A.J. Allegra
A.J. Allegra is the current Artistic Director of The NOLA Project theatre company. He moved to New Orleans from his hometown of Chicago after graduating from NYU in 2007 and has resided in the city since that time. He has over thirty credits with the company as a director, writer, and actor and has been nominated for over twenty Big Easy Awards and has won two, for directing Assassins (2008) and acting in Mr. Marmalade (2009). Under his leadership, the company has formed many important cultural partnerships with area organizations, the most significant being The NOLA Project’s unique partnership with The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). In 2012, he was named to Gambit Magazine’s prestigious 40 Under 40 List. He holds a BFA in Theatre from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, a Shakespeare in Performance Certification from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) in London, and MS in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. He currently heads the Musical Theatre division at Lusher Charter School and previously taught in the NOCCA Theatre Department for seven years.