{"id":21884,"date":"2026-09-14T22:06:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T22:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=21884"},"modified":"2026-09-14T22:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T22:06:40","slug":"from-the-stage-to-directing-actress-risa-hayase-is-now-shooting-her-own-film-as-director-and-writer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=21884","title":{"rendered":"From the stage to directing: Actress Risa Hayase is now shooting her own film as director and writer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><em>Opinions expressed by\u00a0Digital Journal\u00a0contributors are their own.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before stepping behind the camera, Risa Hayase sold out her run of The Vertical at the Hollywood Fringe with a character who does not believe she has done anything wrong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She almost never gets angry. In her own life she does not raise her voice or become openly emotional, and that, usually an advantage, turned into a work problem when the director asked her to have her character break open at the end of the play and say some very harsh things to another woman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She had to study anger from the outside. How people express it, what it does to the body and to the voice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than a month of work with the director before the first performance, talking through what the character needed emotionally and how to get that across to an audience without explaining it to them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe hardest part was having to express conflicting emotions toward different characters, feeling intense anger toward one while simultaneously having positive feelings toward another,\u201d Risa Hayase says. To make those emotions read as natural she worked on her positioning, her eye contact, her tone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Vertical ran in June at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Risa Hayase performed it at The Broadwater Mainstage, a 96-seat house, across five performances, and the production was a great success with audiences. The 2026 edition of the festival programmed more than 480 shows and around 2,150 performances across more than 35 venues in Los Angeles, according to the organization. Inside that volume, the run earned an extension of three more performances at The Blue Water Theater in late August.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image3-2-900x1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3863680\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.75;width:624px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image3-2-900x1200.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image3-2-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image3-2-768x1023.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image3-2-1153x1536.jpg 1153w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image3-2.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo courtesy of Risa Hayase. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cast changed slightly between one run and the other. The relationships and the conversational dynamics between the characters had to be rebuilt from the ground up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her character is named Yinou. She holds discriminatory views and does not see herself doing anything wrong, because she sincerely believes she is doing what is right for her business. In the extension performances she also needed to make clear that an older character was working for her, and that opened room to explore more authority and more presence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYinou is not trying to justify her actions or convince anyone else to understand her. She simply behaves this way, as though it is completely normal to her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Portraying that ordinariness, Risa Hayase says, let her show that racial discrimination in the entertainment industry can be deeply rooted and can exist in normalized or unconscious ways, rather than always coming from obvious personal hatred.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image2-4-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3863679\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.5;width:624px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image2-4-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image2-4-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image2-4-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image2-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image2-4.jpg 1567w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo courtesy of Risa Hayase. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After that run she changed chairs. She is now producing a film in which she is the lead actor, the director, and the writer. Asked what she had to unlearn from her theater training, she points to one thing: focusing on a single role instead of looking at the whole project from several angles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen I work as an actor, I often focus on reading the script and developing my own character and performance. But when I became responsible for creating the project as a whole, that was no longer enough. I had to constantly think about the overall vision of the project, what I wanted to communicate to the audience, what I wanted the finished film to look and feel like, and what would be necessary to achieve that vision.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image4-1200x900.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3863678\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.3333333333333333;width:624px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image4-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image4-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image4-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image4-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image4.jpg 1999w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo courtesy of Risa Hayase. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the script-reading stage she began picturing the finished film. She thought about a glance, about what she wanted the camera to reveal and what she preferred to keep out of frame.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trained in theater at the University of California, San Diego, where she took on several leading roles, Risa Hayase later moved to Los Angeles. She talks about the shoot in the present tense. The film is not finished yet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It took her more than a month to learn how to say very harsh things to someone on a stage. Now she decides what goes inside the frame and what stays out of it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; 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display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114302\" data-width=\"133\" data-height=\"139\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114302});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:125px; background:#91e7ac; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t\r\n<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114303\" data-width=\"125\" data-height=\"125\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114303});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u7ad6\u680f\uff1a160\u00d7600 \u6574\u5217\u9ad8\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row:3\/8; height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/> From the stage to directing: Actress Risa Hayase is now shooting her own film as director and writer<br \/>\n<br \/>#stage #directing #Actress #Risa #Hayase #shooting #film #director #writer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opinions expressed by\u00a0Digital Journal\u00a0contributors are their own. Before stepping behind the camera, Risa Hayase sold&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[7191,16067,1190,1188,16069,16068,638,973,5562],"class_list":["post-21884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-actress","tag-directing","tag-director","tag-film","tag-hayase","tag-risa","tag-shooting","tag-stage","tag-writer"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40.png",1600,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40-768x432.png",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40-1024x576.png",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40-1536x864.png",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40.png",1600,900,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40-1115x715.png",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40-800x500.png",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40-540x340.png",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-40-400x250.png",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=7\" rel=\"category\">Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}