about
Alisha Simmons is a Caribbean-American theatremaker, experimenter, and writer from Atlanta, Georgia. Their work prioritizes Black queer imagination as praxis and the power of community-based devised performance. Through performance art, they are interested in the activation and disruption of spaces and the use of imagination as resistance.
With experience in arts administration, design, acting, directing, and producing, Alisha uses theater as a tool to travel beyond and through worlds. As a theater director, they are interested in contemporary stage plays that push boundaries and leave audiences with a call to action.
Alisha received a B.A in Theater and Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at Wesleyan University, with a concentration in Performance Studies. Upon graduation, they were awarded the Outreach and Community Service Award in Theater and the Carol B. Ohmann Prize for Best Essay for their senior project titled, "Imagin/ing Freedoms: Queer Performance Art as Personal Liberatory Strategy." In conversation with the essay, Alisha produced and directed a Theater capstone titled, "imagin/ing: a devised performance project," about collective rage, gender, and freedom dreaming. "imagin/ing" debuted from April 4-6, 2024 in Samuel Wadsworth Russell House, Middletown, CT. In the summer of 2024, Alisha co-directed Pitbull’s Party at The End by Talia Rodriguez, which debuted on August 11, 2024 for LimeFest at The Tank NYC. Alisha has produced work with Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater, The Public Theater, Olin Memorial Library, Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, The Tank NYC, and 7 Stages Theatre. Most recently, they worked on & performed in the devised productions of What Are You? and Incarceration Plantation: The Musical at 7 Stages Theatre.
Currently, Alisha is about to start rehearsals for F. Punk Junkies with 7 Stages Theatre, which runs from September 4-14, 2025. Get your tickets here. They also perform in the Atlanta-based toothlifeless circus group, which was a recipient of the Atlanta Contemporary Nexus Fund for the April 2025 performance of “MILAGRO”. They’re also assistant stage managing this fall’s world premiere production of The Rocket Men at Synchronicity Theatre.
Alisha just spent the summer as a Teaching Artist for the Alliance Theatre Drama Camp, where they directed multiple shows for 1st-8th graders. Alisha’s also the Programming & Partnerships Coordinator at The Supermarket ATL, where they hone their skills in marketing, program coordination, and event management.
(Alisha is an excellent multitasker and keeps a meticulous, color-coded Google Calendar.)