dana hall

Dana Hall has been a Chicago-based actor for over two decades. She is also an accomplished and award-winning author, playwright, speaker, and mental health therapist. Her award-winning children's book, Beyond Words was released in 2020. She has been featured in the anthology, Made to Overcome and We All Belong: Musings on Inclusion, Acceptance, and Kindness. Her plays have been featured at Inkwell Theatre Ca., Drawing Cats Theatre (NYC), Palos Village Players (Chicago), Equity Theatre (NYC), Triangle Rainbow Theatre & Riante Theatre (NYC), The New Deal Deal Creative Arts Center (NY), Dramatic Question Theatre (DQT) (NYC), This Moment Productions (IL), and Scripps Onstage (CA). She is a 2021 finalist with Jakespeare VTC (MA) for her show Alone at the Automat, an Edward Hopper inspired piece. She was accepted to the Women’s Theatre Festival (NC) summer/2021 for her examination of social disparities with the piece, No Justice. Her show Unprovoked was featured as one of two PRIDE shows published by Barely Seen Editor 2021. Her original full-length virtual comedy The Tenant was featured in the Rogue Theater Festival (NYC) 2021. She was also nominated Best Director at Triangle Rainbow Theatre’s LGBTQ play festival (NYC 2021) for her work on a show she also wrote called Sunny Side Up. Her comedic monologue Plaque Kills is in Equity Theatre Library. She is thrilled to have her first TYA piece Magic Memories produced by 23 Miles South Theater summer/2021. In addition, she has been published with Smith Scripts UK & Stage Plays. She is the co-founder and artistic director of This Moment Productions, a virtual theatre company with the mission to increase access and equity in the theatrical arts. She is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America, International Centre for Women Playwrights, and HonorRoll! 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: www.DanaHallCreates.com
Instagram: @GoAskYourTherapist
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanaHallLcpc

MORE ABOUT ME
Why do I keep doing theater? The power of storytelling has always fascinated me. As a child I would find myself lost in the writing of Beverly Clearly, Judy Blum, Roald Dahl, Arnold Lobel and others. As I sit with my youngest on my lap introducing another generation to these works, I cannot help but be moved by the power narratives have had in my life. Like most writers and actors we tell time by what pieces we were working. It is so interwoven into my life it isn't 'a thing I do' but part of who I am, like any relationship it ebbs and flows but I know it will be there when I need it. Whether I'm on the stage traveling through the experience of characters, or writing them myself, I am swept away by the ability to travel by only turning a page. I'd love for my legacy to be that I gave power to truth, took risks, and did my best to advocate for new and diverse voices to be heard in the arts. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
I just finished a piece inspired by an Edward Hopper painting called Alone at the Automat. It has served as a great prelude to the 1930s historic piece I'm gathering research for called Seven Miles Behind The Moon, which is an old slang term for someone with mental illness. This play will combine my background as a clinical psychotherapist with my passion for historical dramas. 

KEYWORDS
Drama, Actor, Historical, Comedy, Therapist, Mental Health Matters, Equality, Diversity, Period, Advocate, Family, Nature, Adaptations
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