Carlton V. Bell II (“cj”) (they/them) is a Black, Southern, queer artist, cultural organizer working across theatre, film, and new media. Their work investigates, fabulates, and documents Black queer experience and aesthetics, using storytelling as both an artistic practice and a vehicle for cultural memory, power-building, and liberation.

Across leadership roles in the arts and nonprofit sectors, cj has raised over $2.5 million in support of artists and arts organizations led by—and serving—people living within the margins of the margins. They have produced work through Birmingham Black Repertory Theatre Collective (Founding Artistic Director), My Black Job Productions (Producing Director), The Tank, Broadway Advocacy Coalition, and Birmingham Children’s Theatre, and Musical Theatre Factory, among others. Grounded in cultural organizing traditions, their creative and producing practice centers authentic representation, collaboration, and transformative storytelling for both stage and screen.

As a practicing intimacy choreographer, director, and producer in both theatre and film, cj’s methodology prioritizes consent-based processes, collaboration, and embodied care. They gravitate towards modes of creation that include (but not limited to) Theatre for Young Audiences, short-form documentary filmmaking, musical theatre, and episodic content that centers marginalized communities and underrepresented narratives.

Current Roles include: Director of Development at Write It Out! (an arts organizations serving People Living HIV), Program Associate of the Sex Worker Giving Circle at Third Wave Fund, Creative Producer at Musical Theatre Factory, FCAA Global Philanthropy Fellow, and the South Eastern Theatre Conference’s VP of Access and Opportunity.

cj is the 2025 Second Place Winner of the STARZ + GLAAD Black Queer Creative Summit TV Pilot Pitch Competition 2025. Additional honors include being named AL.com’s Entertainer of the Year (2019); Finalist for the Barbara Whitman Award (2023) (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, 2023); Finalist for the Lloyd Richards New Futures Residency (2025); Winner of the Southeastern Theatre Conference’s Sara Spencer Award for Child Drama (2023); and Winner of the Sidewalk Film Festival Black Lens Filmmaker Award (2023).

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Carlton’s mission, values, and ethos is rooted in the belief that creating for the stage and screen is a tool for liberation and social change. They approach storytelling through three guiding principles: Investigate, Fabulate, and Document. Together, these principles shape how projects are developed, artists are supported, and stories are stewarded from concept to execution.

  • Investigate centers cultural specificity and place. As a descendant of enslaved people, Carlton prioritizes deep inquiry into language, context, and lived experience, honoring the rituals, relationships, and social realities that define fully realized characters and grounded narratives.

  • Fabulate creates space for imagination and possibility. By blending realism with extraordinary circumstances, Carlton draws from African and African American spiritual cosmologies to surface emotional, cultural, and political truths that cannot always be accessed through realism alone.

  • Document is an act of preservation and reclamation. Carlton’s producing practice is committed to safeguarding Black queer narratives, honoring legacy, and expanding the archive of stories that have historically been erased or overlooked. This work is guided by the principle of Sankofa, the ongoing practice of returning to retrieve what has been lost in order to move forward with intention and care.