NOVA
CYPRESS
BLACK
(dey/dem/NOVA)
photo courtesy of Jessica Haye & Clark Hsiao
[no-vuh]
gender neutral.
a star that expands
over time, yet always
returns to its origin.
writes deir name in all caps as a reminder to take up space as a disabled Black gender-expansive lighthouse. This genre-defying writer, ancestrally-led choreographer, budding documentarian & passionate educator pledges allegiance to liberation & pleasure.
NOVA was a Staff Writer on season 3 of Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q. Dey were also a 2024 Sony Pictures Entertainment Fellowship recipient; a Writing Fellow in Film Independent’s 2024 Project Involve; & a TV Writing Fellow in Lambda Literary's 2024 Writers Retreat, Outfest's 2021 Screenwriting Lab, & Lena Waithe's 2021 Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab. NOVA was also 1 of 7 trans writers who made the 2022 GLAAD List.
NOVA's first produced short film, SWEET TOOTH, premiered on RevoltTV’s Short & Fresh series–in a Damn Write Originals compilation. The short/proof-of-concept for NOVA's solo directorial debut, (dey/dem): a choreo-doc, has been included in curriculum at Spelman College & University of California, Riverside. The experimental documentary has been a recipient of grants from Southern Documentary Fund; National Black Arts; Arts & Entertainment Atlanta; & Idea Capital & won Cycle 2, Season 2 of ATLFilmParty during deir time as Sequoia Ascension’s 2023 Artist-in-Residence.
NOVA’s poetry has graced the pages of Fifth Wheel Press; 580 Split; Zone 3 Press; etc. Dey penned, choreographed, & produced the ensemble choreoplays: “another goddamn lesbian movie / a choreopoem.” (NYC, 2017) & “somewheres: a world-in-progress,” (NYC, 2020). Deir first solo, (POST-OP): a-well-in-progress, came out of NOVA’s 2023 Summer Artist-in-Residence with Fly On A Wall.
This nomadic Libra is an inaugural participant in the 2024-5 Black Trans Ethical World(un)making Lab & a Memory Workers Fellow for The Autistic Voices Oral History Project (tAVOHP).
NOVA CYPRESS BLACK
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A WESTSIDE LOVE STORY
Writer
Narrative short film--After a mix-up at a wing joint,
two queer HBCU students--a non-binary filmmaker
& an HIV+ fashionista--embark on a surreal first date
through Atlanta's historic West End.
DEEP DISH DIMPLES
Writer
Narrative short film--Starring Brian Michael Smith
(911: LONE STAR) & Angelica Ross (POSE), DEEP
DISH DIMPLES this psychological thriller follows a
Black trans man who calls his best friend to help him
bury a body.
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an experimental documentary illuminating Black non-binary folks in the
American Souf & deir connection to the nearly erased history of gender
expansiveness within the African diaspora.
(dey/dem): a choreo-doc (2023)
Director
Last to Know (2022)
episode 304 of The L Word: Generation Q: Micah finds a queer role
model while a new face helps Dani and Sophie break out of their funk.
Meanwhile, Alice tests the waters of her new relationship. Shocking
truths come to light when the masks come off.
Co-writer
Honey Bee (2020)
music video by Neptune XXI ft. Joie Kathos & Mitch Lakes. Sometimes
fantasy meets reality for the sweetest daydream.
Co-Director
photo courtesy of Jessica Haye & Clark Hsiao
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POST-OP: a well-in-progress
a solo performance honoring the process of
recovery after top surgery
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June 2023. East Point, GA. Fly on a Wall’s
Summer 2023 Artist-in-Residence.
somewheres: a world-in-progress
another goddamn lesbian movie/
a choreopoem.
when Z uses plant magic to summon their post-
apocalyptic self, they discover a wondrous realm where
Black queer & trans people are the last living beings
March 2020. NYC. The Performance Project at
University Settlement’s Emerging Guest Artist.
a group of Brooklyn-based Black queer friends navigate
their love lives during a period of political calamity.
June 2017. NYC. Brooklyn Arts Council’s 2017
Local Arts Grant Recipient
photo: Christina Massad
photo: Muse Dodd
photo: Imani Dennison
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short screenplay. Directed by Britt Banks. Premiered on REVOLTTV. August 2022.
SWEET TOOTH
choreoplay. Directed by NOVA CYPRESS BLACK. NYC. March 2020.
SOMEWHERES: A WORLD-IN-PROGRESS
choreoplay. Directed by NOVA CYPRESS BLACK. NYC. June 2017.
ANOTHER GODDAMN LESBIAN MOVIE / A CHOREOPOEM.
audio scripts. Dipsea Stories app. Remote. June 2019 - Feb 2020.
OPEN FLOOR PLAN I, II, & III; MEMORY LANE; GEMINI SEASON
Resuscitating the Alphabet; week I-don't-even-know-anymore on T or voice euphoria; Contrary to
Popular Belief, Pussy Eats Me
poems. fifth wheel press: dreamland. Sept 2023. Nominated for 2025 Best of the Net Anthology.
EXT. HERE - DAY; AD-LIB
poems. 580 Split: Push Black. July 2021.
HOW TO MAKE A PLAYLIST
poem. Zone 3 Press. Spring 2020. Winner of 2nd Annual Broadside Competition.
teleplay. 2022 GLAAD List. Developed during 2021 Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab. April 2022.
BLACKSEED
THE DUVET WHISPERS TO THE SEX SWING
audio poem. Poetry Foundation’s VS Podcast: Franny and Danez vs. the Mailbag. May 2020.
photo: j. weary
BBC
teleplay excerpt. 2024 Lambda Literary Emerge anthology. 2025.
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CREATIVE
WRITING
DANCE
THEATER
FREELANCE
TEACHING
ARTIST &
CURRICULUM
WRITER
novacypressblack@gmail.com
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