ALEXANDRA BILLINGS (Desert Playwrights’ Retreat Board Member)

ALEXANDRA BILLINGS (on the left in the photo, which her wife Chrisanne Blankenship) is an actor, singer, author, playwright, teacher, and activist. She is currently starring in POTUS at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Most recently she appeared in her autobiographical musical, S/He and Me, for which she also wrote the book, for an industry workshop in New York after being produced academically at USC in Los Angeles. Other NYC stage work includes “Madam Morrible” in Wicked on Broadway (2019), and her Broadway debut in The Nap (2018). She is currently a tenured professor at the USC School of the Dramatic Arts, the school’s first tenured transgender faculty member.

Alexandra discovered the Drag Scene in the early 80’s. She started her career out as Shanté at the now defunct Club Victoria in Chicago. She also worked at: Club 219 (Milwaukee Wisconsin), La Cage (Chicago), The Inn, and eventually landed a job at the famed Baton Show Lounge, where she was a Baton Girl for almost 5 years. During these years, Shanté went on to win Miss Wisconsin, Miss New York, Miss Chicago, Miss Illinois, and was the first Chicago performer in the history of the pageant to win the coveted Miss Florida contest. She entered the legendary Miss Continental pageant four times, and lost them all. She became known as the Eternal First Runner Up.

Ms. Billings’ first professional play in Chicago was Charles Busch’s Vampire Lesbians of Sodom for a record-breaking run in 1987 (After Dark Award for Best Actress in a Comedy.) She was then cast in many other roles in quick succession: Hamlet – The Musical; Cannibal Cheerleaders on Crack, in which she starred in for almost 5 years (two of which with DPR founder, Sean Abley); Gertrude Stein and a Companion (directed by her wife, Chrisanne Blankenship); Son Of Fire; Death Defying Acts (After Dark Award for Best Ensemble) and her one woman autobiographical piece Before I Disappear.

Other Chicago credits include Shadowlands (again, directed by Ms. Blankenship); I Came To New York To Write (Organic Theatre); The Adventures of Herculina (Next Theatre); Frederico Lorca’s The Public (Streetsigns); Tour De Farce (Wisdom Bridge), and one of her favorite roles, a live stage version of 101 Dalmatians, as villainess Cruella DeVille.

In 1996, she landed a pivotal role in Charles Mee’s Time to Burn at the Steppenwolf Theatre (Joseph Jefferson Award – Best Ensemble). Other Steppenwolf roles include Space and Berlin Circle, all directed by acclaimed Broadway director Tina Landau, and chosen by Time magazine as “Top 10 Shows of the Year.” These were followed by the role of Mrs. Lynde in Ingmar Bergman’s version of A Dolls’ House called Nora (Court Theatre) which co-starred Kate Collins. In 1999 she was cast in Larry Kramer’s pivotal AIDS piece, Just Say No playing “Nancy Regan” to Gregg Louganis’ “Jr”.

“Xena” in Xena! Live! (About Face Theatre) in Chicago. She then lived out a childhood fantasy, and was cast as Rose in Gypsy (Bailiwick Theatre); Margot Channing in Applause (Healthworks Theatre, After Dark Award for Best Actress); Jamie Pachino’s Waving Goodbye (Naked Eye); Ruth in Pirates of Penzance (Light Opera Works, directed by Tony Award winning actor Lara Teeter.)

The Princess and The Pea, Comedy of Errors, and Seussical The Musical (all Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Stilettos, Circus, and Soul (Northlight Theater with The Midnight Circus),

Alexandra’s television work includes recurring on the groundbreaking Transparent (Amazon); The Connors (ABC); Never Have I Ever (Netflix); Goliath (Amazon, with Billy Bob Thornton); Diary of a Future President (Disney+); and The Peripheral (Amazon); plus episodes of How to Get Away with Murder, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, Eli Stone, the pilot for Pretty/Handsome (created by Ryan Murphy, starring Joseph Fiennes and Blythe Danner) and and many more.

Films include Romy and Michele: In the Beginning (with Katherine Heigl); Paddleton (with Mark Duplas); Valley of Bones; Queen Tut; and Socket (written and directed by DPR founder Sean Abley).

As an educator, Alexandra has taught Viewpoints with the Steppenwolf School and Steppenwolf West; California State University (CSU-Stanislaw, CSU-Long Beach); The University of Chicago; Illinois University and many more.