joy NESBITT
DIRECTING
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.
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.
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.
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.
Additional Theater Credits
Assistant Director
The Lost Lear (dir. Dan Colley; Riverbank Arts Centre and Dublin Theatre Festival)
Jack and the Beanstalk (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
Short Films
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.
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.
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.
