Kristina Wong ’00

Subversive, humorous, and endearingly inappropriate, Kristina Wong has become a comedy sensation who campaigns for social justice. She has created an extensive and award-winning body of work, including performance, writing, video, a rap album, and community-based theater projects—all of which seek to truthfully represent the experiences of marginalized communities. As the eight-time recipient of the Artist-in-Residence Award from the City of Los Angeles, she has created theater with the Bus Riders Union, led comedy workshops on Skid Row, and inspired young workers at the UCLA Labor Center. She is currently the Artist-in-Residence at the Labor Center’s Dream Resource Center, creating theater within the undocumented immigrant community. Center Theatre Group honored her with the 2019 Sherwood Award for her exceptional contribution to the Los Angeles theater landscape. Wong is also the creator of the comedic web series for children Radical Cram School, which covers such topics as gun violence in schools, civic participation, and undocumented immigration. While researching her most recent solo show, The Wong Street Journal, in Northern Uganda, she recorded an album with local rappers. The rap and her show explore deeper issues of how she, as an Asian American, was the unexpected beneficiary of White privilege in East Africa. She is currently serving as an elected representative of Koreatown’s Neighborhood Council, where she is reporting back on what she is learning and encouraging other artists to take action and run for office.