Jayna Shoda Meyer
International Theatre Artist
Director | Producer | Writer | Performer
(Currently in Chamorro Standard Time - ChST)
ABOUT
Jayna Shoda Meyer (she/her) is a interdisciplinary theatre artist with a strong background in community facilitation and new works. As an actor, director, and facilitator, she has worked across Turtle Island and internationally. Jayna views theatre as a medium for radical healing, resistance & revolution.
As a 2022 Cultural Survival Indigenous Youth Fellow, Jayna worked with Breaking Wave Theatre Company in Guåhan on the development of the Hita Mane’estoria: We Are Storytellers, a new play written by a group of CHamoru writers that explores intergenerational stories. She has also worked with Breaking Wave to devise and develop WE WILL NOT GO SILENT, a new touring show exploring the climate crisis through the lens of Guåhan using puppetry, poetry, music, and movement.
Jayna is a current participant of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s FAIR Program, assisting on Desdemona Chiang’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest and is an alumna of the Stage Director & Choreographer Foundation’s Professional Development Program as the SDCF Directing Observer on Lempicka (Broadway).
She is a graduate of the College of Fine Arts at Boston University. Proud Chamorro from the diaspora always finding her way back home. Biba Mariånas!
CURRENTLY
CURRENTLY
Oregon Shakespeare Festival | FAIR Assistant Director | The Importance of Being Earnest | January-March 2025
Breaking Wave Theatre Company | Devising Ensemble | We Will Not Go Silent | September-November 2024, ongoing
Past Projects
-
WE WILL NOT GO SILENT - Breaking Wave Theatre Company (Fall 2024)
A Devised Performance Piece Exploring the Climate Crisis Through the Lens of Guåhan
Devised by Joyce Torres, Jayna Shoda Meyer, Ean Taijeron, Hannah Elmore, Joseph Taimanao, Nicolas Quinata, Shannon Dean San Nicolas, Shannon Q. Iriarte, and CJ Ochoco
Directed by Joyce Torres with Assistant Directing by Jayna Shoda Meyer
Produced by CJ Ochoco and James Aevermann
Scenic & Lighting Design by Nicolas Quinata
Sound Design by Jerome Ocampo
Costume Design by Xavier Borja & Joseph Taimanao
-
Two Spirit F(l)ag - NYU Skirball Center (Spring 2024)
A Say Gay Plays Staged Reading
Written by Ty Defoe
Directed by Jayna Shoda Meyer
Featuring Nic Billey & Claire Soleil Gardner
Photo by Mustafa Önder
-
Hita Mane'estoria: We Are Storytellers - Breaking Wave Theatre Company (Fall 2023)
A staged reading of Hita Mane’estoria: We Are Storytellers, a new play written by 5 CHamoru writers based in Guam and the diaspora. Inspired by interviews with elders in the writers’ families, this collection of five intergenerational stories explores stories from the lives of manåmko’ told through the perspective of their children and grandchildren.
Directed by Jayna Shoda Meyer
Lighting & Sound Design by Derek Smith
-
HALF - Boston University (Spring 2023)
A New Play by Valyn Lyric Turner
Directed by Jayna Shoda Meyer
Assist. Directed by Christian Donnerson
Stage Managed by Sydney Jackson & Lucy Leahy
Lighting Design by Rowen Bailey & Klara Ballay
Projection Design by Klara Ballay
Scenic Design by Jayna Shoda Meyer & Klara Ballay
Sound Design by Irene Wang
Costume Design by Morgan Bailie
Projection Photos by Henry Sirota
Production Photos by Ken Yotsukura -
HALF by Valyn Lyric Turner
HALF is a semi-biographical drama following a young woman and her journey of reconnecting with her estranged father while reconciling with her grieving mother. Crafted from family interviews and reimagined for the stage, HALF explores themes of forgiveness, faith, turbulent relationships, interracial families, and belonging.
Photo by Ken Yotsukura
-
HALF by Valyn Lyric Turner
Photo by Ken Yotsukura
