Lisa is a writer and director originally from Hilo, Hawai'i and Reno, Nevada. She has been nominated for an Emmy for her work as a writer and director and was the 2024 Tow Foundation Resident Playwright with Ma-Yi Theater Company.
Playwriting
SUMO received its New York premiere at The Public Theater with The Public, Ma-Yi and La Jolla Playhouse in 2025 and was nominated for 5 Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Play (winner of 1) and was also nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards. It was originally co-produced by La Jolla Playhouse and Ma-Yi Theater Company in 2023. SUMO won an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, won the BroadwayWorld San Diego award for Best Play and was nominated for Outstanding New Play by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle. Her play Kairos received a Rolling World Premiere with National New Play Network in 24-25. Lisa has worked on projects with Meow Wolf and was a member of The Geffen Writers' Room. She was a recipient of the Los Angeles New Play Project Award as well as the PLAY LA Humanitas Prize, and she has been a finalist for the Relentless Award, the O'Neill Playwrights' Conference (3x), a 2x finalist (one honorable mention) for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and a finalist for the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference. Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin, a piece she co-wrote with Chelsea Sutton, was nominated for 7 LA Ovation Awards including Best Production (winner of 5). Lisa's work has received productions at The Public Theatre, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Circle X, Rogue Artists Ensemble, Echo Theatre Co., Theatre of NOTE, Red Theater, Theatre Nova, the LGBT Center of LA and Skylight Theatre. They have been awarded fellowships at MacDowell, Blue Mountain Center and Yaddo. Lisa graduated from the University of Southern California and was awarded the Dorothy and Granville Hicks Residency at Yaddo, honoring one promising young writer a year.
Screenwriting
Lisa co-wrote and co-directed Welcome to the Blumhouse Live, a 2-year interactive film event for Blumhouse/Amazon Prime by Little Cinema, which was nominated for a 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Interactive Program and won a Silver Clio Award. Lisa has worked in the VR space with Double Eye Studios on their Virtual Repertory Theatre. She was a member of the WarnerMedia Access (formerly HBO) TV Writers Fellowship, the Giant Leap Accelerator and the Film Independent Episodic Lab.
Directing
Lisa has worked with Blumhouse, Amazon Prime, Warner Bros Discovery, Little Cinema, Playpenn, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Circle X Theatre Co., Antaeus Theatre Company, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Playwrights' Center, The Blank Theatre, California Repertory Company, Cal Poly Pomona, CalArts, The Motor Company, Inkwell and Theatre of NOTE. Punkplay, which Lisa co-directed with Matt Bretz, was listed as a Production of the Year and a runner-up for Best Direction by TicketholdersLA. They co-directed Welcome to the Blumhouse Live, an interactive film event for Blumhouse/Amazon Prime, which was nominated for an Outstanding Interactive Program Emmy. Together with Matt Hill she has won a Silver and two Bronze Clio Awards, and has also been nominated for a Webby. Lisa directed an episode of Antaeus' Zip Code Plays, which was nominated for an Ambie Award for Best Fiction Podcast. She directed the 2022 Warner Bros Discovery Talent Spotlight.
Acting
Lisa has worked with Asolo Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Quantum Theatre, Hero Theatre, Circle X Theatre Co., Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Play On!, Antaeus, SCF @ Son of Semele, Rogue Artists Ensemble, One Year Lease, Bread & Puppet, Bootleg Theater, Boston Court, We the People at Sacred Fools and Theatre of NOTE. She can be seen on Barry, Shameless, Grown-ish, NCIS, Good Girls and Shut Eye, and as Danielle on two seasons of How to get Away with Murder. They played Hermes in a virtual reality piece called Finding Pandora X, which won the Best VR Immersive User Experience at the Venice International Film Festival. She also was in a VR Variety Show with Double Eye which premiered at Raindance. Lisa has studied clown and physical comedy with Aitor Basauri, Chris Bayes, John Gilkey and Paola Coletto.
Lisa co-founded Rogue Artists' Rogue Lab, a creative incubator for new, hyper-theatrical work. She founded Circle X's Evolving Playwrights Group, a writing and mentorship program for emerging and mid-career writers, and previously served in multiple roles of artistic leadership with Circle X, including Associate Artistic Director.
Playwriting
SUMO received its New York premiere at The Public Theater with The Public, Ma-Yi and La Jolla Playhouse in 2025 and was nominated for 5 Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Play (winner of 1) and was also nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards. It was originally co-produced by La Jolla Playhouse and Ma-Yi Theater Company in 2023. SUMO won an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, won the BroadwayWorld San Diego award for Best Play and was nominated for Outstanding New Play by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle. Her play Kairos received a Rolling World Premiere with National New Play Network in 24-25. Lisa has worked on projects with Meow Wolf and was a member of The Geffen Writers' Room. She was a recipient of the Los Angeles New Play Project Award as well as the PLAY LA Humanitas Prize, and she has been a finalist for the Relentless Award, the O'Neill Playwrights' Conference (3x), a 2x finalist (one honorable mention) for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and a finalist for the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference. Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin, a piece she co-wrote with Chelsea Sutton, was nominated for 7 LA Ovation Awards including Best Production (winner of 5). Lisa's work has received productions at The Public Theatre, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Circle X, Rogue Artists Ensemble, Echo Theatre Co., Theatre of NOTE, Red Theater, Theatre Nova, the LGBT Center of LA and Skylight Theatre. They have been awarded fellowships at MacDowell, Blue Mountain Center and Yaddo. Lisa graduated from the University of Southern California and was awarded the Dorothy and Granville Hicks Residency at Yaddo, honoring one promising young writer a year.
Screenwriting
Lisa co-wrote and co-directed Welcome to the Blumhouse Live, a 2-year interactive film event for Blumhouse/Amazon Prime by Little Cinema, which was nominated for a 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Interactive Program and won a Silver Clio Award. Lisa has worked in the VR space with Double Eye Studios on their Virtual Repertory Theatre. She was a member of the WarnerMedia Access (formerly HBO) TV Writers Fellowship, the Giant Leap Accelerator and the Film Independent Episodic Lab.
Directing
Lisa has worked with Blumhouse, Amazon Prime, Warner Bros Discovery, Little Cinema, Playpenn, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Circle X Theatre Co., Antaeus Theatre Company, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Playwrights' Center, The Blank Theatre, California Repertory Company, Cal Poly Pomona, CalArts, The Motor Company, Inkwell and Theatre of NOTE. Punkplay, which Lisa co-directed with Matt Bretz, was listed as a Production of the Year and a runner-up for Best Direction by TicketholdersLA. They co-directed Welcome to the Blumhouse Live, an interactive film event for Blumhouse/Amazon Prime, which was nominated for an Outstanding Interactive Program Emmy. Together with Matt Hill she has won a Silver and two Bronze Clio Awards, and has also been nominated for a Webby. Lisa directed an episode of Antaeus' Zip Code Plays, which was nominated for an Ambie Award for Best Fiction Podcast. She directed the 2022 Warner Bros Discovery Talent Spotlight.
Acting
Lisa has worked with Asolo Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Quantum Theatre, Hero Theatre, Circle X Theatre Co., Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Play On!, Antaeus, SCF @ Son of Semele, Rogue Artists Ensemble, One Year Lease, Bread & Puppet, Bootleg Theater, Boston Court, We the People at Sacred Fools and Theatre of NOTE. She can be seen on Barry, Shameless, Grown-ish, NCIS, Good Girls and Shut Eye, and as Danielle on two seasons of How to get Away with Murder. They played Hermes in a virtual reality piece called Finding Pandora X, which won the Best VR Immersive User Experience at the Venice International Film Festival. She also was in a VR Variety Show with Double Eye which premiered at Raindance. Lisa has studied clown and physical comedy with Aitor Basauri, Chris Bayes, John Gilkey and Paola Coletto.
Lisa co-founded Rogue Artists' Rogue Lab, a creative incubator for new, hyper-theatrical work. She founded Circle X's Evolving Playwrights Group, a writing and mentorship program for emerging and mid-career writers, and previously served in multiple roles of artistic leadership with Circle X, including Associate Artistic Director.
