Tess Riley (she/her) is a New York based actor, writer, and theater maker. She graduated with a BFA in acting from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2022. Tess can be seen this February in Raw Daisies’s second iteration of “Subject X,” a one woman show. Other recent credits include Eric Conger’s “The Park” directed by Emmy winning Cady McClain, “The Revolutionists” (Titan Theater NYC), “will we ever not be scared” (Apartment Plays, Raw Daisies), “In the Heat of the Night” (Delaware REP) and “mother / land” (Theatre Row).

Tess is dedicated to the creation of new work, with a central interest in stories that help us deconstruct and understand the misunderstood. She strives to bring voice to those who have been historically overlooked. She loves playing with moments of great tragedy and exploring the levity and absurdity that inevitably ends up flirting with them. She strives to always uplift the inclusion of gritty, imperfect, complicated women in her work. 

Tess is currently working on a devised project she co-created with Acadia Barrengos “mother / land,” chronicling the lives of soviet women during WWII. The piece independently produced its first iteration workshop at Theatre Row in August 2022. She and Barrengos are currently in the process of writing and researching their next draft of the piece.

When Tess is off the metaphorical clock, she reliably can be found with her headphones on, either listening to music or far down a video essay rabbit hole. Some of her most notable media obsessions include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Atlanta, Nathan For You, the works of Haruki Murakami, Gregg Araki, Youtube creator Contrapoints, and whatever musical artist occupies her current emotional zeitgeist. Right now it’s Magdalena Bay, Geordie Greep, JPEGMAFIA, and underscores, baby!