Eisa Davis

Eisa Davis (born May 5, 1971) is an American playwright, actress and singer-songwriter.^[1] She is known for her work as the co-creator of the Warriors concept album with Lin-Manuel Miranda.^[2] Her previous works include the plays Bulrusher and Angela's Mixtape. For her stage acting in New York, she won an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Performance. She resides in Brooklyn.^[3]

Early life and education

Davis was born and spent her childhood in Berkeley, California.^[4] As a child, she attended dance classes and studied voice and classical piano at the Young Musicians Program at UC Berkeley.^[5]  She is the niece of political activist Angela Davis. Davis' autobiographical play Angela's Mixtape tells the story of her upbringing in the Bay Area and the impact of her family's politics on her childhood.^[6] After graduating from Berkeley High School, she earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University. Davis earned her Master of Fine Arts from the Actors Studio at the New School for Social Research, where she double majored in playwriting and acting.^[7] Her dance skills are notable as well, with the dean of her program saying she could have been admitted to Alvin Ailey.^[4]

Career

Davis began working as a professional actress at the age of 10 with appearances on a local television show, then acted in plays, industrials and films throughout high school and college. Davis moved to Los Angeles after college and worked with Anna Deavere Smith on her piece about that city's uprising, Twilight, LA, 1992.^[8]

After graduate school, Davis continued to work as an actor in television and film, with roles in The Wire and Soul Food. She became a lifetime member of the Actors Studio, as well as a resident playwright at New Dramatists.^[9] Drawing from her work as a hip hop journalist for Rap Sheet and The Source,^[10] Davis advocated for the hybrid art form that brings together theatre and hip hop by writing essays^[11] and participating in the Hip-Hop Theater Festival.^[12] She also became a poetry fellow at Cave Canem, the esteemed organization for black poets.^[13]

In 2006, Davis' play Bulrusher premiered at Urban Stages and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.^{[14] [15][16]} In 2007, Davis won an Obie Award with the ensemble of Passing Strange. The show premiered at Berkeley Rep, but then moved on to Broadway and Davis went with the show, only later to have the whole production filmed by Spike Lee. In 2009, she wrote and starred in Angela's Mixtape. The show was autobiographical and went on to make it into The New Yorker's list of best plays from that year.^[3]

Davis starred as Addie Pickett, nurse and receptionist at Bluebell, Alabama's local medical practice in The CW's series Hart of Dixie, a fish-out-of-water story about a New York City doctor (Rachel Bilson) adjusting to life in a small Southern town after she inherits a local medical practice.^[17][18]

In 2012/13 Davis was Symphony Space's artist-in-residence.^[1] She taught at Williams College as an Arthur Levitt Fellow for the 2013/14 season.^[7] While continuing to write and act in plays, Davis became more known with roles on House of Cards and Mare of Easttown and Kindred. She also wrote for television for Spike Lee's Netflix series She's Gotta Have It, as well as on Justified: City Primeval.^[19]

In the summer of 2015, she starred in Dave Malloy's musical Preludes at Lincoln Center. In the summer of 2017, she starred in Julius Caesar at the Delacorte Theater.^[20]

Davis has two albums of her own music, Something Else and Tinctures. Some of her songs have been featured on the Showtime series Soul Food.^[1] Davis also narrated the role of Celestial Davenport Hamilton in the audiobook version of An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.^[21] Mushroom, a bilingual play Davis wrote about mushroom pickers around Kennett Square, PA earned several Barrymore nominations after its premiere in 2022.^[22] Her play Bulrusher was produced at Berkeley Repertory Theatre from October 27 until – December 3, 2023.^[23]

In 2024, Eisa Davis's play Bulrusher was adapted into an opera by West Edge Opera in Berkeley, California. The production was part of the company's summer festival, bringing Davis's story to a new medium.^[24][25]

Artistic philosophy

Davis believes in the Ghanaian principle of Sankofa. The literal translation of the word is "return and collect it" or "go back and get it". This refers to her use of digging through her own lineage and history to find action and themes that can be used in her plays. She also uses her art to answer questions that "haunt" her or ideas that she is grappling with herself. Much of her artistic philosophy can be summed up in her quote, "Theatre is one of the few public spaces we have for active contemplation."^[26] She explores ideas such as blackness and family through the poetry of her language.^[26]

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

References

1. ^ "About: Eisa Davis". eisadavis.com. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
2. ^ "Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis on their Warriors musical concept album with Lauryn Hill". AP News. 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
3. ^ Elist, Jasmine (2011-08-14). "A double life as actress, playwright". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-02-11. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
4. ^ Lee, Felicia R. (2008-03-08). "Eisa Davis – Passing Strange – Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
5. ^ "The Theater: Berkeley Native Eisa Davis Returns Home". Berkeley Daily Planet. Retrieved 2024-10-15.^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Davis: Angela's Mixtape + The History of Light". 53rdstatepress.org. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
7. ^ "Revolution, Racism and Family in Angela's Mixtape by Fred Dodsworth. Category: Election Section from The Berkeley Daily Planet". Berkeley Daily Planet. Retrieved 2021-07-13.^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "Interview with Eisha Davis: Kings at Public Theater". www.talkinbroadway.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
9. ^ "Alumni Playwrights | New Dramatists". newdramatists.org. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
10. ^ Julia Wallace (2008-07-01). "Thoroughly Eclectic". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
11. ^ "Hip-Hop Theatre: A Colloquy". American Theatre. 2004-04-01. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
12. ^ "Hi-ARTS History". Hi-ARTS. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
13. ^ "Cave Canem » glossary » d". Retrieved 2024-10-15.
14. ^ "Rabbit Hole, by David Lindsay-Abaire". pulitzer.org. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
15. ^ "Bulrusher added to McCarter Theatre's 2022–23 Season". NewJerseyStage.com. 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
16. ^ Masseron, Meg (August 23, 2023). "See Who's Starring in Eisa Davis' Bulrusher at McCarter Theatre Center". Playbill
17. ^ "Eisa Davis". www.peopleslight.org. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
18. ^ "Eisa Davis – Artist". MacDowell. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
19. ^ "TV & Film Writing". eisadavis.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
20. ^ "Eisa Davis Theatre Credits", AboutTheArtists
21. ^ "An American Marriage - HighBridge Audio"
22. ^ "The Regional Roundup: September 19, 2022". WHYY-TV. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
23. ^ "Bulrusher". Berkeley Repertory Theatre
24. ^ "Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis' Warriors will be a concept album, not a stage musical". Los Angeles Times. 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
25. ^ "Bulrusher Is Quietly Brilliant at West Edge Opera". www.sfcv.org. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
26. ^ "About Eisa Davis | The Herb Alpert Award in the Arts". herbalpertawards.org. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
27. ^ "13". Obie Awards. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
28. ^ "2013 Nominees : Lucille Lortel Awards". lortelaward.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
29. ^ Armstrong, Linda (2019-11-27). "47th annual AUDELCO: Acknowledging Black theater greatness!". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
30. ^ "Award Year 2020". Creative Capital. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
31. ^ "2020 Nominees : Lucille Lortel Awards". lortelaward.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
32. ^ Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Theatre Philadelphia Unveils First Full Slate Of Barrymore Nominees Since 2019". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
33. ^ "2023 USA Fellowship". United States Artists. Retrieved 2024-10-15.

External links

• Eisa Davis at IMDb