Haley Davis is a theatre director, actor, educator, and painter. She graduated with her B.A. in Theatre and Minor in Marketing from Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi. She received her Master of Letters (M.Litt) and Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A) in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University (MBU). 

After graduate school, Haley worked as an Adjunct Professor for JMU and MBU while performing, directing, and painting professionally. She joined JMU Theatre and Dance full time as an AP Faculty member in 2023, where she combines teaching and administration for STAD.

As both a theatre and studio artist, Haley's practice and research centers on women and gender in classical text and performance. She is most interested in director methodologies and performers' access to character, her scholarship and artistic work investigating the performance of women in Shakespeare’s male roles: what do power, presence, and influence look like independent from traditional understandings of masculinity?

Haley’s paintings and illustrations are an extension of this question. Her 2022 series, Women in Shakespeare, seeks to examine the relationship between Shakespeare’s female characters and the objects that define their character and often mark their downfall. Her 2025 work reimagines the Women in Shakespeare series, adding new pieces that capture some of Shakespeare’s most evocative text.

As an educator, Haley enjoys teaching Shakespeare and other classical work to her students, as well as expanding their experience in theatrical leadership roles such as marketing and management.

Recent directing credits include Much Ado About Nothing (South Dakota Shakespeare Festival), The Winter's Tale: A Musical Adaptation (Eastern Mennonite University), and Macbeth translated by Migdalia Cruz (James Madison University).