Her father's career took the family to Puerto Rico, where she spent her childhood years taking drawing classes, performing in a small flamenco company, playing guitar, and singing South American folk songs.
Returning to Washington, D.C. for her last two years of high school, Wood studied painting at the Corcoran Gallery and then attended Oberlin College, graduating in 1950.
"[citation needed] This led to two summer sessions with Hanya Holm at Colorado College and further solidified her shift from painting to dance.
[3] They toured in a VW bus with John Cage as music director and driver and Robert Rauschenberg as set, lighting, and costume designer.
In 1968, inspired by her exposure to the environmental theatre of Anna Halprin, she stopped dancing and formed Marilyn Wood and the Celebration Group.
Wood's process often began with use of environmental scores to involve the creativity of local community artists participating in the initial ideas of the site design.
A variety of sensory experiences contributed to the work, including original music, soundscapes, fire and sky sculpture, inflatable forms, site-generated films and video, and fireworks at both daytime and at night.