RENAISSANCE WOMAN
Local playwright, filmmaker, musician who charted Billboard releases EP
At just 17 years old, Commerce Townshipbased artist Elise Marra has just released her first self-titled EP.
It was recorded at 2nd Story Sound in New York City — The same studio where Marra’s sixth original musical theater production “Frankie! The Musical” saw its own cast recording made for Broadway Records. The album would go on to be submitted for a Grammy nomination by the record label and break into the Billboard Top 10 for Cast Albums last summer.
For Marra, who has written plays, composed music and produced shows since she was 15 years old, the news was more of a moment of pride than one of shock, she said.
“It was an exciting time. I always like to envision the best happening, then you do the work, and it’s nice when it pays off,” Marra said. “I watched the Grammy nomination announcements live, sitting on my bed. I didn’t get nominated, but it was cool, waiting to see if I’d be nominated for a Grammy on a weekday.”
Marra’s work has been performed locally at Pontiac’s Little Art Theater and Waterford’s Starlight Theater. By junior year of high school, she broke into the New York theater scene with an industry reading of “Frankie! The Musical.” It tells the coming of age story of a lesbian teenager struggling with the relationship between her siblings and her mother. She was featured in Playbill Magazine last June about the musical’s record.
The pandemic has all but strangled parts of the arts industry, including live theater productions. It was a tough adjustment for Marra. With less time
to dedicate to her work, she decided to graduate early from Walled Lake Northern High School in October. She’s now a composer in residence at Wayne State University.
Marra eventually turned to film, writing several shorts and one feature film, in the meantime.
“It wasn’t a hard transition from playwriting because film has always interested me and now, I have an opportunity to explore that. I’m shooting short films and music videos for my EP mostly,” she said. “The creative process feels similar but with less limitations. There’s more room to play with reactions and settings compared to if you’re writing a play or a musical.”
In her adjustment period, Marra also picked up a guitar. She started writing her own songs, acoustic pop and indie alternative. It was a completely new experience for the young artist. Instead of writing songs for characters to dramatically express their feelings or move a story forward, she was writing about her own thoughts, emotions and trials.
“In a musical when someone sings, you know what they’re singing about and who they’re singing to. If you don’t, it’s not the best song for a musical,” she said. “But with my music, it’s different. I’m the only one who knows who the songs are for, what each line is in reference to. But if someone else sings it, they know who they’re singing to. It’s this deeply specific, but also deeply universal, experience.”
The EP, released on No Reverse Records, consists of six indie alternative rock songs. It features themes of insecurity and self love, Marra said, reflecting on her internal journey through the pandemic.
“There’s a song on there called ‘Insecure’ and it’s like, I’m insecure, who isn’t? And just kind of vibing with all that,” she said. “Everyone has had a lot of time to take a good look at themselves and I’m sure a lot of people like myself maybe don’t like what they see or different aspects of your personality. But we all have those things. And the only one judging them is probably yourself, so you just got to vibe with them.”
The EP “Elise Marra” was produced by Mitchell Walker and Ashley Kate Adams with Joe Cogen on percussion, Dani Muniz on lead guitar and Alex Venguer on base and mixing. It’s available on streaming services and for purchase on music vendors like Apple and Google Play for $6.99.