Today we’d like to introduce you to Joelle Joyner-Wong.
Hi Joelle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got introduced to theatre when I was 6 years old. I was more on the timid side growing up. My best friend, Danika, who I am still friends with today was doing acting classes at a community church, and my mom signed me up for the classes. I took 2 sessions of those classes, one in the Fall and the other in the Spring. Since we were little kids, the class consisted of the teachers reading us stories, and we would act them out as they read. Each session had a different theme. In the Fall, the theme was Toy Land, so we would read stories like “The Nutcracker”. In the Spring, the theme was Disney, so we would get read “The Lion King”, “Peter Pan”, and “Sleeping Beauty”. Our teachers would then pick one of the stories to perform in front of our parents. I remember doing well with the instruction and having fun. I was 6 years old, and I enjoyed playing make-believe. That Summer, the church hosted a performing arts camp for ages 5-13, where we took a variety of classes. I signed up for acting with Danika and our friend Zoie. I also took a video class, where I got to learn about movies. The camp was only 3 weeks. A typical day at camp consisted of separating to our different our classes, then end the day at rehearsal for a musical to perform for our parents in the auditorium. I remember from my 7-year-old eyes, the auditorium looked huge, and the older kids looked like adults. The highlight of the camp was the day of the performance because I remember we had to stay at the camp all day until the performance. Since the camp was big, during the performance, they divided us by age group, and I got to sit with my 2 friends since we were in the younger kids group. Those two opportunities were the start of my love for entertainment. From there on, I never looked back. But it’s interesting to reflect back on that experience as an adult because I was so young. The school year started, and I relocated to another church that did kids’ plays and musicals that required auditions. Danika also relocated to the new church, and we got our other friend, Leah, to join in. We did an abundance of shows such as “101 Dalmatians”, “The Jungle Book”, “Cinderella”, “Seussical”, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”, and “Schoolhouse Rock”. I participated in those plays until I was a freshman in high school. At the same time, I always had a passion for writing stories. Throughout elementary school, I had a composition book where I would write stories. I wouldn’t share those stories with anyone else, but at the time, that’s the way I liked it. I wrote a few scripts in middle school, but at the time, I would just share them with my friends at school, Danika, and our friend group but, I thought nothing of it.
When I got to high school, I realized I wanted to pursue theatre in college. I desired to be an actress and sing my heart out on Broadway. Summer between my Junior and Senior year of high school, I took an introduction to acting class and a vocal technique class at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco as part of their pre-College Summer program. Both classes got me exposed to college-level courses. If I could have it my way, I would of packed my bags after graduating high school and moved to either Los Angeles or New York City. I wanted that waitress-by-day actress by night type of deal. Unfortunately, my parents declined that, and I went to College. When I got to my first year at Sonoma State University as an acting major, I realized I wasn’t into acting as much anymore. After a year of classes, failed auditions, and participating in a peer’s senior project, my dreams of being on Broadway came to an end. I didn’t like being the center of attention. I didn’t enjoy the pressure. The expectations and anxiety of being “perfect”. I wanted to switch majors. Despite my novel feeling, I still wanted to work in entertainment somehow. I just didn’t want to be the center of attention anymore. I did my research and I saw that Sonoma State offered a concentration called theatre studies. It focused on playwriting, directing, theatre management, and teaching. The word that stood out to me was ”playwriting”.
When I made the decision to switch concentrations, my new advisor in theatre studies suggested I submit my first play to a new works festival Sonoma State was hosting in the spring. He told me it doesn’t have to be perfect, and it could only be 10 pages. I was intrigued but hesitated because the last time I wrote a script was when I was 13, and I was not impressed. I sat in my dorm room for 3 hours brainstorming what to write. After some time, I wrote “Cheers!”. It centers around 4 college-aged girls in their dorm. However, friendships get tested, sexualities are questioned, and the mystery of a ghost arises. A week later, I got an email from the theatre department stating they wanted to showcase my play for the festival. It was my first time in the playwriting process, and it made me so happy seeing something that I created from my mind come to life. “Cheers!” got good praise from my friends, family, instructors, and peers. That was the moment I figured out my career goal. I wanted to be a playwright. I wanted to be a screenwriter. In my remaining years of College, I wrote more plays and did more studying on writing screenplays.
I graduated from Sonoma State in the Spring of 2021. Since graduating, I’ve commenced to follow a career that focuses on theatre and film. Summer of 2023, a new play I wrote called “Post Grad Life” had its first stage reading through a local theatre in the Bay Area. “Post Grad Life” follows the story of a young artist who is inspired to move to Los Angeles, but is also trying to navigate life through her new adulthood. A year later, Summer of 2024, “Post Grad Life” had its first professional performance at the Free-Play Festival hosted by theatre company PlayGround-SF. PlayGround is an organization that heavily focuses on new voices showcasing their work. After completing my degree and my film internship, I had the confidence to direct and produce the show. It was a learning experience, but it made me more confident in being a writer and director. It made me realize not to be timid and despite the roadblocks the show is gonna be amazing. This Summer, “Post Grad Life” got accepted into the Rogue Theater Festival as part of its digital live-stream program. This was the final performance of this piece, at least for a while, since I am moving on to other opportunities. I filmed the actors on Google Meet with the screen-recording and edited it all together into one piece. One of the key highlights of this performance was that Rogue Theater Festival got an opportunity to promote each of our shows on a Billboard in Times Square. This was one of the most surreal moments and every theatre kid’s dream. Each hour I kept looking at the Billboard on the live-stream trying, not to cry.
In the Spring of 2023, I got accepted as a Studio Intern at BAYCAT Studio, a non-profit in San Francisco that mentors emerging filmmakers to break into the film industry. From the information I gained in my internship, I’ve become a freelance filmmaker. I’ve gotten to work on a wide variety of sets as a script supervisor, background extra, and production assistant.
Finally, after a few years in the working world and an internship later, I packed my bags and made the move to Los Angeles. I celebrated one year in LA this past June, and I can honestly say it was the best decision I’ve made in my entire life. Since relocating, I’ve gotten to work on some cool film sets as crew and as a background actor, I got my first full-time job in the performing arts, I joined a playwriting group and got to direct a show for their annual 10-minute play festival, got to participate in Hollywood Fringe Festival where I got to Associate Direct a new musical, connected and worked with 2 talent agencies in their Commercial and VO department, wrote a new play titled “Fem-Ship” that centers around the importance of female friendships, and hosted a stage reading of “Fem-Ship” that got filmed, got into Rogue Theater Festival with the last performance of “Post Grad Life”, had “Post Grad Life” promoted on Times Square of all places, directed another 10-minute play for a new works festival in Burbank, got my script cold read at a script shuffle event, working on crew for an upcoming TV Pilot, and gonna have my first ever play “Cheers!” performed in 3-minutes in Burbank next month.
It’s been a fun ride. But I still have so much to learn. I’m here in LA. A girl from the San Francisco Bay Area who has dreamed of living in the City of Angels. This is the life I’ve always wanted since I was young, and I’m taking advantage of every opportunity I can get. Ever since I moved to LA, my life has gone 180. I have more of a path of where I want to go. These next few months, I plan to learn more skill sets in the entertainment industry that will help me grow and land a job at a film studio. Even though I want to move into film, TV, and commercials, I will always be a theatre kid, and I will never stop writing plays.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m gonna be transparent, it has not been a smooth ride. For starters, I graduated in 2021, in the midst of the pandemic. I moved back home, living with my parents. Theatres were shut down, and I had no experience in the film industry yet. Some of my friends were still home, but they were moving on to other endeavors. My goal after College was to move to Los Angeles and live that LA dream every artist hopes for. I didn’t want to be in my hometown anymore, let alone Northern California. No hate towards the area, I just never pictured my life there. LA sounded amazing, but I didn’t have a set goal. I wanted to be a screenwriter, but some told me that was not a “career” and that I didn’t have a plan. This caused me to lose faith in myself. I lost the dream of living in LA, and I decided to look into another career path.
2022 was a year of transition. I worked a wide variety of jobs, ranging from a Brand Ambassador at an Electric Vehicle company to a receptionist at a Boba Supply Place. After a year of job hopping, I found my roots back in the arts and got my first job at a theatre in the front of house team. After doing some reflection on my year, I was feeling creatively inspired and wrote “Post Grad Life”. Around that time, I got into BAYCAT. In my time there, I was taught by industry professionals and their different arrays of the film industry in regards to pre-production, production, and post-production. The most important memory that I cherish about my time at BAYCAT was being able to meet and connect with young filmmakers who are from similar backgrounds as me, and hope to create stories that not only inspire, but also educate the world. This industry is tough, and it was comforting to be around people who also go through the same trials I go through as a BIPOC artist. My time at BAYCAT is one I will never forget. It was an experience that made me discover what I wanted and who I wanted to be as an artist.
So as you can see, it hasn’t been the smoothest ride. I may have moved to Los Angeles later than I anticipated. But the journey I’ve experienced made me a stronger artist and a stronger individual. Most people don’t know this, but the Bay Area has a lot of diverse culture and hidden talent that should be showcased more in the media. I don’t regret the experiences I had there. I don’t regret the friends I’ve made growing up there, the theatres I got connected with, and the film projects I’ve had the privilege to work on.
I’m 26 now, and looking back, I don’t think 22-year-old me would of lasted a year a LA, or even a month. Things happen for a reason, and all the experiences I had since graduating were to prepare me for LA. If I had never gotten to direct the promo video for BAYCAT, I would of never been introduced to my new passion for directing plays. I know entertainment is a brutal industry, and being a screenwriter is one of the toughest careers to achieve. However, I’ve burdened my skill set by directing, producing, and casting/agency work because the more you know in this industry, the more successful you will be. The hustle keeps me driven and reminds me that one day my script will be picked up, and I’ll bring home that Academy Award soon.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Script writing is my specialty. I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of writing something on a piece of paper and seeing it come to life on-stage or on-screen. When I was an actor, I found it more difficult to express myself because I was playing a character, and I had to focus on just my character and the character they are associated with in that moment. Writing a script, I have more freedom to express my story. I have more control over what I want and how I want things to start and finish. I’m most proud of my ability to sit down and find time to write. The hardest part of being a writer is finding time to sit down and devote time to the craft. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to set aside some time to write for myself. Whether it’s editing one of my old scripts, writing a poem, or just writing a page in my journal.
I’m also proud of the last 2 plays I’ve written: “Post Grad Life” and “Fem-Ship”. It may sound cliché, but I tend to write my best scripts when I’m not in my greatest moods. Both scripts have been therapeutic and have even taught me the lesson I needed to learn. More specifically, “Fem-ship”. The message is to remind girls to never forget their girlfriends. I got inspired to write this piece because we’ve all been young and in love. When you’re young, you think your partner is the most important thing on the planet, and you begin to lose track of your friends. The script is a reminder to girls that boys come and go. Which is a message I needed to hear myself. I’ve had my fair share of love, and after my last relationship, I had to rediscover how to make friends again. This is the first script I’ve written since moving to LA. So far, it’s had one stage reading that has been recorded. This was my first public stage reading, hosted and produced by me. I then had it read at a group in LA called Script Shuffle, where 5 writers get 10 pages of their script cold-read by actors. Both readings have helped me with what I need to edit in the script.
One thing that sets me apart is taking the initiative and putting on my plays myself. The Free-Play Festival for “Post Grad Life” was an experience that changed me for the better. It was my first Fringe Festival, but it was also my first time putting on a play by myself. I had to book a rehearsal space, set up my own casting calls, and find set designs and props. It may have been a rollercoaster at times, but it was a learning experience, and the show came out amazing. Overall, I’m just proud that I took the risk to put on my own play. The skills I learned from the Free-Play Festival helped me prepare for the next few plays I directed and encouraged me to set up my own stage reading. I’ve learned in this industry that a lot of times I will have to take matters into my own hands. If I want to produce one of my plays, find a space myself, and get it performed. If I want to see my script filmed, find some people who have gear and equipment and find a place to film it. I learned that I can’t wait for the opportunity to fall into my lap. If I do that, my scripts will never be seen or heard.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Risk taking was something I struggled with for a long time. In school I was that girl who never said a word in class. The girl who would have a panic attack if she was asked to read out loud or had to present in front of the whole class. I was afraid to use my voice. I was afraid to get out of my comfort zone. Peers, mentors, and coworkers underestimated me. Some thought that I was never gonna make it in life.
One of the first risks I took was switching my majors to theatre studies and writing my first play. Even though I wrote scripts when I was younger, this was the first script that was actually gonna get showcased. I never thought my writing would ever get produced, and believe me, I was nervous. I still remember submitting 10-pages of the first draft of “Cheers!” and thinking it’s not gonna get chosen. When I got that email from the department that “Cheers!” was accepted, I was appalled. Reflecting back, if I had never taken that risk, I would have never found my true home in theatre and entertainment.
Another major risk I took was moving to Los Angeles. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid, and as much as I love the Bay Area, I never envisioned my future there. I’ve always wanted to live in a city that was centered around the arts. Looking back, I think one reason I took longer to relocate was that I was scared. I feared what if I didn’t have a job? What if I end up hating it down there? What if I end up homeless? I was listening to what everyone else was throwing in my head. Then, in the Fall of 2022, I connected with a freelance producer in the Bay Area. He asked about my goals and aspirations and I told him what I wanted. His honest response was to pack my bags and move to LA. But the key thing that stood out and still stands out to me this very day is when he said, “What’s the worst thing that could happen? You don’t get a job in entertainment? Big deal. Find another skillset. The most important thing is that I’m around the environment”. He then told me that he wishes he moved to LA when he was my age, but he didn’t because he was scared, and that is one of his biggest regrets. Since that conversation, I knew my true calling. I realized in that moment that I needed to stop listening to everyone else and listen to myself. I didn’t wanna have any regrets. After over a year of living in LA, I can say it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve gotten to work on so many projects and explore places that I would of never gotten the opportunity to do up North.
Being in LA has increased my risk-taking. From going to different entertainment mixers, to social events, and finding new friends, to submitting and emailing my resumes to get any opportunity to boost my career. Risk-taking can be seen as a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can lead to great awards and innovations, However, it can also lead to some negative consequences, depending on the situation. I think I was skittish towards risk-taking when I was younger is because I was afraid of the negative consequences it could have. Ultimately, the key to risk-taking lies in careful assessment, preparation, and understanding the context. In this industry, you’re gonna have to take huge risks because if you never do, you’ll never be as successful as you want to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wwwjoellejoyner-wongcom.godaddysites.com/
- Instagram: joellevictoriaaa
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelle-joyner-wong-7b24381a5
Image Credits
Image 1: Lit! From The Black Lighting Fellowship. Afro Urban Society. May 2024
Image 2: “Post Grad Life” Table Read. Books on B Street, Hayward, CA. June 2023
Image 3: “Post Grad Life” full-length production. Free-Play Festival PlayGround-SF. San Francisco, CA. August 2024.
Image 4: “Love No Evil” written by Braven Everett. Directed by Joelle Joyner-Wong. Think and Imagine Play Festival hosted by playwriting group Fierce Backbone. February 2025. Pictured: Roslyn Mizgorski and Duncan Emmons.
Image 5: BAYCAT Studio interns tour Pixar! June 2023. Pictured: BAYCAT Studios Spring 2023 interns!
Image 6: “The Strand That Beads You”. Directed by Joelle Joyner-Wong. New Works Festival. Conundrum Theatre Company. September 2025. Pictured: Melissa Meliha, Braven Everrett, Jasmine Brimsmayd.
Image 7: “Saturdays at 10am”. Hollywood Fringe Festival. Los Angeles, CA. June 2025.
Image 8: “Post Grad Life”. Rogue Theater Festival. August 2025.
