I tell stories about messy people — the kind who make bad decisions, who struggle to be better but don't always succeed, and who manage to be both wildly inappropriate and heartbreakingly sincere in the same breath. I’m a resident artist at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, OR, and a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. I collaborate across Portland’s theatre scene, developing new plays, readings, and collaborations while keeping humanity at the center of my work.

Lava Alapai

PRO

I tell stories about messy people — the kind who make bad decisions, who struggle to be better but don't always succeed, and who manage to be both wildly inappropriate and heartbreakingly sincere in the same breath. I’m a resident artist at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, OR, and a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. I collaborate across Portland’s theatre scene, developing new plays, readings, and collaborations while keeping humanity at the center of my work.

Available to hire

I tell stories about messy people — the kind who make bad decisions, who struggle to be better but don’t always succeed, and who manage to be both wildly inappropriate and heartbreakingly sincere in the same breath.

I’m a resident artist at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, OR, and a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. I collaborate across Portland’s theatre scene, developing new plays, readings, and collaborations while keeping humanity at the center of my work.

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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Playwright at Artists Repertory Theatre
June 1, 2024 - Present
Sunny’s Gifts and Things (Reading); Portland OR
Playwright at Third Rail Repertory Theatre
January 1, 2023 - Present
Middletown Mall (Reading 2023); World Premier - June 2024
Playwright at Third Rail Repertory Theatre
June 1, 2024 - Present
Middletown Mall (World Premier)
Contributing writer at Artists Repertory Theatre
June 1, 2022 - Present
The Rudy Project; Reading - June 2022; Mercury Festival
Playwright at IFCC
January 1, 2006 - Present
Mutt
Writer/Director at StageT. I. N. A
January 1, 2015 - Present
Short; 48 hour Film Festival; Portland OR; 2015; Winner ‘Best Use of Character’
Director at Middletown Mall
January 1, 2012 - Present
Locomotion; Drammy Award Winner for Outstanding Achievement by a Director
Contributing Writer at The Rudy Project
June 1, 2022 - Present
Contributing writer with readings in June 2022 at Mercury Festival / Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland, OR.
Playwright / Contributing Writer at Third Rail Repertory Theatre
June 1, 2020 - Present
TikTok Zoom; Or, That One Time In 2020 — Playwright Reading.
Contributing Writer at Mercury Festival
June 1, 2022 - June 1, 2022
The Rudy Project — Contributing Writer Reading (Jun 2022).

Education

MFA — Creative Writing at University of British Columbia
January 11, 2030 - March 17, 2026
MFA — Acting at California Institute of the Arts
January 11, 2030 - March 17, 2026
BA — Theatre & Photography at Salisbury University
November 30, 0002 - March 17, 2026

Qualifications

Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards – Semi-Finalist
January 1, 2025 - March 17, 2026
Creative Screenwriting UNIQUE VOICES Screenplay Competition – Quarter-Finalist
January 1, 2025 - March 17, 2026
Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference – Semi-Finalist
January 1, 2023 - March 17, 2026
Regional Arts & Culture Council – Project Grant
January 1, 2005 - March 17, 2026
Legacy Playwright Grant (Advance Gender Equity in the Arts)
January 1, 2023 - March 17, 2026
Sunny’s Gifts and Things grant (Advance Gender Equity in the Arts)
January 1, 2024 - March 17, 2026
Drammy Award — Outstanding Achievement by a Director
January 1, 2012 - March 17, 2026
Advance Gender Equity in the Arts Legacy Playwright Grant
January 1, 2024 - March 17, 2026
Regional Arts & Culture Council Project Grant
January 1, 2005 - March 17, 2026
Regional Arts & Culture Council Project Grant
January 1, 2023 - March 17, 2026
Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference — Semi-Finalist
January 1, 2023 - March 17, 2026
Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference — Semi-Finalist
January 1, 2025 - March 17, 2026
Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards — Semi-Finalist
January 1, 2025 - March 17, 2026
Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices Screenplay Competition — Quarter-Finalist
January 1, 2025 - March 17, 2026

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Education, Non-Profit Organization, Professional Services, Other