Amy
Chien-Yu
Wang
王千毓
Playwright · Director · Actor · Theatremaker
Alchemist of Heart.Enter her world
Storyteller of the in-between worlds.
Creating on Meanjin, where Traditional Custodians have been telling stories for countless generations.
About
A career storyteller who lives in the in-between
Born in Taiwan, raised in Aotearoa, and rooted in Meanjin (Brisbane), Amy spent her career as a multicultural and multimedia journalist excavating and telling the stories that mainstream Australia rarely told. Then life cracked her open. In the pressures of a pandemic, she found her truest voice — not as a reporter of other people's stories, but as a deep storyteller reborn as a playwright, director and actor.
With a belief that theatre is a powerful vessel for change and community-building in an increasingly lonely digital world, Amy is driven to make work that resonates, moves, provokes, and inspires — work urgently relevant to our times, to heal our past, present and future.
From the bilingual world premiere of AI May — a relentless and fearless exploration of grief, artificial intelligence and the immigrant narrative — to intimate transformational workshops where ordinary people rediscover their own truth and power, Amy creates spaces where the unspoken finally finds its voice.
Her Approach
I am drawn to emotionally layered stories that mirror contemporary social tensions — how AI technologies will affect human relationships and agency, what it means to exist across cultures, how societal, generational and cultural conditioning can limit one's ability to live an authentic life. My mission is to tell pressing, socially-relevant, thought-provoking, bold, moving and resonant stories that spark conversations and reflections from audiences.
Body of Work
Productions
2025
>Kingdom of the Lie
Director · PIP Theatre / Toucan Club
A musical production at PIP Theatre's Toucan Club. Amy directed this collaborative work, fostering a creative, rigorous and joyful rehearsal environment while bringing strong dramaturgical vision to the ensemble.
2025
May Contain Formaldehyde
Director · La Boite Assembly+
A razor-sharp short play developed as part of La Boite's Assembly+ director training programme. A journalist sits across from the corporate mouthpiece of a company she's just exposed — and what begins as a professional standoff becomes something far more unsettling: a date that pits romantic possibility against irreconcilable values.
2024
AI May
Playwright · Director · Lead Producer
A bilingual sci-fi play in English and traditional Chinese. A grieving migrant mother navigates purpose and loss when an AI bot — built in the likeness of her deceased daughter — enters her life. Set in Brisbane/Meanjin in 2035, it delves into the AI age through the lens of a Chinese migrant mother, intergenerational conflict, and cultural tension.
Co-produced by Embodi Theatre & PIP Theatre.
4 × Matilda Nominations · Best Original Script Stage Buzzies · Most Moving, Blue Curtains 2024In Development
THEFT
Playwright
Commissioned by Playlab Theatre, developed alongside two emerging playwrights. Details to be announced.
Playlab Commission2025
Mooncake
Actor — Mother
Short film. Directed by Judy Yeh & Amanda Kaye for Queensland School of Film & Television.
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor — QSFT Film Awards 2025 · Official Selection: 35th Flickerfest (2026) Short Film Festival2022
Rebirth
Ensemble — Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre
An ensemble physical theatre production directed by Gina Tay Limpus, exploring transformation and renewal through Butoh and Viewpoints.
2022
Marry Me, Maybe?
Actor — Mrs Chen · One Song Foundation
Directed by Kenji Lee. A comedic ensemble piece exploring modern relationships through an Asian-Australian lens.
What's Next
Fireface
Actor — Mother
Queensland premiere of Fireface by Marius von Mayenburg, translated by Maja Zade. Co-produced by The Velvet Collective & PIP Theatre.
24 – 27 June · PIP Theatre, Brisbane
Accolades
Recognition
Matilda Awards 2024
4 Nominations incl. Best Independent Production & Billy Brown Emerging Artist
AI May
The Stage Buzzies 2024
Best Original Script of Any Independent Production
AI May
Blue Curtains 2024
Most Moving Encore of 2024
AI May
QSFT Film Awards 2025
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor
Mooncake
Queensland Multicultural Awards
Winner — Business Category
2018
Wheaton 10-Minute Play Festival
Shortlisted
2021 · AI May
Yooralla Media Awards
Commendation — Best TV News Feature or Documentary (10+ min)
2013
Queensland Multicultural Awards
Finalist — Business Category
2017
Training & Education
An ever-evolving artist
Amy's training spans physical theatre, acting, directing, and playwriting — drawing from global methodologies to deepen her practice and push the boundaries of her storytelling.
La Boite Assembly+
La Boite Theatre — Emerging Directors Program
CAAP × La Boite Playwright's Lab
La Boite Theatre
Queensland Theatre Teaching Artist Program
Queensland Theatre — 2024 Intake
Playlab Theatre Incubator Program
Playlab Theatre — Emerging Playwrights
Creative Entrepreneurship Internship
Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre — Suzuki Method, Viewpoints, Butoh, Devising
Press
In the media
ArtsHub
A Diasporic Theatrical Take on AI with an Asian Immigrant Mother in Futuristic Brisbane
Read article →
Backstreet Brisbane
Review: AI May — Embodi Theatre & PIP Theatre
Read review →
Creative Futures
Review: AI May
"An impressive debut production by Embodi Theatre — a clever play with strong female characters and excellent production values."
Read review →
Griefline
Griefline Joins Forces with Playwright to Destigmatise Grief
Read article →
SBS Chinese
AI May — Brisbane's Chinese-Produced Drama
Read article →
SBS Mandarin
Interview: AI May — Amy Chien-Yu Wang
Listen →
SBS Tibetan
Journalist Amy Wang Talks About Her Interest in Tibetan Stories
Listen →
AFMW Queensland
The President's Chat with Amy Chien-Yu Wang
Read →
Blue Curtains Brisbane — Most Moving 2024
AI May — Most Moving Encore of 2024
"Under Amy Chien-Yu Wang's sensitive direction, AI May ultimately concludes as a satisfying show of sensitive, relatable considerations around different styles of grief — well worth a visit."
Read →
Testimonials
What collaborators say
Amy consistently generates an incredibly supportive and welcoming rehearsal space while producing fantastic ideas to hone performances. She is a true role model for collaborative, productive theatre-making — with an unwavering dedication to premium quality.
Actor — Kingdom of the Lie, PIP Theatre
Visionary, yet real and tangible — absolutely relevant for our time. Amy approaches love, loss and grief with such gentleness and elegance, without being judgemental. The play pulls you straight to the heart of the characters and pushes you into a future world you can almost already touch.
Audience — AI May, PIP Theatre
Please please go. I've still got chills and it's my second time watching it. I still have goosebumps — such an incredible sci-fi drama, but so hilarious, but such a beautiful exploration of the cycles of grief and such a beautiful tension between mother and daughter, and what it's like for a Chinese migrant family trying to find your connections with each other and the country.
Audience — AI May (second viewing), PIP Theatre
這部劇真的非常好看，它短短一部劇就濃縮了所有隔代創傷的精華。
MPSW Coordinator, Mental Health & Wellbeing Services · Panellist — AI May post-show forum
I really enjoyed it. It made me think a lot deeper about my own personal situation. I could resonate with some of the storyline myself. But it gave me a deeper empathy for my mum as well — it helped me to see things from her perspective. It was very eye-opening and very poignant.
AI May, PIP Theatre
It was just so touching, so gentle in the way that it approached grief — but so deep and heartfelt.
AI May, PIP Theatre
她是不可多得有愛心有理想，想為家庭、婦女朋友、社會做一點事情的傑出女士。
She is a rare and outstanding woman — one with heart and vision, dedicated to making a difference for families, women, and society.
Queensland Taiwan Ci Hui Women's Association
Work with Me
Beyond the stage
Amy's lived experience — as a 1.5 generation Taiwanese migrant, mother, journalist, motivational speaker, workshop facilitator and artist who has navigated postnatal depression, burnout, grief, and reinvention — makes her a compelling presence in any room.
She brings the same depth, energy, warmth, and honesty she brings to the stage into every room she enters — creating spaces where people feel safe enough to be seen, and brave enough to change.
Speaking
Dare to Be Seen
On authentic leadership, breaking the bamboo ceiling, and finding the courage to speak up and show up as your true self — for Asian-Australian professionals and leaders who are ready to stop shrinking and playing it small.
Speaking
Finding Your Place
For migrant professionals navigating belonging, identity, and the courage to take up space in a new country and culture.
Speaking · Workshop
Reinventing Your Life
A deeply personal keynote drawing on Amy's own journey through burnout, postnatal depression, and radical reinvention — for anyone at a crossroads ready to begin again.
Workshop · Facilitation
Healing Intergenerational Wounds
Exploring how cultural and family conditioning shapes identity — and how storytelling can be a powerful tool for healing across generations.
Speaking · Workshop
Building Your Legacy
For older adults who want to document, shape and share the story of their life — a guided journey into capturing lived wisdom and leaving something meaningful behind for the next generation.
Youth Workshop
Confidence & Voice
Drama-based confidence and self-expression workshops for young people — helping them find their voice, own their story, and show up with courage.
Available for keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, and MC engagements.
Get in touch →
Be Part of the Story
Support Amy's Work
Stories of impact don't happen alone. Whether you want to join the magic as a volunteer or become a patron of independent theatre that matters — your presence changes everything.
Volunteer
Join the magic
Amy welcomes volunteers who share a passion for culturally diverse, community-driven theatre. Whether it's front-of-house, production support, marketing, or community outreach — your time and energy makes a difference.
- Production & front-of-house support
- Marketing, social media & photography
- Community outreach & translation
- Workshop facilitation support
- Fundraising & event coordination
Patron & Donor
Invest in stories that matter
Independent theatre runs on the generosity of people who believe in its power. As a patron of Embodi Theatre, your contribution directly funds socially impactful bilingual productions, empowering community workshops, and emerging multicultural voices in Australian theatre.
Get in Touch
Let's create impactful stories — changing the world, one story at a time.
Mobile
+61 415 588 892Based in
Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia
Company
Embodi Theatre 體現劇團
Amy acknowledges that she works and creates on Meanjin, where Traditional Custodians of this Sacred Land have been telling stories for countless generations. She pays her sincere respects to Elders in spirit and in flesh, and recognises that sovereignty was never ceded — this was, is and always will be First Nations Land.