Mara Jill Herman is an actor, executive producer, and creative consultant working in the performing arts and Jewish world. Through musicals, plays, live events, and short films, she connects people to each other and big ideas to foster change in our community.
“I view theater as a change agent, an interactive experience between artists and audiences that teaches us to laugh, heal, and grow. In its greatest form, theater leaves a lasting impact and breeds a culture of empaths.”
Mara’s performances have been noted as “the best casting,” “comically spooky,” "charming," “hilarious,” and "rich with style and flare.” She was nominated for BroadwayWorld Houston’s Best Supporting Performer in a Musical for her portrayal as Fruma-Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof.
Other favorites: Lucky Stiff (Annabel), Rent (Maureen), Guys and Dolls (Adelaide), Baby (Lizzie), On The Town (Hildy), and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Maria). International Tours include Disney On Classic (Mother Gothel) and Jesus Christ Superstar. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in We Are Here: Songs From The Holocaust with solo appearances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 54 Below, The Green Room 42, and Chelsea Table & Stage. Developmental highlights include The Band’s Visit, Sam’s Room, and The Bubble. Mara is featured on the demo for Talk of the Town and the concept album How To Repair A Mechanical Heart (streaming on Spotify/Apple Music/Amazon). Her satiric music videos have been hailed as “perfection,” “very versatile,” and “absolutely spectacular.”
Mara produced the first production of Pink Pancake’s Today You Are A Man! at The Tank. She was the Associate Producer on Matthew LaBanca’s Communion (the cell) and produced the first SOLD OUT run of S. Dylan Zwickel’s The Moss Maidens (SheNYC Arts Summer Theater Festival). The production won Best Ensemble and Best Play and made history with two extensions (a first in the festival’s eight-year existence).
Mara produced the Jewish Writers Mifgash, the inaugural conference for The Artists Against Antisemitism. Benefit concerts conceived, directed, and produced include Ruth Sent Us: A Benefit for Reproductive Justice, Changemakers: A Celebration of Women and StateraArts, and Stronger Than Hate: A Benefit for Tree of Life Synagogue. Additional producing credits include Museum of the Moving Image (Technotherapy NYC) ART/New York (Parent Artist Advocacy League) The Jewish Center (Jewish Voters Unite), and the Greek Jewish Festival (Simchat Torah Challenge).
Mara received NYFA’s City Artist Corps Grant and YoungArts’ Creative Grant for generating original work. She was featured on CBS Mornings with the Queens Theatre Senior Ensemble for Storytelling and Devised Theatre work. Additional Teaching Artist affiliations include YoungArts and New York Theatre Workshop.
Mara’s community organizing work includes Be An Arts Hero, Flip The Vote, Knock For Democracy, and the Alex Bores campaign.
An environmental advocate, Mara spearheaded an eco-friendly alternative to the Actors’ Equity Association plastic cards sent out bi-annually to 51,000 members. She presented the Digital Membership motion at the Eastern Regional Membership meeting, which resulted in the creation of a digital card option now in use.
Passionate about gender parity, she is a founding member of StateraArts Mentorship and on the Advisory Board of Her Story Mentorship.
Mara was selected for the second cohort of The Field’s 2023 Fiscal Sponsorship for Social Justice Arts Practitioners Program. She is a 2023 & 2024 nominee for the Barbara Whitman Award (Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation). She received the Young Alumni Service Award from her alma mater University of the Arts and resides in Astoria, New York.
