Marc Wasserman is a renaissance man as evidenced by his extensive array of experiences and diverse influences on his style. He attended Whitney High School, one of the top ranking High Schools in the Country; the subject of the bestselling book School of Dreams. With his own dreams of becoming an actor and filmmaker, Marc founded and was the first president of his High School’s Drama Club. His focus throughout his high school years was on the arts; thriving in his acting workshops and performing in summer stock musicals and plays. Each high school experience collectively prepared him for his college career as a Theater Arts major at the University of California Irvine. While attending UC Irvine, Marc was faced with an unanticipated obstacle; he was diagnosed with the potentially fatal illness, Meningitis and was bed ridden for 5 months. Once he recovered, he decided to take a break and withdrew from college, leaving in good standing. From there he went to Hollywood to pursue his dreams. After years of hard work, landing roles in plays, films, television, musicals and PSA’s, Marc added writing to his resume. His first screenplay was titled Terminal which is based on his near death experience with meningitis. Marc also tried his hand in filmmaking, writing a script that he ultimately decided to produce himself; though it was halted due to financial issues. After some thought, in 1992 Marc returned to college.
Instead of returning to UC Irvine, he chose to attend 4 different community colleges, cramming 3 years of schooling into just 1 ½ years. Realizing his full potential, Marc’s focus shifted from The Arts to Law. He made the decision to take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) and enrolled at Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, CA. Marc had completed several college courses in the past, but his strength in academics was not apparent until Law School. It was the fear of failure that pushed him to excel, spending countless hours studying in the Law Library. Resulting from his commitment to succeed, he became an honor student, won an American Jurisprudence Award for legal writing, and completed Law School in just 2 ½ years. Marc’s next step was to take The California State Bar exam, which was more of a challenge; passing the test on his third attempt. His experience is documented in his semi autobiographical film, Triple Latte. Marc was sworn in June, 1996 and became an attorney; while that same year, Prop 215 passed in California.
Rather than work for a big law firm, Marc opened his own law office and began practicing criminal defense. Aligning his legal achievements with the passing of Prop 215, the majority of cases were related to those wrongly accused of marijuana crimes under the new law.
Over the next 20 years, Marc divided his time between his law practice, making movies, and starting a family. In 1996 he and his best friend David Cohen established Res Ipsa Production and produced his play ‘Terminal’ which Marc had written years earlier. It ran at the McCadden Theater in Hollywood for an entire month before premiering on the big screen at the Bare Bones International Film Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Marc continued producing, writing, and acting for several projects; all of which are noted on his IMDB page: Marc Wasserman.
