Jessica Lynn Johnson News

Actress Jannica Olin was the stereotypical blonde blue eyed Swede. Her long hair had always been a big part of her identity. Until suddenly, she lost it all.

Corina, From Lap Dance to Sundance recounts the journey of how Corina Calderon went from working as a stripper in Austin, Texas, to being cast as the lead in a feature film that was nominated for the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. From hiding the truth from her judgmental, Mexican-American Catholic family, to finding support and friendship in the strip club. Written and performed by Corina Calderon, and directed and developed by Jessica Lynn Johnson,and playing for one night only, September 14th at 8:00 pm at Santa Monica Playhouse.

Speaking to the #metoo and #timesup movement, Susy Porter brings her darkest secrets into the light. Will she shed her shame and embrace her inner strength? Will she learn to turn her passiveness into power? It's time to Wake Up Little Susy. One night only, Saturday, September 7th at 7:30 pm.

I was unaware of how Anzu's personal history inspired Ono's spirit to speak so directly to her until I was in the audience at her World Premiere solo show, DEAR YOKO, in which Anzu opened her heart and soul as she revealed how her personal history of non-acceptance as an Asian woman and her overwhelming depression was turned around when she discovered Ono as she studied her story and writings. During her 90-minute performance, directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson at the Whitefire Theatre, Anzu not only portrayed Ono with her signature dialect, hat and sunglasses, but also personal family members, rock musicians she met while touring as a singer/songwriter, agents and entertainment moguls who brought on the need for the #MeToo movement, and others who assisted her in turning her life around and accepting herself as the person she really was meant to be. And that road was never easy but so worth the journey.

Actress/Playwright Terra Taylor Knudson is about to open her award-winning solo show Willy's Lil Virgin Queen at the Garage Theatre in Long Beach after Labor Day. In our conversation she talks about why Shakespeare's work is so important to her and gives welcome advice to our readers on how to fully understand and appreciate him more. Actress/Playwright Terra Taylor Knudson is about to open her award-winning solo show Willy's Lil Virgin Queen at the Garage Theatre in Long Beach after Labor Day. In our conversation she talks about why Shakespeare's work is so important to her and gives welcome advice to our readers on how to fully understand and appreciate him more. Willy's Lil Virgin Queen sounds delightful. Tell us about how you and Shakespeare first got acquainted. TTK: I grew up in Bouldeilly's Lil Virgin Queen sounds delightful. Tell us about how you and Shakespeare first got acquainted. TTK: I grew up in Boulde

Award-Winning playwright and performer, Terra Taylor Knudson, (2017 Encore Producer's Award, 2005 Arts Professional of the Year, Long Beach Arts Council), brings her solo show; Willy's Lil Virgin Queen fresh from the boards of the Santa Monica Playhouse to The Garage Theatre in Long Beach for very special three night engagement September 5th, 6th & 7th at 8:00pm. 

Santa Monica Playhouse has been a cultural treasure in the seaside community for 60 years. Now, the Playhouse is giving love back with its Fourth Annual Binge Free Festival (BFF), a full month of free performances, workshops, readings, music and poetry in Santa Monica's ONLY fringe festival. The BFF's primary focus will be on Santa Monica and Los Angeles-based artists.

In January 2017, Denver native Diana Varco premiered her solo show Shattered at the Whitefire Theatre SoloFest in Los Angeles to a standing ovation. 'I was nervous to do the show because sexual assault (rape) wasn't a topic most people openly talked about' Varco said. Today, in 2019, it's a conversation hard to avoid.

All her life Diana hasn't hit it off with the fellas. In 3rd grade, she kicked her crush in the crotch and her dating life didn't improve from there.

It was 2014 and actress Jannica Olin lost all her hair, suddenly, in the space of six months. It was Alopecia, the doctors said. 'An autoimmune disease with no known cause or cure.' And so the journey began. Of losing not just her hair, but her identity. How do you deal with losing that which is your beauty and femininity? Does this now mean people will see you as sick? Or worse. Ugly.

A BIT MUCH is a LOL, funny, insightful journey that attempts to answer the question, How can women comfortably step into their own brand of strength and femininity without compromise, while still maintaining romantic relationships with men? (Spoiler alter, it's harder than it looks, but not impossible.)

Lisa Verlo's solo show and personal journey across Hollywood's unsettling sexual landscape. Directed by and developed with Jessica Lynn Johnson and Produced by Megan Ford-Miller, Hollywoodn't is a musical memoir told with candor and insight into the life of an actress before women dared to speak up. With original songs co-written with Frank Simes, Musical Director for The Who, Lisa Verlo brings humor and a light heart to a heavy subject. Creative visuals and video projections add to the multimedia recounting of her experiences on the casting couches of LA

During the two-year run and tour of her debut solo show Unemployed. Finally., one of the stories audiences responded to most was when artist Heather Dowling shared  her personal challenges with fertility. Driven by the heartfelt audience response, Dowling decided to share her story more completely and interviewed dozens of women (and men, too) to discover, uncover and encourage a conversation about procreation as an empowered choice.

Having moved eight times during her childhood as a result of her father's career, from Hong Kong to Buffalo, Vanessa Boss struggled to find a place she called 'home.' With that yearning and confusion came expected early and lingering effects like depression, self-esteem issues and an eating disorder. During those times, Vanessa often sought an escape and an identity for her problems…and some unique characters began their development.

CLEMENTINE is a one woman show written & performed by April Wish and directed & developed by Jessica Lynn Johnson. Coming off of a sold out preview at Whitefire Theatre's SOLOFEST 2019, the largest solo theatre festival on the West Coast, CLEMENTINE has been called 'touching, unique, riveting and very, very important' by NoHo Arts and the Tolucan Times proclaimed that it is 'a moving, dynamic examination of motherhood [...] full of emotion and power...'

Just in time for the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare Santa Monica Playhouse Benefit Series and Olio Theatre works present a special one-night only performance of Terra Taylor Knudson's Hollywood Fringe Festival favorite Willy's Lil Virgin Queen, Saturday, April 27,2019.

Hot Off the Press is a program of excerpted new solo writings presented by talented women playwrights in staged readings.

When veteran actor Crystal Bush first started developing her one-woman show, she thought it would be about the many sides of love, from falling to being in love to the breakups. But as she got into it, she realized there was another story to tell…a very dark story that she knew would be tough, but necessary to share.

The one-woman show, A BIT MUCH, is a LOL funny, insightful journey that attempts to answer the question, How can women comfortably step into their own brands of strength and femininity without compromise, while still maintaining romantic relationships with men? (Spoiler alter, it's harder than it looks, but not impossible.)