Artists at Play presents a reading of
It’s Harder Than It Looks
By Carolyn Huynh
Directed by Jennifer Chang

Mimi Elyse Dinh
Fang Elaine Kao
Joy Myra Cris Ocenar
Josie Cindy Nguyen
Chloe Jacqueline Salamon
Stage Directions Miya Kodama

Stage Manager Lanae Wilks

Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 2pm
The Los Angeles Theater Center

Carolyn Huynh (Playwright) is a novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. She writes about acerbic women who never learn from their mistakes but yearn for joy. Her debut novel, The Fortunes of Jaded Women, was a Good Morning America book club pick and one of NPR’S best books of 2022. A current UCLA MFA playwright candidate, she is part of Artists at Play’s inaugural playwright group. She resides in Los Angeles with her partner, her daughter, and a demonic girl dog, but daydreams about sipping an iced coffee on a rooftop in Ho Chi Minh City.

Jennifer Chang (Director) s a storyteller based in LA. Faculty at UCLA School of TFT. BFA from NYU. MFA from UCSD. http://www.changinator.com for more info.

Elyse Dinh (Mimi) has vast credits across film, TV, and theatre. Credits in the latter include lead roles in Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles’s Year of the Rabbit, Mark Taper Forum PLAY’s Lily Plants a Garden, East West Players’ Christmas in Hanoi, Pacific Resident Theatre’s Birdbrain, staged readings of Katie Đỗ’s love you long time (already) at South Coast Repertory and Merrimack Repertory Theatre, and of Tuyết Thị Phạm’s Dinner and Cake at the Signature Theatre. On-camera credits include Tracker, Georgie & Mandy’s First Wedding, Watchmen (the HBO series), Grey’s Anatomy, Better Things, Spider-Man 2, and a recurring role on Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar. More info at elysedinh.com.

Elaine Kao (Fang) is an actor with credits across television, film, and theater. Her TV work includes It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Snowpiercer, Hawaii Five-0, and NCIS: LA. On the film side, she has appeared in Paper Tiger, Disney’s Upside Down Magic, and the classic Bridesmaids. Her stage credits include The Joy Luck Club, Suddenly Last Summer, and A View from the Bridge. Elaine holds a BA in Economics and an MFA in Acting from CalArts, and is also a certified hypnotherapist.

Myra Cris Ocenar (Joy) was last seen on the LATC stage in Artists at Play’s world premiere of God Will Do The Rest by Nicholas Pilapil. Other performances at LATC include Mix-Mix: The Filipino Adventures of A German Jewish Boy, a co-production of Playwrights’ Arena and the Latino Theater Company. Other theatre credits include: Othello (A Noise Within), Bloodletting (Kirk Douglas Theatre and Playwrights’ Arena), Imelda: A New Musical and Woman From the Other Side of the World (East West Players), and Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Orange County). TV & Film credits include: Kapwa Jam, Station 19, Good Trouble, All Rise, How To Get Away with Murder, The Rookie, Pure Genius and Deadcon.

Cindy Nguyen (Josie) Born from a strong Vietnamese mother, Cindy likes to enter the room with a big smile, loud laughter, and carrying delicious food! Theatre: Unrivaled, A Going Away Party Play (Boston Court Pasadena); The $5 Shakespeare Company (The 6th Act); Hamlet (The New American Theatre); Diana of Dobson’s (Antaeus); All’s Well That Ends Well, Cymbeline, King John, Pericles (The Porters of Hellsgate); That Pretty Pretty or the Rape Play, Love & Information, If You Can Get to Buffalo (Son of Semele Ensemble). TV/Film: Shrinking (Apple+), 911 (Fox), For the People (ABC), Dear White People (Netflix), A Cinderella Christmas. BFA Theatre Performance at Chapman University. imdb.me/cindynguyen

Jacqueline Salamon (Chloe) is a Vietnamese-American actor looking for compelling roles across genres in film and theatre. She is excited to partner with Artists at Play for the first time. When not acting, Jacqueline is also a psychologist resident in private practice in Portland, OR.

Miya Kodam (Stage Directions) is a queer, Japanese-Korean-American actress, writer, and eldest daughter from Fresno, CA. She aspires to be the 2nd most notable person from her hometown, between Audra McDonald and Kevin Federline (your personal taste determines who’s 1st and 3rd). She is based in Los Angeles. Select credits include: Winner of the 2025 Roadmap Writers Jumpstart Pilot Competition, CBS Showcase (2023), NCIS (CBS), The Neighborhood (CBS), The Brothers Sun (Netflix), Insecure (HBO), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC).

Lane Wilks (Stage Manager)is currently a LA-based Stage Manager. Originally from Baltimore, she completed her MFA at California Institute of the Arts. A lover of art in all forms her recent stage management credits include: The Piano Lesson at A Noise Within; Geffen Writers Room at Geffen Playhouse; IAMA New Works Festival and Radical or, are you going to miss me? at IAMA Theater Company; The Body’s Midnight at Boston Court Pasadena; BBC (Big Black Cockroach) at REDCAT and Ojai Playwrights Conference. She wants to thank Artists at Play, and her family and friends for their continued support.


It’s Harder Than It Looks by Carolyn Huynh was commissioned and developed as part of the AAP Playwrights Group: The Neighborhood Project, creating new work that uncovers the rich cultural histories and vibrant social fabric within Asian ethnic enclaves throughout Los Angeles County.

The AAP Spring Readings: The Neighborhood Project
is supported in part by the Eastside Arts Initiative.