Kristina Wong, #FoodBankInfluencer
- Written and Performed By Kristina Wong
- Directed by Jessica Hanna
- Presented by Portland Center Stage and Boom Arts
JUMP TO: Dates, Run Time, Playbill, & More
In a SNAPpy (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, that is!) musical comedy like no other, Kristina Wong, self-proclaimed #FoodBankInfluencer gives us a karaoke fueled education on America’s emergency food system. After experiencing the lacking food distribution from New York to the Navajo Nation, Kristina Wong returns, as only she can, with this hilariously irreverent examination of food insecurity, government assistance, and grassroot solutions to global issues.
Notes on sewn set and props pieces
Many of the pieces on the stage were sewn and designed by Kristina Wong. Many of the old school food stamps were sewn with the collective labor of audiences and crew members at our Kennedy Center residency in Summer of 2023. The Pitchfork Pantry soup can prop was completely designed and sewn by Julie Chamberlain.
More About This Production
Snap!: The vibrant ‘Kristina Wong, #FoodBankInfluencer’ entertains and enlightens with karaoke-style songs
By Linda Ferguson for Oregon ArtsWatch
Wong’s solo musical comedy, playing at Portland Center Stage, also digs deep as it schools us on rising food insecurity in the richest nation in the world.
Behind the Curtain: There Is Enough
PCS Dramaturg Kamilah Bush on the state of food insecurity in Oregon and the U.S.
Community Food Resources: Places to Get Help & Give Help
This guide highlights a selection of local food pantries, meal programs, and volunteer opportunities in the Portland area. While not comprehensive, these organizations offer ways to access food, support neighbors, and get involved in the community.
Stage & Studio: Interview with Kristina Wong
Stage & Stduio's Dmae Lo Roberts interviews Kristina Wong about her new show #FoodBankInfluencer, returning to Portland, and why "food banks?." Listen online or wherever you get your podcasts now.
How do you become a food bank influencer? Comedian Kristina Wong has answers
Isabella Bernstein interviews Kristina Wong on #FoodBankInfluencer for the Boston Globe
Multnomah County Library My Discovery Pass Reading List
Enjoy a thoughtfully curated list of readings to complement your Kristina Wong, #foodbankinfluencer experience!
Related Events
Gallery Exhibit: Through The Eye of I by Izaya Golden
A Mirror, A lens.
Opening on May 26th. 5:30PM.
We are all creative beings.
Painting is a spiritual practice, as is writing.
Together, they form an exchange of energy that opens up a new realm of thinking.
Every stroke becomes a reflection of my vessel.
Meet the Cast & Creative Team
Kristina Wong is a Doris Duke Artist Award winner, Guggenheim Fellow and the first Asian American woman to be named Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama. She’s a performance artist, comedian, actor, writer and former elected official who has been presented internationally across North America, the UK, Hong Kong and Africa. Notable solo shows include: Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Going Green the Wong Way, The Wong Street Journal, and Kristina Wong for Public Office. Her role in accidentally starting the Auntie Sewing Squad, a national mutual aid mask sewing network during the Covid-19 pandemic, was the subject Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord— a New York Times Critics Pick that premiered off-Broadway at New York Theater Workshop. That show was the 2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama and winner of the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance. Her three year Artist-in-Residence appointment at ASU Gammage has run concurrent to being a Kennedy Center (rest in peace) Social Practice Fellow. Her work has been awarded with support from Creative Capital, The MAP Fund, Center for Cultural Innovation, National Performance Network, a COLA Master Artist Fellowship from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, nine Los Angeles Artist-in-Residence awards, Center Theatre Group’s Sherwood Award, the Art Matters Foundation, and the Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Fund from En Garde Arts. In addition to guest starring roles on movies on Netflix and shows on Nickelodeon and ABC, she’s been a commentator on late night shows on NBC, Comedy Central and FX. She starred in her own pilot presentation with Lionsgate for truTV. Her commentaries have appeared on American Public Media’s Marketplace, PBS, VICE, Jezebel, Playgirl Magazine, Huffington Post and CNN. She’s been awarded artist residencies from MacDowell, San Diego Airport and Ojai Playwrights Festival. Her new book is Auntie Kristina’s Guide to Asian American Activism (Beaming Books) and is co-written with the producers of Radical Cram School, the web series she has created for kids. She also co-hosts Killing Your Number, a podcast exploring the experiences of formerly incarcerated Asian Pacific Islanders. Upcoming projects: playwriting Fetus Deletus (commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse) and directing From Number to Name at Center Theater Group Los Angeles.
www.kristinawong.com
Jessica Hanna is a Los Angeles based Director, Producer & Space Maker. She is founding Producing Artistic Director of Outside In Theatre, a member of The Kilroys (2018-2025) and was Chair of SITI Company’s Board of Directors (2019-2023). Her focus as a director has been on new play development. Recent: Roger Q Mason’s Hide and Hide at Skylight Theatre, Justin Elizabeth Sayre’s Lottie Plachett Took A Hatchet at The Cavern Club, The Los Angeles LGBT Center and Assembly Roxy Upstairs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Also Sayre’s Three Little Girls Down A Well at The Public Theatre for Under The Radar Festival 2023. Other world premieres include Deathplay written & performed by Lisa Sanaye Dring at Circle X, as well as Dring’s Hungry Ghost at Skylight Theatre; John Ross Bowie’s Four Chords and A Gun, Kerri-Ann McCalla’s The Willows, and Georgette Kelly’s I Carry Your Heart all at Bootleg Theatre. Current Directing: Los Angeles premiere of Jami Brandli’s O: A Rhapsody in Divorce at Outside In Theatre May/June 2026. Ongoing Directing: Kristina Wong #FoodBankInfluencer. Jessica is thrilled to be working with Kristina Wong and thankful to Portland Center Stage for bringing the #FoodBankInfluencer team to Portland. www.JessQueen.com for more info.
Alexz Trent Eccles is excited to be designing with Portland Center Stage. Alongside being the Main Stage Master Electrician at Portland Center Stage, Alexz enjoys the opportunity to design lights in our community. You may have seen their design work in PCS's production of Its A Wonderful Life: The Radio Play, and Mrs. Harrison on the Main Stage. Alexz has also designed lights for Lakewood’s production of Jersey Boys for which they were awarded Best Lighting Design. Alexz has also worked with Third Rail Repertory Theatre designing productions such as Middletown Mall and Music Man.Outside of theatre Alexz is reading Dungeon Crawler Carl, lounging on a sunny patio with their cats, and chasing their youngest nephews around the park. Enjoy the Show!!
Howard Ho is a Chinese-American playwright, composer, sound designer, musicologist, and Youtuber based in New York City. He’s thrilled to continue working on #FoodBankInfluencer with Kristina Wong and make his Portland Center Stage debut! His plays include Beethoven's Third (Samuel French OOB Winner), Reset (Moving Arts, O'Neill NPC Finalist), End of the Line (licensed by MTI), Parity (Caltech’s Mach 33 Launchpad, Pan Asian NuWorks Festival), Turntables (O’Neill NPC Semi-Finalist), Moll-E (Bay Area Playwrights Festival Semi-Finalist), and Where I'm From (OOB Finalist, Pan Asian NuWorks Festival). He recently sound designed Trash Off-Broadway at PAC NYC and has earned multiple LA Ovation and SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nominations. His Youtube channel (youtube.com/HowardHoMusic) has over 150,000 subscribers and was recognized by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Based on his Youtube analyses, his forthcoming book “How Hamilton Works: The Music Theory of Lin-Manuel Miranda” is being published by Smith & Kraus. IG:@howardwho
Amanda Eno is a native of Colorado who now calls Los Angeles her home. She often works in immersive theater, brand activations, and corporate events. She also just started her own Stage and Production Management company, Live Management Society. Most of all, she is thrilled to be joining Kristina again after previously touring with her for Kristina Wong for Public Office.
Alea Tran is a theatre artist whose interests lie in creating art that is impactful and collaborative. Past productions include Primary Trust, The Light (stage manager, PCS); Liberace & Liza: Holiday at the Mansion (A Tribute), Coriolanus (production assistant, PCS); A Mirror (stage manager, Third Rail Repertory); Diné Nishłį (i am a sacred being) Or, A Boarding School Play (stage manager, Native Theatre Project); American Fast (production manager, Artists Repertory). Alea is a past member of the PATHWAYS mentorship program through Artists Repertory Theatre.
Steph Landtiser is an artist from Portland, Oregon. Originally a music director, they now work around town as an electrician, stage manager, production assistant, and stagehand. This is Steph's fourth season working with PCS. Thanks to the amazing folks who gave their hearts to this production. As always, love and gratitude to their friends and family. Extra thanks to Holly for being a delight, and to Calvin for being my place to just be.
Kristina Wong in Kristina Wong #FoodBankInfluencer. Photos by Jingzi Zhao. Courtesy of Portland Center Stage.
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).
