Lani Montreal

Lani T. Montreal writes to create her home in the diaspora. She is a queer feminist Filipina writer, performer, educator, and community activist based in Chicago, whose works have been published/produced in North America, Asia, and in cyberspace. Lani has worked as a playwright and resident artist with CIRCA-Pintig, Chicago Danztheatre, and Free Street Theatre. Her play Panther in the Sky, (May 2024, ChicagoDanztheatre) was described by critic Wesley David as "a play that challenges us to confront the harsh realities of gun violence while inspiring us to act and make a difference in the world.” Her well-received solo show Anak ni Tapia: Leaving Mother about her experiences living in the shadow of her celebrity mother in the Philippines, debuted at Links Hall's Festival of New Works in June 2024 as a culmination of her six-month Co-MISSION Artist fellowship. It was also featured as one of six winning plays at Artemisia Theatre's #WeWomen Festival at the Little Studio, Fine Arts Building in November 2024. Montreal is a 2-time 3Arts Residency Awardee (2009 and 2016) and a 2017 alumna of the VONA Writers of Color Workshop. She was also a semi-finalist for the Dramatist Guild 2023 Fellowship Award, and voted 1st Runner Up for Best Playwright in the Chicago Reader’s 2024 Best of Chicago Awards. Lani teaches writing at Malcolm X College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, and is most proud of her beautiful multi-racial family.