larryjean powell (theirs)
infinihyphenate. interdisciplinary.
auteur.
born n raised
south central LA.

as a kid growing up in baldwin hills with their grandmother’s canon mini dv camcorder, writing and recording their "projects," larryjean became obsessed with how their play-like stories could live on screen — big and small. these were their “movies”. this lifelong passion gave birth to what they call cinetheatre: a new canon blending stage and screen into singular, electric experiences. through community support and sheer vision, they have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to create and spearhead six original works — mother’s milk, the gaze, strong friend let go, the daddy issue, realness, and the madame of leimert. each piece began its life on the page, crafted not only for the stage but always with the possibility of finding new power on camera, centering the language of theatre and the images of cinema simultaneously. this experimental form is paving the way for full-scale feature films, major theatrical productions, and more to come. larryjean’s work is rooted in love, community, and the belief that storytelling can expand access, belonging, and imagination across generations.

as an award-winning theatre actor, they have premiered fierce new plays like the christians by lucas hnath, the legend of georgia mcbride by matthew lopez, father comes home from the wars by suzan-lori parks, brokeology by nathan louis jackson, while i yet live by billy porter, curve of departure by rachel bonds, seared by theresa rebeck, the flower thief by pia wilson, bronzeville by aaron woolfolk and tim toyama, and many seasons at the obie-winning fire this time festival.

most recently they were seen on stage at pasadena playhouse’s production of cyrano as ligniere.

a two-time ovation award nominee, three-time naacp theatre award nominee, san francisco bay area theatre award nominee, two-time LA drama critics circle award winner, and an audelco and audie award nominee.

most recently on screen, they’ve portrayed rick james on mgm+’s hotel cocaine opposite mark feuerstein + danny pino, and directed by academy award winner guillermo navarro. the iconic leimert park vendor in calmatic’s white men can’t jump opposite jack harlow. shannon in the acclaimed short written by terrance daye and directed by adriane mccray, when offered wind, starring opposite fellow emmy nominee carl clemons-hopkins, and chauncey jenkins on bet+’s 3x emmy nominated tv sitcom, the ms. pat show.

as a writer, they’re the recipient of the 2021 iama theatre company shonda rhimes unsung voices playwriting award, 2020 cornelia street playwriting award, and are an inaugural 2021 circle of confusion writers discovery fellow.

their play the gaze, a 2021 o’neill npc finalist, is also an award-winning digital series: a two-time 2021 daytime emmy award nominee, 2021 webby award honoree, and 2021 micheaux film festival’s best comedic digital series winner. 2023 micheaux film festival winner for their film strong friend, let go.

they wrote/directed/starred in/produced their debut experimental feature mother’s milk: a film quilt which won the 2021 seattle international film festival’s new american cinema special jury prize and was an official selection at the 2021 pan african film festival.

currently a staff writer/exec story editor for five seasons on the 3x emmy-nominated tv sitcom the ms. pat show, and a director of the 2023 audie award-winning audio drama of pipeline by dominique morisseau. you can watch their work at larryjean.com/stream/videos.

adjunct lecturer at USC’s school of dramatic arts. carnegie mellon school of drama grad.