NANCY CHERYLL DAVIS
TOWNE STREET THEATRE
Nancy Cheryll Davis is the Founding Artistic/Producing Director of the Towne Street Theatre, where she has executive-produced all shows in its 30 year history. An acclaimed award winning actress & director, she is an alumnus of the American Conservatory Theatre and Director’s Lab West, Best Actress Winner / NAACP and Best Actress Nominee/St. Louis Black Repertory. She has also been featured in iconic films such as Hollywood Shuffle, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka!, and Menace to Society.
Her adaptation of PassingSOLO from the Towne Street Theatre play Passing is published in the anthology black/woman/solo by Northwestern University Press. It was performed at the University of Duisberg in Essen, Germany and is on the syllabus in Performance Studies at Stanford University, University of Santa Barbara, and the University of Duisberg, Germany.
LA Directing credits include USC’s School of Dramatic Arts, The Garry Marshall Theatre Company of Angels, and Culver City Public Theatre.
The Towne Street Theatre’s mission is to continue to be a theatre that creates, develops and produces original work that is reflective of the Black experience and perspective for theater and film. These experiences — whether historical, contemporary, or futuristic — define our cultural aesthetic. The artistic vision of the theatre is broad in nature, but microscopic by design.
Our mission is to provide a home for a diverse group of artists, primarily African American, to be free in their efforts to create and explore theatre without the constraints that are sometimes placed on them due to being against the backdrop of Hollywood. TST is committed to remaining a place where social justice conditions are continually explored, dismantled, and acknowledged because we strongly believe in the healing power of art. We also produce a “Black Classics” series that revives the work of seldom produced published playwrights to salute and acknowledge those who have come before us and their place in the history of the American theater. These productions also educate audience members, as well as younger cast members, who may not be as familiar with these playwrights and their work. We remain committed to being an oasis for artists and audiences looking for work that represents them and their experiences, as well as those seeking something new and different.
From L-R: Joshua Williams, Tony Lorrich II, Reise Hooper, Tony Lorrich III, and Sierra Wesson in the Towne Street Theatre Camp production of THE WIZ. Photo by Nathan Bellamy.
Justin Alston and Gabriella Delgado-Deluy in LANGSTON & NICOLAS. Photo by Nathan Bellamy.
From L-R: Kiziana Jean-Louis,Sonia Jackson, Colette Rosario, Michele Tannen, Teressa Taylor, Alisa Murray, Melissa Kay Anderson, Nia Sondayla, and Jacqueline Castenada in YEAR OF THE WOMAN. Photo by Kristina Roth.