ABOUT MAAYAN
Art should move the viewer. Full stop. End of story. Everything I do stems from this one idea. My goal with every project is to immerse the audience in a safe space where they can feel deeply and, in longer formats, experience catharsis.
Voiceover
(If you're looking for a resume, scroll down or click here)
Maayan's first voiceover experience was in college, when she voiced 5 different characters for a single animation class at her school, including both sides of a toddler fight and a videogame-loving grandma. A big fan of DisneyXD, she cosplays as Mabel from Gravity Falls and is devastated that she probably won't get to voice a character on The Owl House since it only has one more season.
She also does a terrifyingly accurate Smeagol impression.
These days you can find her in her office closet, which she has converted into a home booth.
Opera
(If you're looking for a resume, scroll down or click here)
A mezzo-soprano, Maayan's voice has been described by her old roommate as "warm dark navy blue." Actual critics have described it as "lush," "powerful," and "splendid." Critics also think she's funny, having described her as a "quite exciting comedic surprise" and a "delightful comic actor." Even Opera News got in on the action, saying she handled her role as Leila in Iolanthe "with skill and humor."
A native San Franciscan, Maayan's first experience in an opera was when she was 12, as a gingerbread girl in a San Francisco Opera production of Hänsel & Gretel. That experience sucked her into opera for good. As a child, she knew she wanted to sing and act, memorizing Disney movies, and she sang with the San Francisco Girls Chorus from 10-17 years old (which was what facilitated the SF Opera opportunity). She studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater for several years in her teens, where dialects was her favorite class.
Maayan loves audience engagement. She is part of The Opera Collective, a group of singers who regularly perform in the NYC subway stations, and made a man happy-cry in the Times Square station once. When she performed the title role in Ravel's L'Enfant for an audience of elementary school children her favorite moment was when the Princess entered dressed as Elsa and the children all gasped loudly (however when she asked the kids what their favorite part was they all said the Fire, who was dressed as Maleficent - go figure). She did a bit of teen outreach with Cinnabar Theater where she described The Ring Cycle as an "epic fanfic about Thor's extended family." She stands by this statement.
Other Shenanigans
In a lifelong attempt to avoid being described as boring, Maayan has dabbled in many disciplines. Luckily, life experiences tend to enrich each other, so that's worked out in her favor. Along with her casual hobbies and penchant for arts and crafts, she:
- Played flute for 14 years (and piccolo for 8) and will still bust it out if you ask her nicely
- Directed a full production of Händel's Alcina with OperaRox Productions
- Was a member of the New York Opera Alliance Executive Committee for 5 years
- Choreographed the Tannhäuser bacchanale (really fun story, ask her about it over drinks) for Apotheosis Opera
- Designed/ran lighting for her friends' burlesques (also a fun story)
- Sang in her friends' burlesques
- Did not do burlesque (yet)
- Stage managed and assisted on several productions over the years
- Knows kung fu