"The work of the eyes is done. Go now and do the heart-work on the images imprisoned within you."
Rainer Maria Rilke
Meet Bellah
Bellah is an actor, poet, educator, and (her favorite) student of theatre and life.
Based out of Chicago, IL, she is passionate about creating art and making theatre that fills the soul. She believes relentlessly in doing the heart-work as a means of cultivating change, empathy, and connection. She loves sunrises, her dog, coffee, and the sacred nature of a good morning routine!
She holds a BFA in Theatre Performance with a double minor in Creative Writing & English from The University of Central Oklahoma and has recently received her MFA in Acting from The University of Arkansas. She has had a numerous amount of acting training and continues the pursuit of learning in all her endeavors! Additionally, she has certifications in Moment Work through the Tectonic Theater Project's Moment Work Institute and rapier & dagger and unarmed combat through the Society of American Fight Directors.
“Love is the sole impulse for creation…”
Ernest Holmes
The Why
Bellah seeks to answers the yearnings of her inner child who longed to create. Whilst initially this impulse came from an archaic place in her bones, it has morphed into a dream that means something more than.
Theatre allows us to see one another. It cultivates a gathering space which emphasizes the togetherness that is deeply necessitated within the human experience. In a world that consistently tries to disconnect us from each other, theatre’s ambition is to bring us closer. Interwoven in the fabric of our DNA is the need for human connection. People need people.
As a creative artist and performer, Bellah is drawn to women centric stories where the planes of their nuanced existence and stifled voices can finally breathe freely. She feels deeply connected to the voices of her female ancestors and all the many versions of herself that have existed. She considers her original play and one person show — Mr. Sandman, her love letter to girlhood.
Bellah is consistently inspired by the infinite capacity for growth and change Theatre possesses and always desires to share that love with others. As an educator, she has a plethora of teaching experience including classes taught in acting, development of solo work/devising, theatre history, directing, etc.
She is a poet who considers herself infinitely curious about and in love with words and the way they make things alive. Bellah writes about nature, and art, and womanhood, and all the big small things.
Within all of her artistic pursuits is the desire to understand more about the human condition, to nourish the sacred practice of empathy, and to say relentlessly and loudly “I was here.”