Joy Nes­bitt

Joy Nesbitt

Joy Nes­bitt is a direc­tor, writer, and musi­cian orig­i­nally from Dal­las, Texas.

Joy is inspired by sto­ries of Black Fem­i­nin­ity and post­colo­nial imag­i­na­tion. She has been named on The Irish Times and Sun­day Times’ lists of “Ones to Watch in 2024.”

She is cur­rently direct­ing My Sis­ter in this House at the Lir Acad­emy and will soon direct the world pre­mière of Boyfriends by Ultan Pringle, at Project Arts Centre.

In 2022, Joy attended the The­atre Direct­ing MFA at The Lir National Acad­emy of Dra­matic Arts. She is a 2021 recip­i­ent of the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts for the sum of her artis­tic activ­i­ties at Har­vard Uni­ver­sity. Joy is a Direc­tor SEED for Rough Magic The­atre Com­pany, a Writer under the men­tor­ship of Enda Walsh for The­atre For One with Land­mark Pro­duc­tions, and a mem­ber of the 2023 cohort of the Rachel Bap­tiste Pro­gramme at Smock Alley Theatre.

Joy’s direct­ing cred­its include Spear by CN Smith (2024, Cor­rib The­atre), Listen, A Black Woman is Speak­ing by Mar­low Wyatt (2023, Project Arts Cen­tre), The King of All Birds by Martha Knight (2023, Project Arts Cen­tre), end­ings. by Fion­ntán Lar­ney (2023, Project Arts Cen­tre and Smock Alley The­atre), Appro­pri­ate by Bran­den Jacobs-​Jenkins (2022, The Lir Acad­emy), Reflec­tions by Joy Nes­bitt and Pedro Pacheco (2022, The Lir Acad­emy), Canon­i­cal by Scout Black (2022, Smock Alley The­atre), Rea­sons to be Pretty by Neil LaBute (2021, Har­vard Uni­ver­sity); R+J: An Ultra­mod­ern Fan­ta­sia by William Shake­speare (2020, Har­vard Uni­veristy); God of Car­nage by Yas­mina Reza (2020, Har­vard Uni­ver­sity); Dream­girls by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen (2020, Amer­i­can Reper­tory The­atre); Mamma Mia (2019, Amer­i­can Reper­tory The­atre); and A Very Pot­ter Musi­cal (2018, Amer­i­can Reper­tory Theatre).

She has assisted on pro­duc­tions by Ronan Phe­lan, Dan Col­ley and Tom Creed.

Joy has also writ­ten three full plays: Good, Julius Cae­sar Vari­ety Show, and Med­i­ta­tions on Some­bod­i­ness.