Former enemies and now best friends, Melissa Li (she/her) and Kit Yan (they/she/he) have been a writing team for the stage and screen for over 15 years. Kit loves a heart-warming family story and Melissa can't resist a good dark crime thriller. Together, they write subversive comedies and emotionally-intimate dramas. They are best known for their full-length musicals Interstate and MISS STEP.
Combined, they have been the recipients of some of the top awards in the musical theater industry including the Helen Merrill Award (2023), ASCAP Harold Adamson Lyric Award (2022), Jonathan Larson Grant (2007 and 2022), Kleban Prize (2021), and the Vivace Award (2019) from the Bret Adams & Paul Reisch Foundation. Fellowships include the Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellows (2018-2019), MacDowell Fellowship (2019), Lincoln Center Writers in Residence (2018-2020), and Musical Theater Factory MAKERS program (2019-2020). In 2020, they were finalists for The David Prize.
Interstate won “Best Lyrics” at the 2018 New York Musical Festival (NYMF), where they had a sold-out run. The musical, produced at Mixed Blood Theater (2020) and East West Players (2022), was developed and supported by National Alliance for Musical Theater (NAMT), Goodspeed Musicals, New York Stage and Film, and MCC Theater. MISS STEP, originally commissioned by The 5th Avenue Theater and Village Theater in 2023, has received support from Playwrights Horizons and MCC.
Their works have been performed at Lincoln Center, The American Repertory Theater, Weston Playhouse, Boston Center for the Arts, and more. Other short works include May Day (NewYorkRep), Adventurephile (Keen Company), BachelorX (Playwrights Horizons), and Cancelled (currently available for licensing through Concord Theatricals). They have also contributed “Who Am I?”, performed by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and available on Broadway Records, as part of Songs of the Phoenix, a project curated by Andrew Lippa.
Individually, Kit has co-written several independent films including Afterearth, which was presented at the Smithsonian and screened at Outfest and CAAMfest, and Safe Among Stars, which was awarded the National Film Board of Canada Best Short Award and screened at BlackStar, Ann Arbor, and Newfest. His award-winning solo show Queer Heartache delighted audiences at the American Repertory Theater. Melissa’s debut musical Surviving the Nian was produced by The Theater Offensive in 2007, and most recently, her musical AGAIN premiered at Theater Mu to sold out audiences.
Projects
Interstate
A pop-rock musical about a Queer Asian-American band, and how they inspire a transgender boy to discover who he is.
MISS STEP
A group of ragtag trans friends try to win the 2022 Diamond Dee-Lite Midwestern Regional Aerobics Competition in this delightful 80s dance aerobics musical.
Cancelled
A scandal breaks out at a high school when progressive GSA students cancel each other over a problematic tweet.
Adventurephile
Three influencers travel to a remote island for their podcast when terrifying things start happening in this audio play with music.
“Who Am I?”
Written as part of the Songs of the Phoenix live album performed by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, the song is a love letter to our past selves.
Listen Now
Contact Us
Management — Writ Large
Lauren Dineley - ldineley@writ-large.com
Melisa Baloglu - mbaloglu@writ-large.com
Theater — WME
Emma Feiwel - efeiwel@wmeagency.com
Luke Virkstis - lvirkstis@wmeagency.com
TV — WME
Allie Cohen - acohen@wmeagency.com
Nat Wyatt - nwyatt@wmeagency.com
Film — WME
McCall Koenig - mkoenig@wmeagency.com
Music Publishing/Licensing — Kobalt
Sue Drew - sue.drew@kobaltmusic.com