Noa's (Story) Arc

Noa Gardner is a Native Hawaiian playwright born and raised in Kaimuki on the island of

O’ahu. He started writing plays at Loyola Marymount University (2016) in a playwriting course taught by a professor named Kelly Younger. With his professor’s encouragement, Noa continued his education at the University of Southern California MFA Dramatic Writing program (2020), where he studied under distinguished playwrights such as Velina Hasu Houston, Oliver J. Mayer, Paula Cizmar, Luis Alfaro and Boni Alvarez. These professors taught Noa the craft of playwriting and how best to use his plays to speak to the deep interior lives of Hawaiian people, through culture, language, story, song and myth.

Noa Gardner has been a national finalist for the Gary Garrison Ten Minute play award (2016)

and has had his one act and full-length plays read in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz

Institute, the Son of Semele Ensemble, the Los Angeles Theatre Company, as well as the

Pasadena Playhouse.

His first production, "The Staircase,” premiered in May 2025 at South Coast Rep. An short film adaptation of his play "Nan" is currently in pre-production: MoMod announced casting for "Cherry Oak" in August 2026, for production slated for December 2026.

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