alyssa james

Hey there! Welcome to my super cool website.

I’m Alyssa James, an actor, writer, and multidisciplinary artist based in New York. I was born in Queens to a Jamaican immigrant father and a Brooklyn native mother, raised in Long Island until the ripe age of 9, and then transplanted to Apopka, FL. I recently graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2023 with a BFA in Acting.

Despite running the gamut of potential professions as a child (lawyer and pediatrician were in the running…sorry Mom), I’ve been performing for as long as I could remember. I actually made my Off-off-off Broadway debut as Mother Nature in my elementary school play. Critics raved, but ultimately we closed after a single weekend due to the arduous commute to Long Island. Listen, I get it. As I got older, it became clear that acting and storytelling are things I cannot live my life without.

Growing up biracial and queer, I've found that I gravitate towards untold stories and characters that feel conflicting in nature. I’m interested in the stories of women who disobey the polite and pretty stereotype our society has set out for them. I'm constantly seeking the humor in the darkness of daily life and I strive to make art that reflects that absurd contradiction. I have a passion for writing and devising new work—I am currently in the process of developing a full-length draft of Everest, a play I am co-writing with Tess Riley. My recent credits include Flex (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Slow Burn (The Tank), and Poolsides (The Pebble Collective).

In my downtime, I enjoy playing basketball and racquetball, going to the movies, playing any board game where I can get remotely competitive, and drafting my tight five. The last good movie I saw is The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, the last good book I read is The Guest by Emma Cline, the last good play I saw is Sumo at The Public, and the latest song I’m obsessed with is But Not Kiss by Faye Webster.