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Mirla Criste earned her B.A., completing a Theatre Major and Dance Minor, at Oberlin College. She then played lead and featured roles in more than a score of classical and contemporary dramas, musicals, films and commercials in and out of New York City before making her Broadway debut in the original cast of Miss Saigon. After four-and-a-half years on Broadway, she headed for the West Coast to earn her Master of Fine Arts degree in Drama at the University of California - Irvine. While in Los Angeles, she served as assistant to casting director Clair Sinnett. She has written, directed, choreographed, vocal-coached, produced, designed, composed for and performed in almost two decades of professional film, television, concert dance, and the dramatic and musical stage. Mirla has designed and taught a number of arts curricula all over the country to students at every level through the professional. In the Fall of 2004, she accepted a tenure-track position at the University of Georgia's Department of Theatre and Film Studies, where she currently teaches acting, voice, and movement in the graduate and undergraduate performance programs, and serves as a member of the Graduate Faculty. Earlier this year, Mirla directed and choreographed Urinetown for the University Theatre. On leave from UGA during the Spring of 2008, she will present her research at three venues in the coming few months, in Mexico, Athens and Denver. In addition to her work in the arts and arts education, Mirla has been highly active in fundraising for charitable organizations such as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Mirla is featured in the 2005 edition of Who's Who in America. She is a member of Actors Equity Association, AFTRA, and the Screen Actors Guild. |