Nell Geisslinger is a multi-disciplinary artist with a passion for storytelling. She believes her purpose on the planet is to breathe life into characters through work on stage, the page, with original music and lyrics, and her newfound love of marionettes. Click here to download her resume.
The daughter of a veteran Oregon Shakespeare Festival actor and working film/tv actress, Nell spent her childhood in greenrooms and on sets throughout the country and world. One of her earliest memories is turning 2 in London, where she was treated to "The Mister Men Musical". She still remembers vibrating with excitement in her mezzanine seat -- best gift a toddler ever got, thank you mama. As a teenager, her stepfather introduced her to The Kinks, Traffic and Steeleye Span, imparting a love of 1960s pop, rock and folk that continues today.
At 18 Nell was awarded an acting apprenticeship at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She spent the next few years sitting in on rehearsals, diving into understudy tracks and sneaking into back rows, booths and catwalks to watch whatever was playing whenever she could. Through the mentorship of Kenneth Albers, Libby Appel, Penny Metropulos, Robynn Rodriguez, Lue Douthit and many beloved others she sought to develop the stamina and versatility of a repertory company member. Nell began her tenure at OSF playing the maid in a production of Idiot's Delight -- and wrapped it up over a decade later running Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire and Kate in The Taming of the Shrew in rep. She will always remain grateful to those who lifted her up in Ashland.
Nell has appeared at regional theaters including South Coast Rep, Berkeley Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Milwaukee Rep, Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company, Theater at Boston Court Pasadena and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
From 2014 - 2023 she resided in Los Angeles where she appeared in numerous commercials, worked as a writer/producer on The Cooking Channel's Food: Fact or Fiction? and served as both a showrunner's and writer's assistant, developing projects for Alexa Junge, Nicole Perlman, STARZ, Lionsgate, Max, Apple TV+ and others.
A founding member of The Meriwethers band, Nell has traveled throughout the Western United States since 2014, sharing original songs in libraries, classrooms and commercial venues.
When she's not onstage she enjoys hiking, cooking and camping with her husband Kevin, scratching ancient terrier mutts Wilton and Clyde, and building and operating her expanding menagerie of marionettes. Winter 2023 has her happily at work on a puppet show inspired by Vampira, the iconic creation of Maila Nurmi.