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DIRECTING

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Appropriate

Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

 

Directed by Joy Nesbitt 

Produced by The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Arts

This was a production was a part of Gradfest at the Lir National Academy of Dramatic Arts, feature full productions directed by MFA theatre directing students at the Lir. All productions were produced by Loughlin Deegan, and were created under the instruction of professional director, Annabelle Comyn.

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Reasons to be Pretty

Written by Neil LaBute

Adapted by Joy Nesbitt

Directed by Joy Nesbitt 

Assistant Directed by Udochi Emeghara

Produced by Harvard BlackCAST

Executive Produced by The Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatics Club and The Office for the Arts at Harvard

This was a production presented on zoom by Harvard BlackCAST in April 2021. This production was an adaptation of Neil LaBute's original play, focused on issues of gender roles and relationships in the Black community.

Reflections
Devised by Joy Nesbitt and Pedro Pacheco with Ahmed Karim Tamu, Isolde Fenton, and Teresa Cruz

Directed by Joy Nesbitt 

Produced by The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Arts

 

This production was a part of the Devised theatre festival featuring pieces created by MFA theatre directing students at the Lir National Academy of Dramatic Arts. All pieces were devised under the instruction of master-deviser, Louise Lowe, and master-lighting designer, Sinead Wallace.

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R+J: An Ultramodern Fantasia

Written by William Shakespeare

Adapted by Joy Nesbitt and Devonne Pitts

Directed by Joy Nesbitt and Devonne Pitts

Produced by Allison Scharmann

Executive Produced by Pinwheel Productions and The Office for the Arts at Harvard

This was a production presented on zoom by Harvard BlackCAST during the summer of 2020. In addition to the online production streamed on youtube, I mixed and mastered a soundtrack for the show created by fellow student artists. This production was also a fundraiser for The Black Arts Futures Fund. 

God of Carnage

Written by Yasmina Reza

Directed by Joy Nesbitt

Produced by The Harvard Office for the Arts

This production was presented by Harvard BlackCAST on Zoom. It was the first zoom production created by a Harvard student during the pandemic. Each of the four shows also had a fundraising aspect to it, and we were able to raise $10,000 for organizations associated with the support and care of Black lives as well as COVID-19 relief for imprisoned individuals.

Dreamgirls

Music by Henry Krieger

Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen

Directed by Joy Nesbitt and Emily Orr

Music Directed by Joy Nesbitt

Produced by Nia Talley, Lacey Hines, and Allison Scharmann

This production was set to open in March of 2020 in the Oberon at the American Repertory Theater. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the show was cancelled right after the sitzprobe. 

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Mamma Mia 

Music and Lyrics by Benny Andresson and Björn Ulvaeus

Book by Catherine Johnson

Directed by Ryan Kapur

Music Directed by Joy Nesbitt and Clay Oxford

Produced by Emily Orr, Aaron Olkin, Morgan Booker, and Angela Kim

Executive Produced by The Harvard Radcliffe Dramatics Club

This production was performed on the Mainstage at the American Repertory Theater in association with the Harvard Musical Theater Club. 

A Very Potter Musical

Music and Lyrics by Darren Criss and A.J. Holmes; Book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden

 

Directed by Carla Troconis

Music Directed by Joy Nesbitt and Ana Olano

Produced by Sherry Gao

Executive Produced by The Harvard Radcliffe Dramatics Club

This production was performed in the Loeb Ex at the American Repertory Theater. 

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Canonical 

Written by Scout Black

Directed by Joy Nesbitt and Maku Sisáková

Produced by Scout Black

Presented by The Smock Alley Scene + Heard Festival for New Work

This production was performed at the Smock Alley Boys School

This production was also a fundraiser for The Dublin Rape Crisis Center.

Additional Theater Credits
Assistant Director

Down with Jazz (written by Esosa Ighodaro;dir. Esosa Ighodaro; Smock Alley Theatre 1662)

Lady Windermere's Fan (written by Oscar Wilde; dir. Tom Creed; The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art)

The Lost Lear (written by Dan Colley; dir. Dan Colley; Riverbank Arts Centre and Dublin Theatre Festival)

Jack and the Beanstalk (written by Julia Riew; dir. Rebecca Aparicio; Music dir. Ian Chan; American Repertory Theater)

Music Assistant

We Live in Cairo (dir. Taibi Magar; Music dir. Madeline Smith; American Repertory Theater) 

Community Organizer

For Colored Girls (dir. Devonne Pitts)

Actor

Blood on the Cat's Neck (Mistress) 
Beauty and the Beast (Lefou)

Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Chorus)

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman (Scarlet Widow and Chorus)

Annie (Annie)

Production Management Theater Maker

The Early Career BIPOC Theater Makers Program at The Williamstown Theatre Festival (in association with Black Theater United) 

(Article cited here)

Short Films
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Directed by Joy Nesbitt
Starring: Laura Frustaci and Joy Nesbitt
A study on the development of extreme emotion. We watch an unraveling individual get pushed to her limits. She is isolated from the ones she loves and is taken for granted by everyone else. We encounter a slow boil of emotion, a stirring physical and aural transformation into abject, unbridled rage. 
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Directed by Joy Nesbitt
Starring: Yvonne "Peggy" Smith and Shawna Nesbitt
An elderly woman shelters in place alone during a pandemic. Her daughter, who is unable to visit safely, brings her a gift to fill her absence. We develop empathy for our main character, and we see empathetic action in practice. 
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Directed by Joy Nesbitt
Starring: Tori Gudmundsson, Laura Frustaci, Devonne Pitts, Jonathan Castillo, Shawna Nesbitt, Ruva Chigwedere, Graham Buchanan, Frederick Tyler-Macbruce and Joy Nesbitt
A visual meditation on embodiment and a personal journey against body dysmorphia. We enter an uninterrupted intimate experience of studying the face of another human. We may feel watched, comforted, or disturbed by this experience. We reflect upon our own faces in relation to the faces we are seeing.
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Directed by Joy Nesbitt
Starring: Joy Nesbitt
The nation poses a question to a Black feminine spectator. She meditates on that question. She moves through familiar spaces to process her answer to the question. She has no answer. The answer is grounded in a specific lived experience. We either understand or we don’t. 
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