Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Skylar Shen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Skylar, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
For me, purpose is never something fixed. It’s something to be uncovered gradually by paying attention to the quiet things that haunt me.
A lot of my creative work stems from a sense of absence: cultural disparities, silent confusions, personal stories that were never told out loud. I find purpose in excavating those spaces, by giving shape to the things that feel too complex, or too fractured to name, and theatre is the magic media that makes every part of me come alive. I write and make theatre, because there are questions I don’t know how to ask any other way.
Sometimes purpose arrives not through inspiration, but through responsibility, especially when telling stories about marginalized identities, or real-life traumas. As one of the voices of the minority, with the artistic liberty I have been awarded, I can’t afford to just ask, “What do I want to say?”. I ask, “What needs to be heard, and why now?”. I’ve realized that purpose isn’t just about what I make, but who I make it with and for. When someone sees a piece I’ve written, and tells me they felt less alone, or seen, or unsettled in a necessary way, that’s when I feel closest to purpose. It’s not about answers really, it’s about connection, unity, and a willingness to sit with what’s unresolved.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a multidisciplinary theatre artist, primarily a performer, writer, and director who works at the intersection of memory, diasporic psychology, and magical realism. My work often explores silence: what’s unspoken, forgotten, or erased, especially in relation to women, trauma, and cultural displacement.
I began as a stage actor, drawn in by the intimacy and transience of live performance. Over time, I found myself wanting to shape the stories from the ground up, so I began writing and directing. What excites me most about theater is its ability to hold contradictions, it can be mythically heightened, and deeply personal at once. It can disturb, comfort, haunt, and joy, all through a span of 90 minutes. I’m especially drawn to narratives that blur the line between reality and the surreal, distant childhood memories, classical piano pieces, and obscure philosophical quandaries, and many more.
Over the past few years, I’ve written and directed several original plays, with recurring themes of grief, identity, and inherited silence. My most recent solo work, Thin Blood Memorabilia, just premiered at the 2025 Hollywood Fringe Festival. It’s a deeply personal one-woman piece rooted in my own family’s history that traces a forgotten maternal lineage across time, migration, and fractured memory. It’s also the first project where I’ve worn all three hats: writer, director, and performer.
Outside of Thin Blood Memorabilia, I’m currently developing a new two-person play that explores intergenerational memory, ecological collapse, time, extinction, and the strange intimacy between care and forgetting, all set against an abandoned temple in the Arctic, an immortal youth monk, and a bewildered boy.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Although I’m still in the early stages of my time in the industry, I’d still like to attribute my growth to many factors, such as:
1. Cultural vulnerability & adaptability: As a Korean individual raised in China, and later came to the US for work, navigating multiple cultures and languages taught me how to read between the lines–not just in life, but in storytelling. It’s helped me build empathy, and understand nuance across different perspectives.
2. Creative Risk-Taking: Having been an actor for over 10 years, I’ve never thought I could be a writer or director, but saying yes to unfamiliar roles and taking risks, but that’s how entirely new paths open up.
3. Trust in yourself: For a long time, I didn’t know if my voice belonged in the room. But over time, through workshops, failures, a lot of revision, and many communities’ supports, I learned to trust what I had to say, even if it felt small or strange.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Right now, the biggest challenge I’m facing is balancing the desire to tell deeply personal, often complex stories, with the practical demands of building a sustainable career in a competitive industry. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by uncertainty, whether it’s funding, visibility, or simply finding the right audience.
To navigate this, I’m focusing on my communities. Connecting with other artists who share similar values, collaborating openly, and staying committed to honest storytelling helps me stay grounded. I’m also learning to be patient with the process, reminding myself that meaningful work takes time and that persistence, even through many setbacks, is part of the journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://skylarshen.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skylarrrrshen/
Image Credits
Broadway Photo & Video
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