Biography

MELISSA TARDUNO was born in New York, but raised near Charlotte, NC. Melissa is a graduate of Catawba College, Salisbury N.C., where she graduated cum laude and won the Augustine Daly Award for excellence in theatre. She has been studying theatre for over 17 years and in 2020 participated in SETC’s Ready to Direct Competition where she met fellow early career directors and made connections with regional and university directors.

Recent directing credits include THE WOLVES and THREE ANNE FRANKS at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL, and HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL JR at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, MD. She has also directed an original production of THE FACTS OF LIFE in the Ten Minute Play Festival DIVERSIFIED at Lee Street Theatre. There, she worked closely with the playwright, Tom Bennett. Melissa has also directed a touring staged reading of OTHELLO, performed at Burning Coal Theatre in Raleigh, N.C. WAITING FOR LEFTY at Catawba College was her senior project when she collaborated the ideas of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed and Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre.

Melissa also has experience working in stage management and has developed a wonderful working relationship with the professional theatre company, Virginia Stage Company. Recent credits include THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, DETROIT ‘67, THE TEMPEST, and FUN HOME. She has worked with professional directors including Tom Jones, Bruce Warren, and Jessica Holt.

Melissa is currently pursuing her MFA in Directing at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL and is expected to graduate in Spring 2026.