Diana Wyenn

Join us for PERFORMANCE OF SELF—Jodie Landau's one-person show at REDCAT 5/29 & 5/30. Blending concert, cabaret, and storytelling, Jodie Landau’s debut show, directed by @dianawyenn , moves through music, memory, love, and family in a reflection on identity. From dating apps to boy bands, PERFORMANCE OF SELF is funny, poignant, and full of powerful music. PERFORMANCE OF SELF is commissioned, developed, produced, and co-presented by @bethmorrisonprojects , partnering in our West Coast premiere as part of @operafestla .

As we look forward to our 2nd weekend of ASCENT kicking off tomorrow night - check out our actors preparing last week during tech for this world premiere production! They are a dream team and you can come see why this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets are $29 general, $24 for seniors and union members, and $19 for students. You can also message me if you could use a discount for this weekend. We want you in the audience! @trieutrue @irisliuofficial @jlp.acting.co @yasledge Video by @laban_001 Produced by @plainwoodproductions and Stella Ong, Carrie Mendel-Meadow and Robert Meadow.

Still sky high ✨ off opening weekend of ASCENT ✨🚀✨ Unbelievably proud of the work we’ve done over the last month. Daily rehearsals with an incredible team, topped off with a week of truly breathtaking tech design. Five more weeks of shows - don’t miss it!!! . This role has challenged me in ways I couldn’t have imagined and has been the most amazing gift. From the technical - opera, language, accent & dialect training (I sing French Opera and Shanghainese lullabies and speak w/ Mandarin/Shanghainese/German accents!!) to the emotional - living out a whole lifetime on stage - from age 16 to 92! All while giving a voice to a story once lost in the annals of history, yet so vital today - an incredible and timely reminder of why I’ve dedicated my life to this craft. . I hope you can come see our show and be unbelievably inspired by all of these wonderful artists like I have!!! I could write a paragraph EACH on their talents 🥺 . More reflections soon but until then, SEE YOU AT THE THEATRE!!!! . And we have lift off! ✨🚀✨ ASCENT by Henry Ong and directed by @dianawyenn is now playing at @skylighttheatre and starring @trieutrue @irisliuofficial @yasledge @jlp.acting.co Tickets are available for performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm - get your today at skylight theatre.org Come experience the true story of Qian Xuesen, a co-founder of @nasajpl in the United States, as well as the “Father of Chinese rocketry.” Featuring designs by @wrandyroo @joeyguthman @zlooski @yukiizumihara Mylette Nora and Brittany White. Photos by @angeloriggi 📸

Still processing opening weekend of ASCENT by Henry Ong at The Skylight Theatre. What’s been really moving is watching audiences lean forward into this story and then stay afterward wanting to talk about it. Yesterday’s talkback turned into a conversation about fear, nationalism, immigration, science, identity, and who gets to belong in America. And somehow a play set during the Cold War feels painfully current. I’m playing 18 different characters throughout the piece and every night feels like running a marathon. Challenging. Deeply rewarding. I honestly can’t remember the last time I got to explore this much creatively. Really proud to be part of this production. Beautifully directed by Diana Wyenn with an absolutely killer ensemble: Trieu Tran Iris Liu Russell Edge ASCENT runs through June 14 at Skylight Theatre. More info and tickets: Skylight Theatre – ASCENT (/ascent?utm_source=chatgpt.com) Or visit the link in my bio. Photo credits: Angel Origgi Randy Wong-Westbrooke #AscentPlay #SkylightTheatre #HenryOng #DianaWyenn #jorgeluispallo

And we have lift off! ✨🚀✨ ASCENT by Henry Ong and directed by @dianawyenn is now playing at @skylighttheatre and starring @trieutrue @irisliuofficial @yasledge @jlp.acting.co Tickets are available for performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm - get your today at skylight theatre.org Come experience the true story of Qian Xuesen, a co-founder of @nasajpl in the United States, as well as the “Father of Chinese rocketry.” Featuring designs by @wrandyroo @joeyguthman @zlooski @yukiizumihara Mylette Nora and Brittany White. Photos by @angeloriggi

Tickets are now on sale for @jodielandau 's PERFORMANCE OF SELF, May 29–30 at @calartsredcat in Los Angeles! Blending concert, cabaret, and storytelling, Jodie Landau’s debut solo show, directed by @dianawyenn , moves through music, memory, love, family, and everything in between. From dating apps to boy bands, PERFORMANCE OF SELF is funny, personal, and entirely its own thing. Performed live with a 7-piece band. Come wearing something comfy that makes you feel like yourself. Tickets at the link in our bio. PERFORMANCE OF SELF is commissioned, developed, produced, and co-presented by Beth Morrison Projects, partnering in our West Coast premiere with a new production with @calartsredcat , as part of @operafestla . Dramaturgy and Direction for the Los Angeles premiere at REDCAT by Diana Wyenn. The original production premiered at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, NY in 2024, developed with and directed and designed by Peabody Southwell.

T-minus 4 days to lift off for ASCENT by Henry Ong!! In 1950, the U.S. government accused permanent resident Qian Xuesen of communist sympathies. Without any evidence of the allegations, Immigration and Naturalization Services was calling for his deportation. Meanwhile, the State Department refused to let him leave the United States because of his expertise in building rockets for JPL and missiles for the Army. His story is unique, however as the saying goes: “History never repeats itself but it does rhyme.” Over the past three decades, more Asian scientists have been unfairly targeted due to racial profiling. The targeted scientists and scholars include but are not limited to Dr. Wen Ho Lee, Dr. Xiaoxing Xi, and Dr. Gang Chen. These cases have drawn criticism from academic groups (such as APS) and civil rights organizations (such as the ACLU), who argue that Asian scientists have been unfairly targeted due to racial profiling. Lately, more attempts to re-acclaim narratives of scientists coming from an AAPI background who underwent suspicion of espionage or illegal technology transfer could be seen, as Ascent stands proudly in line. Qian Xuesen wasn’t known proportionately for his contributions during his life in the United States, which is why we are sharing his story on stage—in the hope that America will—as our playwright Henry Ong so powerfully puts it—“do the right thing. Tell the people what she did so that they will learn not to make the same mistakes over and over again.” Learn more about the show and get tickets skylighttheatre.org

T-minus 5 days to the world premiere of ASCENT by Henry Ong!! Yesterday our designers, technical directors, carpenters, and electricians got to work transforming Skylight Theatre for ASCENT. Lights and projectors were hung and a 12’ rocket nozzle was built! A huge shout out and wave of gratitude to our technical directors Bill Ballou and Jennifer Gilbert, carpenters Donato Karingal and Josh Bennett, electricians Trish Gutierrez, Salem Mitchell, Zach Phaneuf, Kayla Safavi, and Branden Sandoval, assistant lighting designer Antonia Yang and associate projection designer Veronica Avalos. And all the love to Plain Wood Productions co-founder and spouse of the director @laban_001 for stopping by to film the process and make this super fun cut of the experience! We start cueing soon and lift of Saturday night! Learn more about the show and get tickets skylighttheatre.org

T-minus 6 days to lift off for ASCENT by Henry Ong!! The late great Henry Ong (1949-2018) was one of a kind! An internationally produced playwright, he called Los Angeles home and was one of L.A. theater’s greatest advocates and community builders. Did you see or participate in a reading or a production of one of his plays? They include Madame Mao’s Memories, Sweet Karma, Fabric, The Blade of Jealousy, The Legend of the White Snake, People Like Me—which won a Drama-Logue Award in 1998 for Excellence in Writing—, and lots of wonderful short plays too. Plus there was his passion project: a six-hour adaptation of the Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber! He and I were developing ASCENT together from 2016 to 2018 with workshops at Ensemble Studio Theatre LA (EST/LA) and The Inkwell Theater. Thank you to these Los Angeles institutions for your support of Henry’s writing then and now, and to the remarkable actors who helped us crack this play wide open: Kim Chueh, Russell Edge, West Liang, Christopher Reiling, JR Schwartz, Bart Tangredi, Trieu Tran, and Kara Wang. When I congratulated Henry in 2018 after catching a wonderful performance of Blade of Jealousy, he whispered to me, “ASCENT is next!” Well Henry, ASCENT is next! Learn more about the show and get tickets skylighttheatre.org • We open this Saturday night!

✨🚀 T-minus 7 days to lift off for ASCENT by Henry Ong!! Today was designer run and tomorrow we move from our rehearsal space into @skylighttheatre • Shoutout to the cast for all the amazing progress over the last three weeks, and to our stage manager Jacob Padilla and assistant director Shuwen Cao (who also took these great rehearsal photos earlier in the process!). It takes a village to bring a play to premiere and we have a remarkable one! Get your tickets for Ascent May 9-June 14 at Skylight Theatre! Visit skylighttheatre.org or click the link in bio. Pictured: Trieu Tran, Jorge-Luis Pallo, Iris Liu, Russell Edge, Mylette Nora, Stella Ong, and Dian Wyenn. 📸 by @shuwen_aiii

The countdown is on! T-minus 8 days to lift off for ASCENT by Henry Ong!! ✨🚀✨ This morning was the last production meeting before we load into @skylighttheatre this Sunday and our designers are making theater magic happen. From building and lighting up a rocket nozzle to capturing the time period, this production is filled with a dazzling array of visual and aural storytelling that reflects each of their exceptional artistry and deep connection to the story. Introducing our brilliant design team! RANDY WONG-WESTBROOKE, Scenic Designer JOEY GUTHMAN, Lighting Designer YUKI IZUMIHARA, Projection Designer JOHN ZALEWSKI, Sound Designer MYLETTE NORA, Costume Designer BRITTANY WHITE, Props Designer Don’t miss catching their work May 9-June 14 at Skylight Theatre! ✨🌔✨🌏✨ Tickets are available now for at skylighttheatre.org #linkinbio

Just Announced | 2026 Barbara Whitman Award April 22, 2025– New York, NY) Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), today announced the recipient and four finalists for the 2026 Barbara Whitman Award. Established by theatrical producer Barbara Whitman in 2021, this award recognizes a director who has developed a clear and distinctive artistic voice and demonstrated unique vision in their theatrical work. This award is meant to heighten visibility for a director & their work in the field as well as support the work of the director with an unrestricted award of $10,000. Finalists receive a $1,000 unrestricted award. DIRECTOR JULIA ROSA SOSA CHAPARRO TO RECEIVE THE 2026 BARBARA WHITMAN AWARD FROM STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS FOUNDATION (SDCF) Susanna Jaramillo, Irvin Mason Jr., Sarah Shin, and Diana Wyenn were all recognized as finalists for the award.