Monica Payne is a professional director and an Assistant Professor at Tulane University in New Orleans. She is also the founder of Theatre Lumina, a group of artists committed to cross-cultural collaboration and international exchange.
Monica Payne is a theatre and film director, whose work intersects bold physicality, deep emotion, and collective ritual. She is the founder of Theatre Lumina, an ensemble devoted to cross-cultural collaboration and international exchange. Her projects include devised work, literary adaptations, new plays, and short films. Her most recent devised piece, Song of Home, toured to Eastern Europe in February of 2020. Payne has directed throughout the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh. She is a Resident Director at Trap Door Theatre (Chicago) and is a member of SDC, The Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, and Director’s Lab West. Payne holds an MFA from UCLA.
