Eisa Davis

Eisa Davis (born May 5, 1971) is an American playwright, actress and singer-songwriter. She is most commonly known for her work as a playwright, writing shows such as Bulrusher and Angela's Mixtape as well as through her acting work, wherein she won an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Performance. She resides in Brooklyn. Early life and education Davis spent her childhood in San Francisco, California. As a child, she spent her time attending dance classes and learning the piano. She is the niece of political activist Angela Davis. After graduating from Berkeley High School, she earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a Master of Fine Arts from the Actors Studio, where she double majored in playwriting and acting. Her dance skills are notable as well, with the dean of her program saying she could have been admitted to Alvin Ailey. Career Davis stars as Addie Pickett, nurse and receptionist at Bluebell, Alabama's local medical practice in The CW's series Hart of Dixie, a fish-out-of-water story about a New York City doctor (Rachel Bilson) adjusting to life in a small Southern town after she inherits a local medical practice. In 2006 Davis was nominated for, and subsequently won, an Obie Award for her performance in Passing Strange. The show premiered at Berkeley Rep, but then moved on to Broadway and Davis went with the show, only later to have the whole production filmed by Spike Lee. In 2009 she wrote and starred in Angela's Mixtapes. The show was autobiographical and went on to make it into the New Yorkers list of best plays from that year. Davis was previously a resident playwright at New Dramatists, during which time she won two playwriting awards, the Whitfield Cook and the Helen Merrill. Recently she has worked at Williams College as an Arthur Levitt Fellow for the 2013/14 season. Currently she is the Symphony Space's artist-in-residence. Davis has two albums of her own music, Something Else and Tinctures. Some of her songs have been featured on the Showtime series Soul Food. Davis also narrated the role of Celestial Davenport Hamilton in the audiobook version of An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. Her play Bulrusher will also be produced at Berkeley Rep OCT 27–DEC 3, 2023.