MYESHA-TIARA’S
DIRECTOR
PORTFOLIO
My Director Mission
(Pictured: Cast pic with actors from Skin Deep. L to R Taylor Elie Talhame, Myesha-Tiara and Tarina Bradshaw. Produced by The Artistic Home)
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MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
About Me
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MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
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MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
The Wash
By Kelundra Smith
In 1881, Black laundresses in Atlanta led a strike weeks before the International Cotton Exposition came to town. Demanding $1/dozen pounds of laundry, the Atlanta Washerwomen’s Strike of 1881 was one of the largest, successful interracial labor strikes of the post-Civil War era. "The Wash" offers an intimate and often funny look at ordinary women who went from workers to fighters– and won. The Wash is a part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere.
(For more information, please visit nnpn.org)
2025: Directing Career
The Wash: Reviews
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-”They are inspirational because they are so very relatable, down-to-earth, and use the starch in their spines to raise each other up when it’s all on the line. The strike was 144 years ago, but the story feels fresh and urgent today.”
— Kerry Reid (Recommended), The Chicago Reader
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
2024: Directing Career
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MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
Falsettos
*2 Jeff Awards & 7 Jeff Nominations
Music and Lyrics by William Finn
Book by William Finn and James Lapine
Produced in Partnership with TimeLine Theatre Company
Directed by Nick Bowling, TimeLine Theatre AAD
Assistant Directed by Myesha-Tiara
Tony Award-winning Falsettos is a tribute to family and its many forms; a playful interrogation of faith and identity; and a celebration of the beauty, complexity, and necessity of love.
Marvin has left his wife, Trina, for his male lover; Trina has married Marvin’s therapist; and their son, Jason, is grappling with his parents’ divorce and his looming bar mitzvah. Everyone’s world has been upended and now they must explore what their new lives may hold. Featuring a sung-through score and set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic, Falsettos is a humorous and heartbreaking web of ex-spouses, co-parents, new lovers, and the lesbians next door.
Photo of Elizabeth Stenholt, Stephen Schellhardt, Jack Ball, Jackson Evans, Sarah Bockel, Sharriese Hamilton, and Charlie Long by Michael Brosilow. Falsettos
Falsettos: Reviews
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-“Better than the 2016 Broadway revival…This is a very special show, one of the best Chicago productions of the year”
— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, ★★★★ (of four), Top 10 of 2024
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
“As witty and impressively sophisticated as ever — a deeply meaningful reflection on what our world is like today…a superlative set of performances”
— Chicago Sun-Times, ★★★★ (of four)
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MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
Panther Women:
An Army for the Liberation By India Nicole Burton
*Endorsed by Bloomington-Normal NAACP
Conceived by Actress, Director, Playwright, Producer India Nicole Burton uses the lives of three prominent African American women in The Black Panther Party and The Civil Rights movement as a catalyst to tell a broader story
about the African American Women’s experience. Produced by Coalescences
Theatre Project in Bloomington-Normal.
(Pictures courtesy of Photography by Coalescence Theatre. Actors: Autumn Evans, Yaz Hamilton, Aneesah Jemei, Jajwanica Johnson, Aurora Thorpe, Katecia Ingram and Chynna Miller
Pregnant Pause
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Photo Credit: Jeffrey L. Kurysz
Pictured: Genesis Beecham, A’Keisha Lee, Rita Wicks and Renee Lockett
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
by Jerluane “Jae” Jenkins
*apart of The Gift Theatre’s Ten One Act Fest
Pregnant Pause explores a young woman’s
journey with unexpected motherhood and family planning in the midst of a traditional southern wedding.
Oral History
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by Tanuja Devi Jagernauth
*apart of Playground-Chicago One Act Staged
Reading Fest
WON-People’s Choice Award for April
Showcases how family history can get lost when the younger and older generation clash on what they consider to be valuable and how first-generation American families try to stay
true to their culture once they move.
M
Photo Credit: Myesha-Tiara
Pictured: Anita Chandwaney and Baneet Chawla
YESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
2023: Directing Career
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Panther Women:
An Army for the Liberation By India Nicole Burton
*Black Excellence & Jeff Award Nominated
Conceived by Actress, Director, Playwright, Producer India Nicole Burton uses the lives of three prominent African American women in The Black Panther Party and The Civil Rights movement as a catalyst to tell a broader story
about the African American Women’s experience. Produced by Prop Thtr.
(Pictures courtesy of Khaliq Visuals & Antwon Funches. Actors: Jerlaune “Jae”
Jenkins, Alexis Dupree, Maya TW Jones and Taylor Elie Talhamé )
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
Panther Women:
An Army for the Liberation: Reviews
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-Karin McKie, Third Coast Review
-Mary Wisniewski, New City Stage
Photo Credit: Karin Mckie
Pictured: Maya TW Jones
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
-Wesley David, Buzz Center Stage
Photo Credit: Khaliq Photography
Pictured: A’Keisha Lee
Photo Credit: Khaliq Photography
Pictured: Taylor Elie Talhamé
Panther Women:
An Army for the Liberation: Reviews
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-D’onminique Boyd, See Chicago Dance
-Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader
Photo Credit: Khaliq Photography
Pictured: Alexis Dupree
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
Photo Credit: Khaliq Photography
Pictured: Taylor Elie Talhamé, Alexis Dupree
A Hit Dog Will Holler
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Written by Inda Craig-Galván
When racism and oppression manifest in a scary, physical form, a social media influencer and a boots-on-the-ground activist form a complex bond of friendship to help each other survive. What happens when there’s no more outside space for the growing monster that is American racism?
Produced by Artemisia Theatre.
(Pictured: (Top L to R) Ariya Hawkins, Charlique C. Rolle, and Lauren Littlejohn,
(Bottom R to L) Myesha-Tiara, Alex Moorman and Lo Williams)
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
A Hit Dog Will Holler
Press/Reviews
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-Tia Carol Jones, Citizen Weekly
-Boutayna Chokrane, The Chicago Reader
Photo Credit: Willow James
Pictured: Lo Williams and Alex Moorman
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
Photo Credit: Khaliq Photography
Pictured: Alex Moorman and Lo Williams
Photo Credit: Alyssa Thompson Pictured: Alex Moorman and Lo Williams
A Hit Dog Will Holler
Stills
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Courtesy of Khaliq Photography
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
Home for Christmas
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by Kirsten Baity
*One Act Play Virtual Fest, Playground-
Chicago
Mo is preparing herself to go home for Christmas but her thoughts just won’t let her be. Will she overcome them or be a victim to circumstance?
(Picture & Video courtesy of Myesha-Tiara. Actors: Carmia Imani and Reaux Calcote)
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
The Witching Hour
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Staged Reading
by India Nicole Burton
The Witching Hour follows a Black magical family in Bostic, Sheridan County, FL (Swamp Lands, Everglades), a small town near Key Largo, FL in Spring 1940.
(Picture & Video courtesy of Myesha-Tiara, Actors: alfonzo kahlil, Taylor Elie Talhamé, Jaden Triplett and Jalyn Greene)
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
2022: Directing Career
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Kingdom by Nic Bell 2ND Annual BIPOC Play Fest
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
2021: Directing Career
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What About The Children
When it comes to immigration this hot button topic turns a family, who’s head of house is a deportation agent, upside-down. Written by Sharai Bohannon. Produced by Artemisia
(Podcast Play)
Rachel
In 1916 this three-act play depicts an educated, sensitive young woman who comes to understanding of the realities of American racism and her own families dark secrets. Written Angelina W. Grimké. Produced by Artemisia.
(Podcast Play)
It’s A…
It’s a gender reveal NOT a baby shower! This one act takes you on a journey as three sisters figure out how their relationship has broken apart. Written by Asha R. McAllister. Produced by Perceptions Theatre.
(Zoom Play)
35th Young Playwrights
Festival
10 one act plays written by various young playwright students, and all directed by Myesha- Tiara ranging from subjects on the end of the world, death, lost romance and even dogs!
Produced by Pegasus.
2020: Directing Career
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Black Magic: World Premiere
Written by Jerlaune “Jae” Jenkins
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
Black Magic: Reviews
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Exploration of Grief.”
-Mary Barnidge, TotalTheatre.com (Click for full article)
in Black Magic."
Olivia Lilley, Artistic Director of Prop Thtr
with experimenting with how to translate a play to a filmic medium. Really cool story,
script, performances, images."
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
2019: Directing Career
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Daises on Harlem’s Doorstep
It's Spring of 1929 in Harlem, a season before the stock market crashed and the world suffered what would be known as the Great Depression. The streets are filled with lights and glitter and for an innocent Daisy, who only wants to
find her sister, four very different women show her how to grow in concrete.
Written by Sharece Sellem. Produced
by Pride Films & Plays
(Staged Reading)
Crabs in a Barrel
After their matriarch dies this family must come to terms with their secrets and resentment for one another. Written by Asha R. McAllister. Produced by The Rockwell Theatre Bandits.
(Staged Reading)
The Bible
On a father’s death bed, he and his son discuss what kept them apart for so many years. Produced by The Artistic Home.
(One Act Play)
His Hand
An overworked mother tells the heart- breaking story on how her son was taken from her and put into foster care.
Written by Jaqueline Goldfinger.
Produced by Punching Labute at The Lincoln Loft.
(One Woman Show)
A Is For Apron
Imagine if two women where in purgatory and had to spend that time working in the Otherworld Coin Operated Laundromat then you have "A Is For Apron"! One day all of that changes when a new hire makes her way into purgatory and starts to change up the way things are done. Will the ladies expand their thinking or stick to their old ways? Produced by Red Theater.
2019: Directing Career
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Pampered Pussy
Based on the serial killer, Anthony Sowell, from his victim's perspective. Black Women who happen to be poor and sex workers who only need people to see them as humans for once. Written by Royal Shiree. Produced by The Forge.
(Staged Reading)
Black Magic
Sasha is young, single, college educated and stressed. When she finally gets an opportunity to move out on her own she takes it only to have her brother, Hakeem, move in while he is waiting to start college and then her fly by night sister, Khadijah, moves in but she just needs a place to stay "for a little while". Three is definitely not company and all Sasha has to keep her sane is a package from her late Great Grandmother Tituba, also known as the witch doctor. Will it be her saving grace or her down fall? Black Magic deals with mental illness in people of color and the 5 stages of grief. Written by Jerluane “Jae” Jenkins. Produced by MPAACT.
(One Act Excerpt)
2019: Associate Director Career
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Invisible
Imagines a woman in a small Mississippi town in 1925 forced to reconcile her involvement in the rising national Women’s Ku Klux Klan movement with her religious beliefs and sense of decency. Her neighbors have convinced her of the justness of the cause, but the arrival in town of a Chicago newspaper reporter just as their WKKK chapter is gaining momentum, forces Mabel to question her involvement and convictions. Written by Mary Bonnett and Directed by Cecilie Keenan. Produced by Her Story Theater.
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D i r e c t i n g C a r e e r
(Pictured: Cast, Crew and Playwright of my first reading in Chicago, Some Day. Produced by The Rockwell Theatre Bandits. L to R: Playwright, Asha R. McAllister, Actors, Antwon Funches, Jerluane “Jae” Jenkins, Director, Myesha-Tiara and Actor, Kenny Bell.)
Some Day:
(Staged Reading)
Focuses on two lifelong friends who find themselves the minority in their PWI and how they cope with this new world.
PRESENTATION TITLE
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Skin Deep:
(One Act Play)
Two actor friends meet up for their annual sleepover and things are all going well until one expresses that they booked a national commercial for skin care. It goes
from a fun time into a conversation surrounding white washing, biracial and light skin washing characters and how every edgy white actors tries to do an
August Wilson monologue for shock value. They must determine if their bond is strong enough to withstand Hollywood.
(Pictured: L to R Tarina Bradshaw and Taylor Elie
Talhame)
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
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Somewhere in Uptown:
(One Woman Show)
A woman moves to Uptown, Chicago and must determine if her preconceived notions of that area was all based on her own biases.
(Pictured: Vinithra Rajagopalan. Produced by Collaboraction.)
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
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2018: Associate Director Career
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The Little Foxes
In 1900, in the cotton country of the deep South, beautiful and brilliant Regina Hubbard Giddens struggles for wealth and freedom within the confines of an early 20th-century society where fathers only considered sons as legal heirs. As a result, thanks to their ruthless tradesman father, her brothers, Benjamin and Oscar are independently wealthy, while she is financially dependent upon her sickly husband, Horace whose severe heart condition has confined him to a sanitarium in Baltimore for several years. Written by Lillian Hellman and Directed by Kristina McCloskey. Produced by Citadel Theatre.
T H A N K Y O U
M Y E S H A - T I A R A
M Y E S H A T M C G @ G M A I L . C O M
M Y E S H A - T I A R A . C O M
P R T E A M :
MYESHA- TIARA’S DIRECTOR PORTFOLIO
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