The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the premier regional theaters in the United States and a leading producer of theater in the Southeast. It is a past recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award and its productions reach more than 165,000 people each year. Since its inception in 1968, the Alliance has debuted more than 100 original plays and musicals, including Tony Award winners such as The Color Purple and The Last Night of Ballyhoo.
Michael Howard was the theater’s first artistic director (1968-70), and the Alliance has been fortunate enough to have several others in that role contribute to its growth and reputation as a leading regional theater. Subsequent artistic directors include Fred Chappell, Robert Farley, and Kenny Leon (one of the first Black artistic directors in American theater).
On June 20, 2023, the Alliance announced that, for the first time, it will have two artistic directors: Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and Christopher Moses. Read on for a closer look at both directors and how they’ve contributed to the success of the Alliance in recent years.
Their Work as Interim Artistic Directors
Kajese-Bolden and Moses have been interim artistic directors at the Alliance since October 2022 and have already contributed greatly to the theater’s programming and outreach efforts. Together, they led funding efforts for a new performance space strictly for youth programming. They also selected plays and musicals for the Alliance’s 2023-24 season, including a pair of Pulitzer Prize-winning productions and four world premieres (Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit Tale, Furlough’s Paradise, The Preacher’s Wife, and A Tale of Two Cities). Kajese-Bolden is co-directing The Preacher’s Wife with Michael Arden.
Kajese-Bolden and Moses also worked with a selection committee to choose the finalists and winner of the 20th Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition as well as the works that will be developed in the 9th Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, a program through which local artists receive $10,000 to bring their ideas to fruition.
“On behalf of the board of directors and in partnership with the leadership of The Woodruff Arts Center, we are delighted to announce the appointments of Tinashe and Chris, two nationally recognized artists and producers with long-standing connections in the Atlanta community and theater field, as the Alliance’s next artistic leaders,” commented Jocelyn Hunter, Alliance board chair. “Three things make them the ideal candidates for this role. First, each is extraordinarily talented. Second, they have had a remarkable impact on the Alliance during their period of interim leadership. Third, their vision for the theater’s continued relevance and growth is ambitious and compelling.”
Kajese-Bolden’s Credits and Achievements
Before being appointed interim artistic director, Kajese-Bolden was the BOLD associate artistic director at the Alliance. In this position, she oversaw the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab and headed the Spelman Leadership Fellowship, which provides paid career opportunities to students at historically Black higher education institutions. She is also a renowned director who received the Princess Grace Award for Directing and has directed productions such as The Many Wondrous Realities of Jasmine Starr-Kidd, Native Gardens, Pipeline, and School Girls; Or the African Mean Girls Play.
Kajese-Bolden also has experience as a producer and an actor in both regional productions and on- and off-Broadway plays and musicals. Her acting credits include Dot, Hospice + Pointing at the Moon, and Shakespeare in Love.
Moses’ Work at the Alliance
Moses also has been an important figure at the Alliance in recent years. A 20-year veteran of professional theater and recipient of the Governor’s Award for Arts and Humanities, he was appointed director of education at the theater in 2011. He oversaw the Alliance Theatre Institute (twice distinguished as an Arts Model by the Federal Department of Education), the Acting Program, and Theatre for Youth and Families programming.
During his tenure as director of education, the Alliance developed critical programming such as the Alliance Teen Ensemble, the Palefsky Collision Project, and the Kathy & Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young program. Moses also helped grow the Alliance’s summer camp program to reach more than 3,000 children in Atlanta. He was appointed associate artistic director in 2014.
Former Director Susan V. Booth
The artistic director position at the Alliance was left vacant in October 2022 when Susan V. Booth accepted the artistic director position at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. The longest-serving artistic director in the Alliance’s 55-year history, Booth spent 21 years in the role, during which time she garnered a reputation for championing education initiatives and emerging playwrights and artists. The Alliance debuted more than 85 plays and musicals during her tenure, including six musicals that were eventually shown on Broadway.
Moreover, Booth presided over the Alliance’s largest capital campaign to fund the creation of The Coca-Cola Stage, which opened during the theater’s 50th anniversary.