Mariah L. Richardson is a native of St. Louis. She received a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of New Mexico and an M.F.A. in playwriting from Smith College. Richardson began her acting career in New Mexico. She did two seasons with the St. Louis Black Repertory and three seasons with Metro Theater Company during which she completed an 80-show tour of Delilah's Wish, commissioned by MTC. Her HBO/New Writers Project solo performance show, all that…, has toured throughout the country. Her second play, Sistahs Indeed!, was a mainstage production at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park in 2008. Richardson is a budding filmmaker with several films under her belt. Her first short film, 5 of Cups, premiered in The Center's film festival in New York in 2004. Her third film, Beautiful Hands, made the rounds in film festivals, being screened by Chicks with Flicks Film Festival in New York City and the 2006 St. Louis International Film Festival. Richardson is an accomplished poet whose work is published in many anthologies and magazines such as Essence magazine, Sinister Wisdom and Harbinger: Poetry and Fiction as well as her own chapbook, Stronger Than My Fears. Richardson is currently an adjunct professor at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park. She has taught in after-school programs, residences and homeless shelters from Los Angeles to New England. Richardson's goal is to combine all the things she loves—poetry, performance, film and music—to create work which inspires others to tell their own stories and radiate the Creator Spirit within.
