Tommy Vines

My name is Tommy Vines. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NYC, and I am a passionate and driven actor, playwright, screenwriter, movement artist, director, producer, and theatre maker. My work seeks to bring audiences into the present moment with me so we can be saved through the unyielding, beautiful, and demanding surrender to performance. I am interested in investigating theatre, experimenting with artistic forms, creating in as many different ways as I can, and having fun while doing it all. 
I am  compelled to tell stories, in many different forms, in as many ways as I can. I have a riot in my heart that compels me to create. I have a fire inside of me that I cannot extinguish. The only answer to this internal storm is the work I do.
My work hinges on my singular voice, which is often focused on the grotesque, the ugly, the shocking, and the real. The work that I create demands my full presence, my total investment in the here and now. I want you to experience my work and realize you have never seen anything like it before, never felt that way before, never thought that way before. That you’re leaving curious, asking questions you haven’t asked before. That you feel something in me and something in my work demands your presence. It demands you to see me, to be here with me, and to look, to truly look.
I made my film debut as the lead (Dora) in Emmy-Nominated director Kate Novack's Hysterical Girl. The film was shortlisted for an Academy Award and was published by The New York Times Op-Docs. It was nominated for Best Short of the Year by the International Documentary Association and was a nominee for Best International Film at the Norwich Film Festival. I'm currently starring in my first indie feature film as one of the lead roles, which will hit Amazon Streaming in 2026/2027. I made my NYC and Off-Broadway debut with my play, i love you and i always will or charlie's play in July, 2024 at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater. In November of 2023, I made my professional regional theatrical debut with Actors' Shakespeare Project (Teenage Greek Chorus) in How I Learned To Drive by Paula Vogel. Select theatrical artistic credits include: i love you and i always will or charlie’s play (Writer, Director, Producer, and Lead Actor); The Trojan Women/Lysistrata (Devising Ensemble); The Hot L Baltimore (Jackie); Opulence (April); True Love Needs No Tricks (Arlecchino); Aurora Borealis '22 & '23 (Movement Artist); Miss Fortune (Betty); salome. (King Herod); Thumbelina (Sprocket the Toad); Satan At Walmart (Bucky); Mercury (Heather).
I've written nine plays and counting, and I'm currently producing a new scripted series I've written. I am a proud alum of Boston University's School of Theatre (BFA Theatre Arts Performance, '24), LaGuardia High School (Drama Major, '20), Accademia dell’Arte Physical Theater ('23), and the Manhattan Film Institute ('19). 
I am a recent graduate of Boston University's School of Theatre BFA Theatre Arts Performance program with concentrations in Acting, Playwriting, Movement, and Physical Theatre (Valedictorian, Summa Cum Laude). I recently took a play of mine (i love you and i always will or charlie's play) to an Off-Broadway house in July 2024! Ask me about it!
If you are interested in working with me, you can reach me via the Contact Me tab on this website. I'm looking forward to creating with you!