Liza is an artivist; an actress, playwright, poet, author and youth advocate who has worked steadfast with incarcerated populations for more than two decades. Her critically acclaimed one woman show, The Peculiar Patriot, had successful runs at the National Black Theater (NY), Arts Emerson (Boston), Woolly Mammoth (Washington, DC) and Detroit Public Theater. The play was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, Elliot Norton and a recipient of a Lilly Award. It is available on Audible. Liza performed The Peculiar Patriot in 35 prisons across the country and a documentary, Angola Do You Hear Us; Voices from a Plantation Prison, features her historic performance of The Peculiar Patriot at Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka Angola) which is streaming on Paramount Plus and Amazon Prime, and was shortlist for an Academy Award. The Peculiar Patriot is currently in development for a feature film.

Her memoir, ALL DAY; A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island (Hachette publishing) was commissioned by The Old Globe Theater to adapt the book into a stage play, and she has developed a TV pilot based on the book. Liza was featured in Ava DuVernay’s Emmy award winning documentary, The 13th, and was a consultant on Bill Moyers documentary Rikers (PBS).

Also known for her exceptional poetic skills, Liza began her poetry career at the Nuyorican Poets Café and appeared on two episodes of HBO’s Def Poetry.

Liza appeared in Showtime’s mini-series, Everything’s Gonna Be All White, by Sacha Jenkins. She can be seen in A Luv Tale (BETplus), Love the Hard Way (co-starring with Pam Grier and Adrien Brody) Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, and K. Shalini’s A Drop of Life. 

Liza wrote and starred in two short films, MERLINA and Black Love Manifesto, both won several festival awards.

For more info on her projects, visit her website at www.lizajessiep.com