I’m Raisa Donato (pronounced “Rice-uh”), ever since I was a kid growing up in LA, I loved watching action-packed TV shows and martial arts movies. From silver-screen classics to contemporary re-imaginings, my passion for the arts has always been inspired by the power of storytelling and its capacity for social change.

I began teaching Stage Combat in 2007—with Los Angeles youth non-profit Passado Action Theatre, before moving to the Bay Area where I have since taught and choreographed fight sequences for Bindlestiff (Stories High, The Geek Show, and Forbidden Futures), Shotgun Players (Man of God, Yerma, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Collective Rage and Choir Boy), Golden Thread Productions (ReOrient Festival 2023), Pacifica Spindrift Players (Spring Awakening), Cal Shakes (Long Sword Workshops) and more. My primary Martial Arts training and foundation stems from Sandodai Ryu Karate and Zen Kobudo.

Whether I’m staging a fight, acting on stage, producing a play, or directing a scene; my goal is to empower those around me and build lasting relationships. Artists deserve space and safety to tell their stories, to explore fearlessly and to “be like water!”