Lamplighter creates stories about people caught in the dark space between who they are and who they’re expected to be. People surrounded by a silence that isn’t empty, but heavy with the weight of what their worlds and their own minds have made unspeakable.
Whether it’s the wary diplomats of Zero Protocol, the underwhelming “superheroes” of Scrap Heap, or the queer frontier folk of Among Wolves, Lamplighter’s genre-bending work is there when the weight breaks. It’s not clean. It’s not quiet. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes not. But it’s never alone. And that’s where the light can finally shine through.
Founder
MICHAEL JOHN MENDIOLA is a writer, playwright, dramaturg, and actor whose work explores identity, belonging, and social justice through genre-bending narratives.
His plays have been recognized by the O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference, the Austin Film Festival and the Union Arts New Works Festival.
His screenplays have earned recognition at the Austin, Catalina, Richmond, Rhode Island, and Manchester film festivals, and he has collaborated on award-winning short films honored at festivals across the U.S. and internationally.
He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and AEA and serves on the board of The Project Solution, a nonprofit funding infrastructure projects in distressed communities worldwide.