Hannah Ii-Epstein (she/her) is a Native Hawaiian creative writer and award-winning dramatist from the North Shore of Oʻahu. Her work centers Native Hawaiian identity and LGBTQIA+ experiences, blending cultural tradition with contemporary storytelling across theatre and film. She earned her MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage from Northwestern University and is the Artistic Director of Nothing Without a Company. Hannah has written over fifteen 24-hour plays and produced over ten. She is a founding member of BearCat Productions, a member of Tree Moss Hawaiʻi, and was part of the inaugural Native Hawaiian Storytelling Writers Immersive Program. Her short film Queer Up the Details will screen at the Evolution Festival by AAAC on May 3, 2026.
Lawrence Leopoldo writes plays that wander between the real and the surreal, usually with a sense of humor sneaking in through the side door and immediately joining the ensemble. Based in Chicago, he works with CIRCA Pintig and is part of the revival of Riksha, a Filipino American arts and literary magazine, where stories about memory, migration, and unreliable timelines tend to collide. His artistic practice is powered by an unusual mix of professions—he has fixed things, cooked things, and occasionally rewritten scenes in his head while standing in line for coffee. He is especially interested in moments when the ordinary world cracks open and something cosmic wanders in without a stage manager. He is excited to make a brand-new play in 24 hours and promises to pretend everything was intentional.
Mikael Silan is a Filipino-born multifaceted artist from Cavite, Philippines. Having recently immigrated to Chicago, he begins his journey pursuing his Theatrical Dreams. He writes plays tied to his roots and personal struggles that are often about his identity, community, and love. He is one of the Ensemble members of CIRCA Pintig's 2026 Season.
Lani T. Montreal writes to create her home in the diaspora. She is a queer feminist Filipina writer, performer, educator, and community activist based in Chicago, whose works have been published/produced in North America, Asia, and in cyberspace. Her play Panther in the Sky was a 2024 finalist for Chicago Readers' Best New Play, and her solo show Anak ni Tapia: Leaving Mother has received accolades in the U.S. and abroad. Montreal is a two-time 3Arts Residency Awardee (2009 and 2016), 2017 alumna of the VONA Writers of Color Workshop, and 2024 Links Hall Co-MISSION Artist Fellow. She was a semi-finalist for the Dramatist Guild 2023 Fellowship Award, and voted 1st Runner Up for 2024 Chicago Reader’s Best Playwright.
Liz Haas (they/them, she/her) is a theater artist based in Chicago. Their play A Home Education was featured in a staged reading at Bramble Theater Co. in 2025 and in the play reading series Re/Generation Studio at About Face Theatre in 2023. Liz has been a member of PlayGround-Chicago's Writers Pool since 2024; their plays “Have Some CEO” and “Being Cesario” were featured in Monday Night PlayGround. They were assistant director and understudy for Rupture/Repair and a devising ensemble member for Still/Here at Free Street Theater. Liz holds a B.A. in history from Smith College, where they spent a lot of time in the theater as a playwright, stage manager, actor, and director.
Georgie Morvis is a playwright, filmmaker, and occasional drag queen based in Chicago, by way of Kalaheo, Hawai’i and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Their writing has been published in Smokelong Quarterly, Autostraddle, Pigeon Review, Cast of Wonders and New Flash Fiction Review. Their work-in-progress play Lychee and Other Exotic Fruits was read at Circa Pintig’s 2025 Chicago Filipino American Theatre Festival. They were a Lambda Literary Fellow for Screenwriting in 2023. Their short film Shrimp Heads is currently in pre-production and won the Judges’ Prize at the ‘Ohina Filmmakers Lab 2022.
Keimon Shook is a Queer Blasian Actor, Writer, and Director from Jacksonville, Florida. Most recently Keimon played “ Remi” in “ The Dress - Up play at Jackalope Theatre. He also directed a Stage Reading in Collaboration with Theatre L,Acadie & Pocket Theatrics . Keimon is also a screenwriter and filmmaker whose goal is to add more queer representation for people of color on and behind the camera. He most recently directed and wrote a couple of short films and some episodic pilot concepts. You can follow and check out his work on Instagram @keimonshook .As always he’d like to thank his family and friends for all their support!
Joel Willison is the Artistic Director for Pocket Theatrics; the Co-founding Artistic Producer of Freshly Brewed, inc., Chicago Artist Database, Direct Address, and The Green Room. He is also a company member of Playground Chicago and Theatre L’Acadie. In 2023, he was selected for Directors Haven 6. Recent credits include work with Jackalope Theatre, Shattered Globe Theatre (assistant director), The Goodman Theatre, Filament Theatre, Theatre L’Acadie, Definition Theatre, Refracted Theatre Company (assistant director), and The Runaways Lab Theater. Joelwillison.com
Johanna Medrano is fresh off assistant-directing The Art of Belonging at Circa Pintig, and is excited to work with them and Nothing Without a Company as a director for the play festival. She currently directs Keepin’ Tabs, a monthly news show at The Annoyance Theater, and Open Tabs, an indie sketch team. When she is not directing, she teaches improv and sketch writing at The Annoyance Theater, and Meisner Acting Technique at Gren Shirt Studio. Onstage and screen, she currently hosts BATSU! game show, performs with Trigger Happy Improv Mentalism, and is repped by Chicago Talent Network. Follow her on Instagram @jojo_in_chicago
Heather Jencks (she/her) is a Chicago-based actor, director, and Alexander Technique Teacher in Training (2nd year, IYKYK).She has directed for NWaC’s New World Play Festival and past 24-hour fests, assistant directed NWaC’s Soccer Player in the Closet, and directed short plays for Our Perspective: Asian American Plays, and Punching LaBute. As an actor, she has performed in NWaC’s original productions: Not One Batu and Down the Moonlit Path; and in Circa Pintig’s original production: Daryo’s All-American Diner. In addition, she has performed with several theatres around town, including Remy Bumppo, Jackalope Theatre, Promethean Theatre, Facility Theatre, and Prologue Theatre Co.She is thrilled that two organizations that are dear to her - NWaC and Circa Pintig – are collaborating for this fun and heart-filled event.
Scott Hanada (He/Him) is a professional actor, director, and NWAC Board member whose work is rooted in his Japanese American heritage and the multicultural spirit of Hawaiʻi. After starring in NWAC’s Not One Batu and Pakalolo Sweet, he made his directorial debut with The Kasha of Kaimukī (2023). A graduate of the iO and The Second City Conservatory, Scott is also a proud alumnus of the AAPI improv troupe Stir Friday Night. He is represented by Chicago Talent Network and can be found performing at Home Comedy Theater or on the Tales From The Singing Porch podcast. While a veteran of the NWAC stage, Scott is thrilled to be directing for the first time in the 24-Hour Play Festival.
RJ Silva (he/him/his) is the Artistic Director of CIRCA Pintig, the Filipino American theatre company and community arts organization in Chicago. Now in its 35th year, Silva has launched the acting ensemble, the Chicago Filipino American Theatre Festival, and has directed two productions EVERY BRILLIANT THING and THE ART OF BELONGING. As a playwright, his play HAIL MARY/MARIA will receive its premiere production at Theatre Wit in August, granted by the Independent Productions Initiative. Outside of theatre, Silva is a writer and director for his production company The Ampliverse, premiering its first digital web series EAT CUTE this spring, and is also the producer and co-host of the podcast “Boys Love Boys Love.” Thanks to CIRCA Pintig, NWaC, and other theatre artists that continue to create and inspire the city of Chicago. Love to Adam and Friedrich!