Portfolio
Bio
Monica Payne (she/her) is a theatre and film director, whose work intersects bold physicality, deep emotion, and collective ritual.
Her projects include devised work, literary adaptations, new plays, music videos, and short films. In Feb/March of 2025, she directed Hedda Gabler for the Artistic Home in Chicago, which was extended and Jeff recommended. Payne has directed throughout the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh and her devised work, Song of Home, toured to Eastern Europe. Her Chicago projects have won multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards. She was a Resident Director at Trap Door Theatre (Chicago) for several years and is a member of SDC, The Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, Director’s Lab West, and the National Alliance of Acting Teachers.
Payne holds an MFA in Directing from the UCLA School of Theatre, Film, and Television, and has been a Meisner-based acting teacher for many years. She has taught for The School at Steppenwolf, Steppenwolf Classes West, The Latino Theatre Company, The Robert Mello Studio, The Artistic Home, and her own studios in L.A. and Chicago. At the university level, she has taught at UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, and Point Park University, where she also served as the Head of Graduate Acting. She is an Associate Professor of Acting/Directing at Tulane University in New Orleans, where she teaches for the Theatre and Dance Department, as well as Digital Media Practices.
Her short film, Mimi, has been selected for the New Orleans Film Festival, which will run in person Oct. 23-27 and virtually until Nov. 2, 2025. She is also currently co-writing the eighth edition of Play Directing: Analysis, Communication, and Style.
Contact
Monica is currently based in New Orleans, and loves to travel as part of directing life…
Facebook: facebook.com/monica.payne.94
Instagram: instagram.com/monicapaynedirector