Chapter V

Drama & Film

Performance turns storytelling into a shared experience. Through theater and film, I explore how voice, movement, character, and collaboration shape what an audience sees—and how a story changes when it moves from the page into space.

Musical Union

Storytelling Built Collectively

Theater taught me that storytelling is built collectively. As president of the Musical Union, I moved between performance, direction, scheduling, and production coordination. I performed in Legally Blonde, co-directed Hadestown and the year-end Spotlight Gala, and worked across casts, crews, teachers, and administrators. These experiences showed me how interpretation changes through voice, movement, staging, and collaboration—and how leadership in the arts often happens behind the curtain, through the structures that allow others to perform.

0 Major productions across performance and direction
0 Leadership roles: club president and co-director
0 Years of sustained involvement
Multiple creative teams coordinated across casts and crews
Drama Festival

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Working on A Midsummer Night’s Dream required me to move constantly between performing and directing. As assistant director and Hermia, I co-led a 12-member cast while developing my own interpretation of the character. Behind the scenes, I choreographed stage blocking, designed lighting, coached actors on performance styles, scheduled rehearsals, and coordinated availability. Bringing these elements together taught me how a production develops through both individual expression and careful collaboration—and how a director helps distinct performances become one coherent world onstage.

0 Creative roles: assistant director and Hermia
0 Member cast co-led through rehearsal and performance
0 Production areas: blocking, lighting, actor coaching, and scheduling
0 Audience members reached at the school drama festival
Short Film

Your Parrot, Too

As producer and cinematographer of Your Parrot, Too, I helped turn a story about friendship into a 15-minute short film. Over two months, I coordinated an 11-member crew, managed locations, shooting schedules, and budget, and developed the film’s visual language. Filming in Beijing’s hutongs, I used natural light, close-ups, and deliberate framing to create intimacy between the characters and their surroundings. The project showed me how production decisions and cinematography can shape not only what an audience sees, but how it feels a story.

0 Minute film produced and photographed
0 Member crew coordinated across a two-month production
0 School awards: First Prize and Best Cinematography
0 Festival selections: BIFF Young Filmmaker Program and Ginkgo Youth Festival