hermione in the world premiere of Ransacking Troy by Erin Shields.

Alongside her acting endeavors, Marissa is also the Artistic Producer at fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company (which she considers her artistic home), and is also an Artist Educator with the fantastic people at Studio 180 Theatre.

In her spare time, she enjoys knitting, writing, playing anything from the Assassin’s Creed Franchise, and spending time with her cat, Anakin.

Links & Recognitions

  • Marissa was awarded the Douglas Campbell Award to assist in the creation of her play twice blessed.

    Awarded to a group or individual to assist in the creation of theatre.

  • Marissa was awarded the Dora Mavor Moore Award for her outstanding contributions to the Festival during her debut season.

    An award to a young person early in their professional career who has made an outstanding contribution to the Festival in the following areas: acting, writing, design, direction, production. The award is intended to commemorate Mrs. Moore’s 64 years in the professional theatre as actress, writer, director, producer and teacher, her special contribution to the birth of the Stratford Festival, and her life-long objective, exemplified in the motto of her New Play Society, “to establish a living theatre in Canada on a professional but non-profit basis.”

  • Marissa was awarded the Joseph-Armand Bombardier SSHRC award for her Master’s thesis on Filipinx Canadian Theatre Methodologies.

    The Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Master's Scholarships funding opportunity seeks to develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students in the social sciences and humanities who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies.