Alyssa Weathersby (she/her) is a New York-based director/choreographer, vocalist, and arts educator.
Working within a larger nexus of live performance, Alyssa’s ability to wear many hats has honed her strongest creative gift: communication. Her ability to ‘bridge the gap’ lead to focus on creative direction and leadership. For more information on her background and directorial approach, or to learn more anout her work as a performer, educator, or writer, please see below.
As a director, Alyssa’s stylistic staging is often hailed as “cleverly designed” and “compelling.” Over this past season, Alyssa directed Opera in the Heights’ Lucia di Lammermoor and joined the NYC early music ensemble TENET to direct the pastiche Ariadne, Unbound. Last season, Alyssa returned to UFOMT where she choreographed Anything Goes and served as Co-Director/Choreographer alongside George Pinney for Guys & Dolls and Little Shop of Horrors, directed the world premier of Hildegard, Reborn with the NYPL at the Lincoln Center, directed Opera del West’s La Divina, and directed and choreographed the regional premier of James Shirley and John Locke’s Cupid & Death with Early Music Access Project at the famed Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, VA, where she previously directed their production of Venus & Adonis in 2022.
Other highlights include directing the sell-out productions of Rigoletto (Opera in the Heights) and L’elisir d’amore (Boston Opera Collaborative), devising and directing an updated Così fan tutt[i] (Carnegie Mellon University), and joining the New England Conservatory to direct Hansel & Gretel and the Undergraduate Opera Scenes and selections of the graduate Perkins Opera Scenes programs. Alyssa has also served as staff at the international festival Prague Summer Nights (director, choreographer, fight choreographer).
Reach Alyssa by email at alyssaweathersby@gmail.com or on Instagram @alyssaweathersby.
References available upon request.
“She’s someone who has really done it all even though she’s quite young. She’s had kind of parallel paths of being an opera singer, stage director and choreographer [and] works for companies doing intimacy directing and stage combat choreography. She does all of those things at the highest level.”
—Eiki Isomura, Artistic Director at Opera in the Heights
Directorial Collaborators:
Utah Festival of Opera & Musical Theatre
Opera in the Heights
NYPL at Lincoln Center
Prague Summer Nights
Early Music Access Project
Reagle Music Theatre
Houston Gilbert & Sullivan Society
TENET
Boston Opera Collaborative
Opera del West
Opera NEO
Crested Butte Music Festival
Academic Guest Director:
Carnegie Mellon University
New England Conservatory of Music
University of Pittsburgh
University of Colorado
+more
BM: University of Houston
MM: New England Conservatory of Music
SDC Associate Member
AGMA Member
Performance
Studio
Writing
More info.
Background
It started with a broken sword.
“As a young ballerina I danced the role of Rat Queen in a production of The Nutcracker. My sword snapped at the hilt approximately two 8-counts before I needed to stab my dance partner. Amidst cries of ‘throw your tiara!’ and ‘punch him!’ from the wings, I decided to grab the Nutcracker’s own sword and continue on to the stabbing. My choreographer liked my instincts, so she handed me swaths of shows to shape and choreograph for my own. When I went to school for music, I kept choreographing. With my keen understanding of spatial relationships, the plight of a singer-actor, and the nuts and bolts of a good story, the Chair of Opera Studies at the New England Conservatory, Joshua Major, took notice and opened the door to what seemed like the inevitable: directing.”
My decades of experience as a dancer paired with two vocal music degrees give me a distinct understanding of performers. I find that this is most potent when I direct opera. Because I share a common language with singers, I can articulate physical movement in ways that both benefit their sound production and access their deep well of artistic knowledge.
Directorial Approach
I believe that each show is an opportunity to distill a core idea that leads us through a facet of our messy human experience. Once you find that core, everything aligns. I call it my ‘North Star.’ Following this North Star is my first pillar of directing.
My second pillar is People First. We cannot make art about humanity without having any. I believe that people come first. The cast, the crew, the audience—they’re all people and must be respected as such.
My third pillar is to Trust the Team. The best possible show is always an amalgamation of each person’s strengths. It’s my job to discover, bolster, and blend them.
My fourth pillar is stylistic: Create Dynamic Shapes. I believe music and movement—not just visual design—are more beautiful with arresting depth and form.
Interest
I have a fondness for shows at the end of the repertoire spectrum. I love to explore warhorse pieces and revitalize them in a way that includes a broader perspective—which frequently means including the perspective of the ill-fated heroine at the center of the action. I also love the spectacle and absurdity of a boisterous comedy that invokes movement-driven humor and pageantry.