Hannah Ii-Epstein (she/her) is a Native Hawaiian creative writer and award-winning dramatist born and raised on the North Shore of Oʻahu. Her work centers on Native Hawaiian identity and LGBTQIA+ experiences, blending tradition with contemporary storytelling to create evocative narratives.
She earned her MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage from Northwestern University. Hannah is the Artistic Director of Nothing Without a Company, a Chicago-based theatre company dedicated to site-specific new work that elevates historically marginalized voices.
She is a founding member of BearCat Productions, a 50th season writer at Kumu Kahua Theatre in Honolulu, and ann active member of Tree Moss Hawaiʻi, a professional collective for Hawai’i playwrights. Hannah also works as a freelance dramaturge and cultural specialist supporting Native Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-based storytelling across disciplines.
Currently, she is part of the inaugural cohort of the Native Hawaiian Storytelling Writers Immersive Program, an innovative mentorship and development initiative led by Native Hawaiian Philanthropy, Dr. Kū Kahakalau with Kū-A-Kanaka LLC, EA Ecoversity, and Dr. Michael Andres Palmieri, designed to nurture and amplify Native Hawaiian voices.
