How Aleshea Harris Combined Influences from Across History to Create Her Tragic, Absurd Debut ‘Is God Is’
Aleshea Harris, a playwright and first-time film director, transformed her Obie Award-winning play 'Is God Is' into a feature film, drawing on ancient Greek tragedy and personal experience. The story follows twin sisters, Racine and Anaia, who embark on a violent quest for vengeance after their mother, severely burned by their father, commands them to kill him. Harris's journey from financial struggle to artistic success underscores her commitment to telling bold, surreal, and deeply personal stories.
- ▪Aleshea Harris wrote 'Is God Is' while on food stamps and working multiple jobs, including teaching and a position at David’s Bridal.
- ▪The play premiered at Soho Rep Theatre in New York in 2018 and won Harris three Obie Awards.
- ▪Harris was encouraged to direct the film adaptation by Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris, marking her directorial debut.
- ▪The film centers on twin sisters, played by Kara Young and Mallori Johnson, who seek revenge on their father for burning their mother and disfiguring them.
- ▪Vivica A. Fox plays the twins’ mother, known as 'God,' who, before dying, instructs her daughters to kill their father.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
When the playwright and now film director Aleshea Harris began writing the script for “Is God Is,” she was on food stamps; subletting an apartment in North Hollywood; and working multiple jobs, including teaching at California Institute of Arts where she’d gotten her MFA in 2014 and moonlighting as an associate at David’s Bridal. “I was so broke,” Harris, now 44, said in a recent video interview with IndieWire. As a break from the drudgery of surviving a fraught postgraduate landscape, Harris sought refuge in her imagination. “I wondered what would happen if I were to write a play that was inspired by ancient Greek tragedy, but populated by people who look and speak like myself,” she recalls thinking at the time.
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