Anya Pearson

Anya Pearson

Anya Pearson is an award-winning actress, playwright, poet, screenwriter, producer, and activist. She was the inaugural winner of the $10,000 Voice is a Muscle Grant from the Corporeal Voices Foundation run by best-selling author Lidia Yuknavitch. The award was given to a writer of color from Oregon who demonstrated exemplary merit (Made to Dance in Burning Buildings) and a passion for social justice. 

Made to Dance in Burning Buildings, is a fusion of poetry, theatre, and violent and visceral contemporary dance, which poses the question: how do we heal from trauma? Made to Dance in Burning Buildings played to a sold out house at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater in April 2018 and received its World Premiere at Shaking The Tree Theatre February – March 2019, (Drammy Award for Best Choreography) where Anya was the Playwright-in-Residence for the 2018-2019 season.

Anya is working on a series of projects (in addition to Made to Dance) aimed at empowering other survivors of sexual violence (especially survivors of color), raising awareness around the lasting effects of PTSD and trauma, and fighting back against rape culture. They include: a collection of poetry, a TV show, a documentary, a memoir, and a guide to healing for survivors co-authored with a leading therapist. It is a huge part of her life’s mission as an artist, an activist, and a survivor to create a more just world for survivors of sexual violence, one in which they are allowed to thrive, not just fight for survival.