By Freddie Gutierrez
Yes, the world changed after what we went through with the spread of Covid-19, which shifted our routines and uprooted our ways of life. One of the professions that was most affected was acting, same as with all professions tied to the entertainment business.
For Marianna Cossu, an Italian artist living in New York with an impeccable acting training, it has been quite a challenge. Living in a city that closed all its theaters and kept still for more than a year, time and space for pondering was abundant.
Marianna remembers, “My inclination for acting is strongly linked to my origins and the influence of my family on my childhood. I was born in Sardinia, a beautiful island in southern Italy, where I’ve been encouraged to be in contact with nature and explore different forms of art such as painting, sculpting and playing the piano from an early age. I am in love with the craft of acting as it reflects the subtle and complex beauty of life. From this love and my huge desire to live fully comes my passion for acting.”
In the middle of the pandemic was just the right time to persevere. “Despite the challenge of covid I had the opportunity to enter The Actors Society, become member of a theater company, collaborate with a lot of international and local artists and get to meet personalities in the industry like agents, directors and producers and create important contacts with The Actors Studio. Many theater productions had to be canceled but there has always been a positive outcome. I created an even stronger relationship with off Broadway personalities and worked with an online platform for which I was performing monologues and original pieces every week. Some of the great artists I had the opportunity to work with were Maggie Low, Dina Vovsi, Michael Toomey, Paul Gregory Schlott, Maarten Cornelis and John Lant, among others,” Marianna said.
She aspires to build a career much like that of the renowned Marion Cotillard and Anna Magnani. Along the way she has had the chance of working in Europe with Mahmood, who represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, and participated in similar events with Cristian De Sica, known for his part in “The Tourist”. “Other great personalities I have had the luck to collaborate with are Eugenio Barba, founder of Odin Teatret, Kuniaki Ida, heir of Jacques Lecoq, Michael E. Rodgers, who has participated in many Italian and Hollywood productions such as “Gia” with Angelina Jolie and Andrea Pennacchi, a very well-known actor and director. He’s a master to me. He encouraged me to per-sue acting on a professional level.”
Thankfully the entertainment business is in full recovery and is currently an open ground for figures like Marianna to shine once again. She has become a staple for directors seeking well trained and talented actors like her who have been resilient throughout everything that has happened in the show business.
