WORLD PREMIERE at Skylight Theatre

Cast: Jenny Soo, Tasha Ames and Ben Messmer

Scenic Design: Yuri Okahana-Benson

Lighting Design: Brandon Baruch

Sound Design: Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski

Costume Design: Mylette Nora

Projection Design: Nick Santiago

Illusion Design: Sean Cawelti

Intimacy Direction: Carly DW Bones

Stage Manager: Ariana Michel

Ass’t Stage Manager: Shuwen Cao

REVIEWS:

“It accomplishes so much within their intimate black box stage and just goes to show that with the right writing, directing, acting, and most importantly, imagination, some truly great theatre can be accomplished…In Hanna’s hands, she deftly weaves all the elements together that fully brings out the magical realism in an intimate black box space while trusting her actors to shine and balancing out all the design elements to bring the story alive without overwhelming it.”

-Nerds of Color

“Director Hanna helms the story will compassion and care, ably assisted by the talented cast and production team.”

-Splash Magazines

“The direction by Jessica Hanna is true perfection in every fresh, organic detail.”

- Discover Hollywood Magazine

3 LITTLE GIRLS DOWN A WELL

by Justin Elizabeth Sayre

Under The Radar Festival 2023 at The Public Theatre NYC

Featuring: Nancy Ma as Eleanor, Violeta Picayo as Libby

and Justin Elizabeth Sayre as Marigold

Directed by Jessica Hanna

 Costume Design by Austin Scarlett

Sound Design by Darron West

Lighting Design by Martha Carter

Photos by Austin Ruffer

LOTTIE PLACHETT TOOK A HATCHET

by Justin Elizabeth Sayre

Featuring: Tom DeTrinis, Ryan Garcia, Tom Lenk, Justin Elizabeth Sayre

Kirsten Vangsness as Lottie Plachett (Cavern Club & LGBT Center)

and Lauren Lopez as Lottie Plachett (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

Cavern Club at Casita Del Campo - April & June 2022

Assembly Roxy Upstairs, Edinburgh Festival Fringe - August 2022

Outside In Theatre & The Los Angeles LGBT Center - October 2023

Reviews

EDINBURGH:

★★★★★

“The hit rate of the laughs throughout Sayre’s narrative is magnificently high, especially when paired with Hanna’s impressive comic direction and a cast who fully embrace the high camp nature of the piece, Lottie Platchett Took a Hatchett is a masterclass in comedic theatre.” 

- Culture Fix UK

★★★★

“PERVERTED…the performances are excellent!”

- Gonzo Magazine

★★★★

“Excellent… it had me giggling long after the lights went up!” 

- Everything Theatre UK

LOS ANGELES:

Interview with Kirsten Vangsness

“Taking a play that’s a campy theme-and-variation on The Beatle’s song, “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” director Jessica Hanna presses the gas peddle full-throttle towards raunchy absurdism. The show’s lunacy is both the point and the centerpiece of its fun.”

- Stage Raw

RED BRIDAL VEIL by Ruochen Li

Directed by Jessica Hanna

UCLA New Play Festival 2022

Cast: Tiffany To, Megan Truong, RJ Wang, Mina Hur, Amanda Kang, Brianna Yi, Katia Choi

Scenic Design by Ly Yang

Costume Design by Sophia Weltman

Lighting Design by Malcolm Wilson

Sound Design by Leon Rothenberg

Intimacy Direction by Carly D. Weckstein

Dramaturge Zoe Wong

Stage Manager Kayla Louie

 RAVENSWOOD MANOR by Justin Elizabeth Sayre

Directed by Jessica Hanna & Tom DeTrinis

Main Cast: Angela Cristantello, Drew Droege, Danielle Gaither, Ryan Garcia, Leslie Ann Huff, Sam Pancake and Justin Elizabeth Sayre

Celebration Theatre - October 2019

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Celebration Theatre

February 17- May 6, 2018

PRODUCTION TEAM

Directed by Jessica Hanna
Produced by Stephen Soucy and Jay Marcus
Lighting Design, Brandon Baruch
Costume Design, Allison Dillard
Hair and Makeup, Byron J. Batista
Sound Design, Rebecca Kessin
Properties Design, Michael O’Hara
Production Manager, Karen Osborne

Featuring: Tad Coughenour, Mario Burrell, Lyle Colby Mackston, Markesha Chatfield, Katie Self, Andrea Somera,Gina Torrecilla, George Chavez, Jack Brody and Nick Brody (sharing the role of Benji) along with ensemble cast members John Paul Batista, Jamie Pierce, and Marquell Clayton. Understudies are Dekontee Tucrkile, Miki Holmes and Cameron Jamarr Davis.

BITTER LEMONS Interview

PRISCILLA's Jessica Hanna Making Outsized Theatre Magic Within Intimate L.A. Parameters

REVIEWS

"the biggest ovation belongs to director Jessica Hanna, choreographer Roman Pantoja and designers Pete Hickok (set), Allison Dillard (costumes), Byron Batista (wigs) and a long list of others." -LA TIMES

"RECOMMENDED ... the biggest slam-dunk of Jessica Hanna’s direction" - Stage Raw

" Jessica Hanna directs an unabashedly hilarious and seriously sentimental glam-musical... Highly Recommended"- Gia on the Move

The Los Angeles Post

Haines His Way

Stage Scene LA

BroadwayWorld

Photos by Mae Koo

The Willows

bOOTLEG THEATER

April 12 - May 5, 2018

By Kerri-Ann McCalla

WORLD PREMIERE
At The Willows funeral home, Mark is being groomed to take over the business from his father. But an unexpected reunion with the one that got away could derail those carefully laid plans.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Jessica Hanna, DIRECTOR
Amanda Knehans, SCENIC DESIGN        
Elena Flores, COSTUME DESIGN
Martha Carter, LIGHTING DESIGN
Carlos Torres, SOUND DESIGN
Jeanne Valleroy, STAGE MANAGER
Reed Flores, ASST. STAGE MANAGER
Roger Nakasone, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Ammy Ontiveros, ASST. DIRECTOR
Raul Staggs, CASTING
Demand PR, PUBLIC RELATIONS
Jessica Hanna & Ammy Ontiveros, PRODUCERS
Katie DeVoe-Peterson, ASSOC. PRODUCER

Featuring: Paul Dillon, Stefanee Martin, Kacie Rogers, Thomas Silcott, Lorinda Hawkins Smith, Napoleon Tavale, Cloie Wyatt Taylor. 

REVIEWS

"Funeral Parlor Becomes a Battleground in a Searing New Play.... polished world premeire" - LA Weekly

"Author McCalla and director Jessica Hanna combine their talents to produce two intertwined tales of families facing stress and pain" - SPLASH Magazine

USC Annenberg Media

Photos by Mae Koo

I Carry Your Heart

bOOTLEG THEATER

May 19 - June 10, 2017

I CARRY YOUR HEART, written by Georgette Kelly, is the winner of the the Hope & Optimism Initiative’s “Hope On Stage” playwriting prize project

Phoebe is a young poet, forever living in the shadow of her estranged mother’s literary acclaim. When her mother unexpectedly dies Phoebe is left with two complicated legacies: donating her mother’s organs and reading her mother’s unpublished confessional journal. Meanwhile, Tess and her partner Lydia receive an early morning phone call, informing them that a donor heart is available for Tess. As these two families form an unlikely connection, they struggle to understand the politics and poetics of organ donation—and they dare to hope that pieces of us can live on after great tragedy.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Directed by Jessica Hanna

Scenic: Sibyl Wickersheimer

Lighting: Brandon Baruch

Sound: John Zalewski

Costumes: Ann Closs-Farley & Alyssa Gonzalez

Casting: Raul Clayton Staggs

Featuring: Michael Bates, Joanna Bronson, Christine Dunford, Elizabeth Liang, Mateo Mpinduzi- Mott, and Elayn J. Taylor. 

REVIEWS

"GO! - Deeply felt performances by a flawless ensemble together with the painterly chiaroscuro of lighting designer Brandon Baruch and a transcendently window-rattling, low-frequency score by sound designer John Zalewski all up the ante. But it is director Jessica Hanna’s fine compositional eye and the crispness of her seamless staging that deftly avoids the material’s melodramatic tug while delivering its intellectual lesson with a persuasive and almost operatic appeal." - LA WEEKLY

"RECOMMENDED.... the play has been beautifully cast and skillfully directed by Jessica Hanna, and it is finely acted by the entire cast." - Stage Raw

"Skillfully staged by Jessica Hanna on an unusual circular set by Sibyl Wickersheimer, it's an intriguing and gently moving story." - LA Observed

Photos by Mae Koo

Death Play

Sons of Semele / Circle X Theatre co.

July 16-19, 2015 & March - April 23, 2016

Written and Performed by Lisa Dring

DEATH PLAY is an exploration of the echoes we leave behind. It's a story about the great magic and total crap of dying.

DEATH PLAY received a 6-week production with Circle X Theatre Co. spring 2016. after it's festival premiere in Solo Creation Fest at Son of Semele July 2015.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Directed by Jessica Hanna
Produced by Camille Schenkkan
Associate Produced by Ian-Julian Williams and Jen Kays
Set and Lighting Design by Kirk Wilson
Co-Lighting Design by Joey Guthman
Sound Design by Jeff Gardner, with additional sound by Ray Salas
Costume Design by Ann Closs-Farley
Stage Managed by Candice Clasby

REVIEWS
"It is one of those unique performances that forces deep thought and which ignites a process that will resonate within you for days or possibly even years after you have left the theatre... a compelling canvas of human existence with an emphasis on its inevitable end." - Examiner.com

"Death Play is a thought-provoking and energizing play bound to resonate with anyone who has confronted death (or knows they will someday)." - Dumpling Magazine

"Powerful and connective because it is human; honest and dynamic." - Redefinemag.com

Theatreghost.com

Paulmyrvoldstheatrenotes.com

 

Photos by Jeff Galfer // Circle X Theatre Co. production

Inland Empress

Lounge THEATER

Presented by Mutant Collective in association with Theatre Planners

January 23 - March 6, 2016

Written by Tom Cavanaugh

WORLD PREMIERE

Seven years in prison can really change a person -- especially if you're a woman who runs a meth business out of an abandoned horse ranch. Inland Empress follows former matriarch and drug queen-pin Louise who wants to make a better life for her sister and three nieces. But after scamming, lying and corrupting them for years, Louise finds that she'll have to work even harder to set things right for the family she left behind.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Directed by Jessica Hanna

Scenic Design: David Offner

Lighting Design: Rebecca Raines

Sound Design: Corwin Evans

Costume Design: Jackie Gudgel

Stage Manager: Bree Cardenas

Assistant Director: Rosie Glen-Lambert

Publicity: Jim Martyka

Featuring: McCready Baker, Lily Knight, Di Koob, Monica Martin, Jeffrey Wylie, Alexa Yeames.

FANBASE PRESS Interview

Fanboy Comics Interviews Director Jessica Hanna on 'Inland Empress'

REVIEWS

“…A powerful story of female relationships with crime-drama window dressing … pulls no punches.”—LA Weekly

“…A dramatic vehicle for five strong female performers.”—Stage Raw

“Excellent pacing and a lively look at dysfunction-junction … We may not like this family and their evil business, but you have to admire the artistry that went into portraying it.”—Edge Media

"...A larger than life narrative based upon real events, persons and personal relationships...INCREDIBLE!" - Gia On The Move

“The good, the bad, the facts of life are all wrapped up in this stunning strong female cast and well written story.”—Discover Hollywood

Photos by Ed Krieger