JESSE BLISS

Founder and Artistic Director

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Jesse Bliss is an international playwright, director, producer, actress, poet and veteran arts educator. Miss Bliss is a ground-breaking story teller. Her tales are experienced through the eyes of women and give voice to matters we seldom ever experience. Her pieces are deeply soulful,  incorporative of visuals and powerful musical scores in collaboration as well as music she writes on her own.  She herself experienced art as life-saving and in turn has dedicated her life's work to offering art to others of all ages, backgrounds and socio-economic standings.  Miss Bliss attributes art to her own healing and wellness, knowing the power of what it can do to reshape lives, resist oppression and help raise awareness on matters of civil and human rights.

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Her works ROOTS AND WINGS, DIAMONDS (in collaboration with dance legend Rennie Harris), BETWEEN FINGERTIPS, A RECORD OF LIGHT and TREE OF FIRE, among others, have been widely produced with stellar artists at world-class venues including the United Nations, Edinburgh, S.P.A.R.C. at the Old Jail in Venice, Lincoln Heights Jail, The Last Bookstore, The Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts, UCLA, Occidental College, California Institute of Integral Studies, UC Santa Cruz as well as countless others. Ms. Bliss is featured in the documentaries LA WOMAN by Kate Crash, YAHOO SHINE about her work with the incarcerated and Julie Hebert's LOOK WHAT SHE DID! She is the author of the chapbook and companion manual I LOVE MYSELF GOLDEN, written for incarcerated young women and core curriculum at Occidental College. Her poems, articles and curriculum have been published by Center Theatre Group, Inner-City Arts, Street Poets, Angel City Review, Brooklyn and Boyle, Writ Large Press, Art Share and The Roots and Wings Project to name a few.  Her project, MATRIARCH, consists of monologues that shine light on the critical need to disrupt patriarchy, created by some of Los Angeles' most powerful writers/performers including Diane Rodriguez, Rose Portillo, and Larry Powell among others. Ms. Bliss directed and executive produced LUMINOUS STREETS, a DTLA Site-Specific Theatrical Tour in the Historic Core addressing women's survival and pursuit of justice with artists such as Josefina Lopez, Ricardo "Booogie Frantick" Rodriguez, Jr., Sigrid Gilmer and co-produced by Tobias Tubbs of Words Uncaged who was recently released after serving 30 years of a juvenile L.W.O.P sentence. 

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Ms. Bliss specializes in writing curriculum and teaching Theatre and Writing (of various forms) to people of all ages and backgrounds including underserved and incarcerated populations. She has worked with some of the most prestigious organizations in the nation including Center Theatre Group, The Geffen, Inside OUT Writers, Skirball, Inner-City Arts, ArtworxLA & Performing Arts Workshop among others, Jesse was awarded a Flourish Foundation grant for partnership with J.U.I.C.E. for the Roots and Wings Project Theatre Program and a grant from Poets and Writers to support workshops in Central Juvenile Hall , Lancaster Men's Prison, and California Institution for Women.  She's honored to have The Roots and Wings Project Writing and Theatre Program in California Institution for Women in partnership with Poets and Writers. The Roots and Wings Project is deeply honored to have received the Cultural Pathways Grant from the California Arts Council for the trilogy of shows including MATRIACH, LUMINOUS STREETS: A Downtown LA Theatrical Tour, and WOMEN AT WORK. Most recently, Ms. Bliss created and directed THE JOY RIDE, An Act of Political Warfare, a theatre show performed out of a vintage convertible addressing critical matters of the pandemic and race supported by artEquity. Ms. Bliss is a Co-Host and Co- Producer of KPFK 90.7 FM's THINK OUTSIDE THE CAGE, a show addressing matters of mass incarceration.