9 Years of Lola By the Bay and 2022 Year in Review

It all comes down to this. The fanfare of the holiday season is winding down as champagne is slowly but surely being stalked up for the stroke of midnight tonight. Resolutions are being jotted down and vision boards are being crafted together, with the hopes of some of them actually manifesting by this time in a year. 2023 is now less so of a concept and now hours away from becoming our reality.

But before 2022 bows out altogether, I wanted to make sure I had my retrospective for this ninth(?!?!?) year of my website written down and ready to ponder for those who  may have missed any of what happened, or to read and go, “That happened this year?”

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Looking Back on A Decade of Writing (Part 2)

Note: The following is a continuation from last week’s post. To read the first part, check it out here.

Kickstarters, Anniversaries, and Reels (Oh My!)

At a glance, it’s been a minute since I’ve made several announcements at once – since the early days of the pandemic, to be precise. There’s a lot that’s going on and a lot to go over, and I’m just going to go right ahead and dive into it:

Now Playing: “Interview with an Aswang”

Last year, I made my debut with Rainy Day Artistic Collective with a one-act play I wrote called “Interview with an Aswang;” where a college student interviews her aswang friend about what her life is like for a school assignment, only to unknowingly hit on some hard realities the latter has dealt with. It was since made into a short film that was submitted into the film festival circuit, and while it did play at Mixed Asian Media Fest, it otherwise wasn’t as successful getting in elsewhere.

Hype Up for AAPINH Heritage Month

Not going to lie, this Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian Heritage Month has been off to a really rough start. From our faith in humanity continuously being shattered by people who want to take some of our rights away, to some sad news happening in my personal life, it’s harder than usual for me to multi-task as of late.

Playwright’s Commentary: “Not in Kansas”

I’m thrilled to take part in my third production with Rainy Day Artistic Collective with my new one-act play, “Not in Kansas.” Based on real life experiences of my great aunt, Justita, the story follows two PhD students from the Philippines who’re studying in the United States in the early 1950’s. While on a trip to New Orleans, the two experience the opposite of Southern hospitality at a rest stop in Mississippi.

Coming Next Week: Halfway Historical Festival feat. “Not in Kansas”

I’m excited to reveal that after the past few months of working on this, we are now one week away from my third production with Rainy Day Artistic Collective. This time, I’ve written one of ten plays that will be featured in their Halfway Historical Festival; where all the stories revolve around real-life occurrences.

5 Years of Playwriting

There is a series from PBS called “The First Twenty,” where it explores significant, altering events within the first two decades of the 21st century. One of the episodes, “20 Years of Asian American Playwriting,” interviews playwrights – from David Henry Hwang to Lauren Yee – about how Asian American playwriting has evolved.

8 Years of Lola By the Bay and 2021 Year in Review

For those who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas! For those who don’t, I hope you have a really good day anyway.

I can’t believe it’s been this long since the formation of my little corner of cyberspace already. It’s grown to be the virtual hub that I’ve always wanted for myself, and then some. I created the website to make it easy, for those who don’t already follow me on social media, to keep up with writing projects I have going on, as well as what’s on my mind on a (mostly) week-to-week basis. Looking back on my posts over the last 11 months, I think I’ve started to notice just how blatant and honest I’m becoming about both where I am in my journey as a writer, as well as the things that I truly care about.

How Playwriting and Screenwriting is Making Me a Better Writer

Nearly five years ago now, shortly after releasing my second novel, I started making the journey towards writing for both the stage and the screen. A Christmas gift of the word-processing program, Scrivener, jump-started my expansion into other creative writing mediums. Within that time, I have since written multiple stage plays, a few spec scripts, a few pilots, a few short films, and even a feature-length screenplay. Oh, I also upgraded to Final Draft earlier this year, because I felt that it was time to up the ante.