Lisa is a writer, director and actor. She's originally from Hilo, Hawaii and Reno, Nevada.
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 is a member of the 2021/22 WarnerMedia Access (formerly HBO) TV Writers Fellowship and is developing her series Kintsugi with the Giant Leap Accelerator. She is also a member of the 2021 Film Independent Episodic Lab.
Playwriting
Lisa is currently a member of The Geffen Writers' Room and was honored as a recipient of the 2020/21 PLAY LA Stage Raw/Humanitas Prize. Her play The Wicked One was a finalist for the Relentless Award, a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, a finalist for the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference and a semi-finalist for the O'Neill Playwrights Conference. Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin, a piece she co-wrote with Chelsea Sutton, was nominated for 8 Ovation Awards including Best Production (winner of 5). Lisa's work has been developed/produced by The New Group, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Circle X, SCF @ Son of Semele, Playwrights’ Arena, Rogue Artists Ensemble, UCSB Launch Pad Series, The Motor Company and Theatre of NOTE. She has been funded by the DCA's Reimagine Public Art Series as well as the University of California's Critical Refugees Studies Collective. Lisa was a member of East West Players’ Playwrights Group and has been awarded fellowships at MacDowell, Blue Mountain Center and Yaddo. Her play SUMO was recently named as a finalist for the O'Neill Playwrights Conference and was a part of La Jolla Playhouse's DNA New Works Series. Lisa graduated from the University of Southern California. She was awarded the 2021 Dorothy and Granville Hicks Residency at Yaddo, which honors one promising young writer a year.
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, The Blank Theatre, California Repertory Company, Cal Poly Pomona, We the People at Sacred Fools, 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. She recently co-directed Welcome to the Blumhouse Live, an interactive film event for Blumhouse/Amazon Prime, which was nominated for an Outstanding Interactive Program Emmy. She directed an episode of Antaeus' Zip Code Plays, which was nominated for a 2021 Ambie Award for Best Fiction Podcast. She recently directed the 2022 Warner Bros Discovery Talent Spotlight.
Acting
Lisa has worked with Asolo Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Hero Theatre, Circle X Theatre Co., Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Play On!, 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. She recently 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. Lisa has studied clown and physical comedy with Aitor Basauri, Chris Bayes, John Gilkey and Paola Coletto.
Lisa is a proud member Rogue Artists Ensemble and Hero Theatre. She co-founded and co-directs 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.
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 is a member of the 2021/22 WarnerMedia Access (formerly HBO) TV Writers Fellowship and is developing her series Kintsugi with the Giant Leap Accelerator. She is also a member of the 2021 Film Independent Episodic Lab.
Playwriting
Lisa is currently a member of The Geffen Writers' Room and was honored as a recipient of the 2020/21 PLAY LA Stage Raw/Humanitas Prize. Her play The Wicked One was a finalist for the Relentless Award, a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, a finalist for the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference and a semi-finalist for the O'Neill Playwrights Conference. Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin, a piece she co-wrote with Chelsea Sutton, was nominated for 8 Ovation Awards including Best Production (winner of 5). Lisa's work has been developed/produced by The New Group, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Circle X, SCF @ Son of Semele, Playwrights’ Arena, Rogue Artists Ensemble, UCSB Launch Pad Series, The Motor Company and Theatre of NOTE. She has been funded by the DCA's Reimagine Public Art Series as well as the University of California's Critical Refugees Studies Collective. Lisa was a member of East West Players’ Playwrights Group and has been awarded fellowships at MacDowell, Blue Mountain Center and Yaddo. Her play SUMO was recently named as a finalist for the O'Neill Playwrights Conference and was a part of La Jolla Playhouse's DNA New Works Series. Lisa graduated from the University of Southern California. She was awarded the 2021 Dorothy and Granville Hicks Residency at Yaddo, which honors one promising young writer a year.
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, The Blank Theatre, California Repertory Company, Cal Poly Pomona, We the People at Sacred Fools, 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. She recently co-directed Welcome to the Blumhouse Live, an interactive film event for Blumhouse/Amazon Prime, which was nominated for an Outstanding Interactive Program Emmy. She directed an episode of Antaeus' Zip Code Plays, which was nominated for a 2021 Ambie Award for Best Fiction Podcast. She recently directed the 2022 Warner Bros Discovery Talent Spotlight.
Acting
Lisa has worked with Asolo Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Hero Theatre, Circle X Theatre Co., Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Play On!, 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. She recently 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. Lisa has studied clown and physical comedy with Aitor Basauri, Chris Bayes, John Gilkey and Paola Coletto.
Lisa is a proud member Rogue Artists Ensemble and Hero Theatre. She co-founded and co-directs 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.
