Alliance Theatre Reveals New BOLD Leadership Positions

Marie Cisco has been named Alliance Theatre's new BOLD Associate Artistic Director, and Abrianna Belvedere has been named its BOLD Producing Associate. As members of the Alliance's artistic team, Cisco and Belvedere will support many of the Alliance's new works initiatives, including its renowned Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition and its Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab.   

Cisco, an Atlanta native, has a background as a theater and film producer. She has worked for MPAACT, The National Black Theatre, The New Black Fest, The Apollo, The Fire Ensemble, and The Public Theater, where she produced the development of new work for internal productions and Broadway transfers. Marie worked as a Creative Executive for Lee Daniels Entertainment where she worked on several pilots and as a Co-Producer for the feature film The US vs. Billie Holiday. She most recently served as the Producing Partner and Managing Director for Stardust Films by Common where she built a robust development slate and produced several short films including the SXSW featured Glitter Ain't Gold, and the short documentary Four Letters, which will premiere at the San Quentin Prison Film Festival this month. She is also a Co-Producer for the Broadway revival of The Wiz. Cisco has worked diligently as an arts strategist and consultant for the past 15 years and is passionate about creating environments for artists to achieve their best work.  In her role at the Alliance, Cisco will also oversee the development of local talent through the Alliance's Spelman Leadership Fellowship and the Kenny Leon Associate Director programs. 

Belvedere is a new work producer, dramaturg, and deviser based in Atlanta, GA. They have a love for community-oriented new work, and for showcasing Southern, Queer, and feminist narratives. Belvedere also serves as co-producer of SheATL, a summer theater festival that showcases new work by female, trans, and gender non-conforming playwrights. Notable devised work includes Morning Has Broken, a movement piece that grieves intergenerational trauma and examines its intersections with disability, poverty, and Southern identity. In addition to supporting new works at the Alliance, Belvedere will provide support for audience engagement, community partnerships, dramaturgical research, and literary initiatives.

Both positions at the Alliance are supported by the BOLD Theater Women's Leadership Circle, whose mission is to create a network of women artistic directors in professional theaters across the United States and empower them to address the issues preventing women from advancing in theater leadership.  The Alliance's previous BOLD Associate Artistic Director was Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, who was chosen as the theater's Jennings Hertz Artistic Director in 2023, along with Artistic Director Christopher Moses. 

“The BOLD Women's Leadership Circle has reimagined the pipeline to leadership for female+ artists by fostering active collaborations and amplifying diverse voices of emerging change-makers,” said Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Tinashe Kajese-Bolden. “My journey to leadership was paved by the investment of the BOLD Women's Leadership Circle and the culture of mentorship the Alliance Theatre is defined by. It is my greatest honor to continue this legacy with the addition of Marie Cisco and Abrianna Belvedere to the Alliance family.  Marie and Abrianna lead with artistic vitality, a penchant for adventurous work by emerging writers, and the imagination to leverage theater's transformative power to produce art in service of a larger vision of social change and evolution. As the Alliance Theatre launches the most ambitious expansion in our history with the new Goizueta Stage for Youth and Family, not just physically but philosophically, our vision for theater as a birthright is even closer with the addition of these inspiring creatives.”