Melissa Aquiles is a Portuguese-American actor, writer, and director. Her extensive training in improvisation with comedy, the Meisner technique, and Clown work led her to embrace the "yes and" philosophy fully. A lover of storytelling, her acting style has been described as idiosyncratic for her ability to switch from drama to comedy (and vice versa) and work with a wide range of projects within multiple genres. 

She believes in the value of vulnerability, curiosity, care, play, deep listening, and the willingness to fail and take risks to pursue what "feels right" inside the creative process. No matter the project or her role, being in that dialogue with her collaborators brings her to life each day. 

Comedy is her first love, having studied and performed frequently at major comedy theaters such as Upright Citizens Brigade and The Peoples Improv Theater, as well as make-shift theaters like the back of bars, backyards, and one time a very fancy mattress store. However, expanding into dramatic work with Meisner Conservatory training at the Terry Knickerbocker Studio has only increased her sensibility and deepened her willingness to go all the way to follow the threads of an idea as it unfolds. If that means she's in a scene crying one minute, and the next minute she's laughing, she's down for the ride!

As a producer, she runs a production company with her husband and artistic partner, Jack Frederick. They produce, write, perform, and video edit an extensive range of content for clients ranging from Cracked.com to Precision Strategies. They also create original works, from live theatre to short films. Their first short film, Will You Please Hit Me, was picture-locked in February 2024.