Sadia Alao
she/her/hers
Bowie, MD
Sadia Alao is a Washington metropolitan-bred filmmaker, director, writer, & performer with a BA in Theater and BS in Marketing from The University of Maryland.
Biography

Hello! My name is Sadia Alao. I am a director, writer, filmmaker, and performer. My work involves uplifting and creating space for marginalized lives with a focal point on telling stories that center on the empowerment of Black communities. I plan on one day heading my own multimedia production company highlighting the success and narratives of people of color.

As an artist, I am most inspired by my grandmother who raised 5 children in a small village in Kwara State, Nigeria. Though uneducated herself, she put all her children through school by selling palm oil on busy street markets. This determination is what led my mother 6,000 miles away to a better future. This determination is what breathes in me. I create from what I've experienced firsthand and from proverbs and accounts that precede me.

Plays

by Sadia Alao

Omo Mi follows Amina, a young Nigerian-American girl who has to navigate an unexpected pregnancy and possible abortion while dealing with her overbearing mother, Halima, who is vehemently pro-life. Set over the backdrop of Egungun masquerade and Yoruba mysticism, this story explores the notions we impose on women’s sexual and physical beings and how these impositions ultimately lead to generational hurt.

Cast:

Successes

  • Winner of the John Cauble Award for Outstanding Short Play 2021, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival

 

  • Awarded the “Vital Signs: Creative Arts for Black Lives Grant”, funded by The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

 

  • Visiting Artist at Andy’s Sumer Playhouse

 

  • Performed in University of Maryland’s Second Season production of “Lost Sons”