Giovanni Adams

Ike Turner

Giovanni Adams is an NAACP Award-winning actor and playwright. He is thrilled to be making his Australian premiere in TINA.

He last appeared in Tiny Beautiful Things at Pasadena Playhouse and as Watson in Anna Ziegler’s Photograph 51 at South Coast Repertory. He originated the role of Colis in Kemp Powers’ Little Black Shadows at South Coast Rep and was in the world premiere of Powers’ One Night Miami (Rogue Machine Theatre; LA Drama Critics Circle Award and NAACP Theatre Award for Best Ensemble, 2013).

He has participated in the Pacific Playwrights Festival, Bay Area Playwrights Festival and the Writer’s Workshop Retreat at Center Theatre Group to help develop new works. His other stage credits include Mount Misery (Cutting Ball Theater), The Recommendation and Bela Lugosi’s Dead (IAMA Theatre Company) and Miss Julie and King Lear (Yale Repertory Theatre).

He wrote and directed Gayme On, premiering at Outfest 2021. His solo play Love is a Dirty Word premiered in Los Angeles and received an NAACP Theatre Award as well as LA Stage Alliance Ovation and LA Drama Critics Circle awards recognition, 2016. He wrote and starred in a short film adaptation of the play called 2 Black Boys, which premiered at Outfest Fusion, 2020.

His film and television credits include Perry Mason, Nina, Criminal Minds, Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous, Grey’s Anatomy, and Gary UnMarried.

Adams has lectured on personal essay writing and storytelling at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi and received his BA from Yale University.