Alliance Theatre Names Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and Christopher Moses as New Artistic Directors

After a national search, the Alliance Theatre Board of Directors has named Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and Christopher Moses as Artistic Directors.  The appointment follows Kajese-Bolden's four-years-long role with the Alliance as the BOLD Associate Artistic Director and Moses's twenty-year long career with the Alliance, most recently as the Dan Reardon Director of Education and Associate Artistic Director.  The pair, both deeply rooted in Atlanta’s arts, cultural, and civic communities, have been serving as Interim Artistic Directors since Susan V. Booth’s departure to become the Artistic Director of Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in October 2022.  This appointment marks the first time in its 55-year history that the Alliance has appointed two Artistic Directors, a decision that will support the Theatre’s expected growth over the next five years and strengthens its role as a cultivator of new works for all audiences and leader in arts education.

“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,” said Jocelyn Hunter, Alliance Board Chair and Chair of the search committee.  “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.”

During their tenure as interim Artistic Directors, Kajese-Bolden and Moses embarked on a campaign to fund the building of a new performance space devoted to expanding the Alliance’s programming for youth audiences and programmed the Alliance’s 2023/24 season, which will include four world premieres, two recent Pulitzer Prize-winning works, and multiple partnerships.  They also, with the support of selection committees, chose the winning play and finalists of the 20th Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition and the projects to be developed in the 9th Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab.

Kajese-Bolden is an award-winning Director, Actor, and Producer. She is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award for Directing.  Recent directing credits include Toni Stone (co-production between Milwaukee Repertory Theater and Alliance Theatre), The Many Wondrous Realities of Jasmine Starr-Kidd and Nick’s Flamingo Grill (World Premieres at the Alliance Theatre), School Girls, Or the African Mean Girls Play (Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre), Ghost (Alliance Theatre), Native Gardens (Virginia Stage Company), Pipeline (Horizon Theater), and Eclipsed(Synchronicity Theatre, Best Director Suzi Bass Award). She has also worked as a director and actor regionally and on and off Broadway.  As the BOLD Associate Artistic Director at Alliance Theatre, Kajese-Bolden stewarded the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, cultivating new works for Atlanta-based artists, and oversaw the Spelman Leadership Fellowship, the first mentorship program of its kind partnering a regional theatre with an historically Black college and university to offer paid career opportunities for students interested in arts leadership positions.

Moses has worked in professional theater for twenty years and was awarded the Governor’s Award for Arts and Humanities for his work in the field. After working at the Alliance for ten years, he became the Director of Education in 2011, overseeing the Alliance Theatre Institute (twice recognized as an Arts Model by the Federal Department of Education), Theatre for Youth and Families programming, and the Acting Program.  Under his leadership, the Alliance launched its Kathy & Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young program, providing fully interactive professional theater experiences for children ages newborn through five; the Alliance Teen Ensemble, performing world premiere plays commissioned for and about teens; Palefsky Collision Project, where teens produce a new work after colliding with a classic text; and Alliance@work, a professional development program designed for the business sector. Moses also expanded the Alliance’s summer camp program to serve over 3,000 children in multiple locations across Atlanta. In 2014, Chris added the title Associate Artistic Director and has continued to expand the Alliance’s commissioned works for youth and family audiences.

“I am beyond thrilled and deeply honored to serve the Alliance staff and Atlanta community in the role of Artistic Director!" said Kajese-Bolden.  "Atlanta embraced my family 10 years ago and there is no other city more exciting and promising in which to live. I have a vision for theatre at the heart of public life for all. A vision where Atlanta is an artistic hub for the nation and the Alliance a symbol of what is possible when we prioritize the well-being of artists and staff. Chris Moses is a visionary leader fueled by a passion for access and a restless appetite for growth and adventure. Together, we are uniquely prepared to maximize the power of creative abrasion by opening the epicenter of decision making and inviting our comprehensive worldviews, with a heap of unbridled humor, to our programming and policy making.”

“I'm humbled and grateful beyond all imagination to serve this theatre that I love, in this city that I love, with the people that I love,” said Moses.  “The opportunity to build upon the momentous foundation set by Kenny Leon and Susan Booth and to realize our dream of making theatre a birthright for everyone in our community is tantalizing.  That I get to do this alongside my friend, colleague, fellow Atlantan and consummate artist, Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, makes the experience infinitely more rewarding, and the possibilities exponentially more profound.”

“Tinashe and Chris know Atlanta and the national theater scene, they are field-leading in new works, and they have the trust of our board and stakeholders of all ages,” said Mike Schleifer, Alliance Theatre Managing Director. “I’ve been thrilled over the last 8 months at how well the three of us worked together to program, schedule, and budget next season while joyfully executing this one. This team brings together their individual strengths, lived experiences, passions, and beliefs in the power of this artform to advance the Alliance’s mission of expanding hearts and minds, on stage and off.”

This appointment comes at a transition time for the Alliance and theaters across the country.  As the new leaders look for models of growth and sustainability, the Artistic Directors will focus on opportunities for artistic collaborations, as illustrated by the Alliance’s 2023/24 season co-productions with The Atlanta Opera and others; expanded programming and access for Youth and School Field Trip audiences, groups whose numbers have grown since the pandemic shutdowns; developing and supporting local Atlanta artists and the next generation of theater administrators; and developing impactful new works for all audiences. 

Tinashe Kajese-Bolden

(Artistic Director, Alliance Theatre) served most recently as the BOLD Associate Artistic Director at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta before stepping into the role of Artistic Director in 2023. Tinashe is a 2019 Princess Grace Award Winner for Directing, and Map Fund Award recipient to develop her devised new work All Smiles centering the experience of children on the Autism Spectrum. Most recently, she directed the World Premiere of The Many Wondrous Realities of Jasmine Starr-Kidd. Select directing productions include Toni Stone (co-production Milwaukee Repertory Theater and the Alliance Theatre), School Girls, Or the African Mean Girls Play (Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre), Ghost (Alliance Theatre), Native Gardens(Virginia Stage Company), Pipeline (Horizon Theater), Nick’s Flamingo Grill (World Premiere at the Alliance Theatre), Eclipsed (Synchronicity Theatre, Best Director Suzi Bass Award). As a director and actor, she has worked on and off Broadway, including The Imperial Theatre, Primary Stages, 59E59 Theatre, Classical Theatre of Harlem; and regionally at Yale Rep, Woolly Mammoth Theater Co, Cincinnati Playhouse, The Geva Theatre, CTG’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, among others, as well as recurring roles on TV/Film (Strays, Suicide Squad 2, Marvel’s “Hawkeye,” CW’s “Valor,” “Dynasty,” HBO’s “Henrietta Lacks,” Ava Duverney’s “Cherish the Day,” among others.) She proudly serves on the ARTS-ATL Artist Advisory Council. “My mission is the pursuit of what connects our different communities and how we create art that serves that.”

Christopher Moses

(Artistic Director, Alliance Theatre) has been working in professional theatre for twenty years and in 2022 was awarded the Governor’s Award for Arts in Humanities for his body of work. In January of 2011, Chris took on the position of Director of Education at the Alliance Theatre, overseeing the Alliance Theatre Institute (twice recognized as an Arts Model by the Federal Department of Education), Theatre for Youth & Families, and the Acting Program. Since taking over this position, Chris has expanded the reach and impact by making the Alliance Theatre Education department a vital resource for advancing the civic agenda of Atlanta. This work is accomplished through deep and sustained partnerships with social service organizations throughout the city. Under his leadership, the Alliance launched its Kathy & Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young program, which provides fully interactive professional theater experiences for children of all abilities from ages newborn through five years old; the Alliance Teen Ensemble, which performs world premiere plays commissioned for and about teens; the Palefsky Collision Project, where teens produce a new work after colliding with a classic text; expanded the Alliance’s summer camp program to include over 3,000 children in multiple locations across Atlanta; and Alliance@work, a professional development program designed for the business sector — the latest offering of which uses theatre practice to create a culture of civility in the workplace. In 2014, Chris added the title Associate Artistic Director, and has continued to expand the Alliance’s education offerings. During his tenure in this position, the Alliance has produced over a dozen world premiere plays for young audiences, including Pancakes, Pancakes by Ken Lin, The Dancing Granny by Jireh Breon Holder, Max Makes a Million by Liz Diamond, and The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Madhuri Shekar. Currently, the Alliance serves over 100,000 students pre-k – 12 each season, as well as over 4,000 adults through its extensive education offerings.