Shanti Reinhardt
she, her, hers
Los Angeles, CA
[contact]
Biography

Shanti Reinhardt, an actress and playwright was raised in the Hawaiian tradition of hānai by a Filipino/Hawaiian family on the island of Kauai. She is a graduate of The American Conservatory Theater.

Her play, Yamaguchi Store is part of a trilogy set in 1970's Hawaii. Winner, Kumu Kahua Theatre's Hawai'i Prize, (Semifinalist) Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, (Finalist) The Leah Ryan Fund, (Semifinalist) Frank Moffet Mosier Fellowship for Works in Heightened Language.

Kill ‘Em With Aloha; Or, Da Big Mouth Pidgin English Play (Finalist) Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, (Quarterfinalist) ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition, (2nd Rounder) Austin Film Festival was optioned by CBS Television Studios and is currently in development with producer Lynnette Ramirez and Anonymous Content.

Awards and distinctions include (Finalist) Ashland New Plays Festival, (Finalist) Futurefest, and (Honorable Mention) Parity Development Award for her play, Otis. Otis debuted in a workshop production at The Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, CA.

Plays have been produced and/or developed at Great Plains Theatre Conference, NJ Rep Theatre, Theatre of NOTE, The Road Theatre Company, Pacific Resident Theatre, Inner-City Arts, and LA Made series at The Mark Taper Auditorium under a grant from The Los Angeles Public Library. Her play Blunt Force has been adapted into a screenplay, The Hello Kitty Murders (Semi-Finalist) Shriekfest Screenplay Competition.

Her critically acclaimed one-woman show (L.A. Times, L.A. Weekly) Hollywood Hanai premiered at Theatre of NOTE and presented at the HBO workshop.

Shanti is a member of The Dramatists Guild, New Play Exchange, Echo Playwrights’ Lab and Pacific Resident Theatre.

Agent Information

 

 

 

Plays

Otis
by Shanti Reinhardt

When a free-spirited, fashion maven who grew up on the streets of New York buys a co-op in a staid Upper Eastside building, five longtime residents discover that they have much more in common than just the walls that separate them. Doors, walls, rooms, boxes, spaces open and close and open again in this cosmic, quirky drama.

Cast:
NICHOLAS. 30’s. Caucasian. Sensitive. Struggling to find a way to come out of his grief. BERENICE. 70’s. Elegant, chic, worldly Jewish older woman with a mash of an accent that is part Jewish, part upper-crust New York. She is direct, confrontational and imperious. She knows better than anyone. Funny without realizing it. STARLA. 30’s. African-American. A free-spirited, voluptuous, plus size woman who is very comfortable with her body. She has grown up on the streets of New York and has managed through sheer will to become a very successful fashion maven. Funny and vulnerable. A big generous spirit. ALFRED. 70’s. A rascal. Been there done that. Quick-witted. Salt of the earth. BODHI. 20’s. Indian or Middle Eastern. Gay, with a secret desire to be a dance club DJ. A little overly dramatic and self-centered but also very empathetic.
Kill 'Em With Aloha; Or, Da Big Mouth Pidgin English Play
by Shanti Noelani Reinhardt

KILL ‘EM WITH ALOHA; Or, Da Big Mouth Pidgin English Play is a coming of age story set in 1975, focusing intently on two teenagers who live on the island of Kaua’i. Manny and Janet, both come from working class local families and they navigate a clash of cultures when they befriend hippies who live in the notorious nudist colony, Taylor Camp, which squatted on disputed lands at the end of the road on the North Shore of the island. 

Cast:
MANNY, 15, Filipino/Hawaiian. Skinny. Intelligent, Quick witted and funny. Struggling with his sexuality. JANET, 15, Japanese. Slightly overweight. Manny's best friend. A big mouth who tells it like it is. AUNTIE, early 40's, Manny's mother. A beautiful heavy-set Filipina woman. Tough as nails yet possesses a sweet smile and a generous heart. She is rarely seen without flowers in her hair and wearing bright red lipstick. SONNY, early 40's, Manny's father. Filipino/Hawaiian. Music is his soul. He is the epitome of a Hawaiian Beachboy. He knows who he is. The world comes to him. ALIKA, 24, Filipino/Hawaiian. Manny's older brother. Tall, handsome and fierce. What we imagine a Hawaiian warrior to be like. Suffers from PTSD from serving in the Vietnam War. He walks with a very slight limp. RACHEL, 22, Caucasian. Hippie. Free-spirited, yet strong willed. A championship surfer. JASON, 24, Caucasian. Hippie. A lost soul. Searching for peace after serving as a Marine in Vietnam. *KUMU HULA KAMALANI. *Recorded Voice or Live depending on production. Male/Non-Binary. The word Kumu means teacher. A Kumu Hula is a master teacher of hula.

Successes

Yamaguchi Store, (Semi-Finalist) Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, (Finalist) The Leah Ryan Fund, currently (2024 Quarterfinalist) Frank Moffet Mosier Fellowship for Works in Heightened Language.

Kill 'Em With Aloha; Or, Da Big Mouth Pidgin English Play, (Finalist) Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, (2nd Rounder) Austin Film Festival, (Quarterfinalist) ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition.  

Otis, Great Plains Theatre Conference, (Finalist) Ashland New Plays Festival, (Finalist) Futurefest, (Honorable Mention) Parity Development Award.