About Me
Writer | Theatre Artist | Musician
meet daniella
Daniella Ignacio (she/her) is a Filipina American writer, theatre artist and musician, born and raised in northern New Jersey and now based in Washington, D.C. She holds B.A.s in Journalism and Musical Theatre from American University.
Daniella aims to tell stories that embrace diversity, reveal a shared humanity and teach empathy, understanding and love. She's a multi-hyphenate artist who brings her structured writer’s brain to innovative musical theatre and journalism that champions goodness. For her, it’s all about intersections, making the world better through deeply honest and authentic work and preserving the history and memory of powerful art.
arts journalist | copywriter | editor
As a journalist, Daniella has experience and passion for writing on many beats: arts and culture (including theatre, music and literature), lifestyle, history, health, education, social justice (including within AAPI communities), "journalism about journalism," human interest features about little pockets of community and life that you may not expect to find and anything that sparks her sense of curiosity and adventure.
She has worked in nonprofit comms as Communications Manager at Ford's Theatre, Programs and Communications Coordinator at the Asian American Journalists Association, and intern at the National Press Foundation, with skills in press relations, social media, layout design, copywriting for emails and brochures, video/website/publications editing and programs administration.
Recent Bylines (aka the professional journalism bio): Daniella's bylines include Washingtonian, American Theatre Magazine, D.C. Theater Arts and AAJA Defined. She previously wrote for D.C. Theatre Scene, as a Day Eight D.C. Arts Writing Fellow, and for The Eagle at AU, where she served as Online Managing Editor. For more information and to view her portfolio, click here.
actor | singer | music director + pianist
As a theatre artist, Daniella is passionate about new works, inspired twists on classical texts and stories about the power of young people, community and uplifting the global majority. Daniella grew up a musician first -- playing piano, gaining confidence from church choir to cantoring and studying classical voice -- and has since become a vocal chameleon, self-taught guitarist/ukulele player and budding songwriter. Since graduating, her artistic work in musical theatre has been in teaching artistry, performing and making music in the DMV area. Everywhere she goes, she loves being able to explore and learn more about the world through storytelling. For more on what sparks her artistic interests, explore her portfolio here.
Recent Credits (aka the professional MT bio): Daniella has worked with various companies as an actor, music director, music assistant, pianist, dramaturg, teaching artist, technician, administrator, and more, including Ford's Theatre, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Musical Theatre Conference, Imagination Stage, Keegan Theatre, Devil's Isle Shakespeare Co., Rorschach Theatre, Asian Pasifika Arts Collective, Strand Theater Company, D.C. Capital Fringe Festival, Kennedy Center Page to Stage Festival, Theatre Lab/Washington Stage Guild and Wildwood Summer Theatre. Favorite professional roles have included understudying Asian women characters finding connection and their own power in Man of God by Anna Moench (Kyung-Hwa, Samantha) and Sometimes The Rain, Sometimes the Sea by Julia Izumi (Midi, Ina).
the storytelling spiel
Across all disciplines, the kinds of stories I love to write and bring to life as a theatre artist and musician include:
"Good news," the kind of stories that lift you up, do the good service of bringing bright light to the world and are just plain fun.
Stories of people tackling great challenges, adventure and innovation.
Stories that share radical joy and childlike sense of play.
Diverse stories uplifting people of the Global Majority, that resonate due to their specificity.
Stories about the power of young people.
Stories that make me feel seen as a Filipina American woman with sensory processing challenges.
Topics related to musical theatre, education and community-building.
Comfort stories that meet me where I'm at.
Specific types of theatre I love/dream projects:
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New contemporary musical theatre bending musical genres, including pop/rock, indie/alternative, folk and classical influences
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Shakespeare/Classics and Golden Age musicals with new twists
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“Plays with poetic license” where diving into language is a delight
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Actor-musician shows and musical theatre with musical complexity
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Piano-conducting and serving on music teams for pop/rock works
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Works centering AAPI and BIPOC experiences
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TYA plays and musicals that meet young people where they are
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Geeky/nerd culture musicals (i.e., with the spirit of Team Starkid)
fun facts
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aries sun, virgo moon, cancer rising
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has SPD, and is specifically a sensory seeker
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infp with some j leanings
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type 4w3 on the enneagram
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ravenclaw
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daughter of apollo (pjo series)
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music: powerful singer-songwriters, particularly in acoustic/indie pop and folk. faves: joni mitchell, sara bareilles, dodie clark, maggie rogers, lizzy mcalpine, olivia rodrigo
