Li Wessel (they/them), "M. K. Wessel" professionally, holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (UHM), an MA in Theatre Directing from the University of East Anglia (UEA), and received conservatory training from Atlantic Acting School.
M. K. Wessel’s writing career began in 1st grade, when they wrote their own installment of the Magic Tree House series, set in Hawai'i. In undergrad, they wrote their first play, Tony the Fantastic Fireman! LIVE: One Show Only, which was produced by UHM’s Late Night series (2018) and nominated for the John Cauble Award for Outstanding One-Act Play at KCACTF (2019). In 2024, Thank You For Knowing Me premiered off-off-Broadway. Their plays have received staged readings at the Lyric Rep, Kumu Kahua Theatre, and Seattle Public Theatre. Wessel’s writing can be found in the Open: Journal of Arts and Letters, The Raven Review, and Writer’s Playground.
As an actor, Li's teenage years were spent training with the pre-professional Shakespearean program Hawai’i Young Actors’ Ensemble (HYAE) at Hawai’i Theatre. Upon graduation, Li received the Lucie Bentley Award for Excellence in Acting (2019). They also received two Po’okela awards for Featured Female in a Play (2017, 2018). Favorite roles include Sir Andrew in Twelfth Night (UHM), Dr. Watson in Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery (Mānoa Valley Theatre), and Oscar in Wild Swimming (KOA). They are proud to have played a total of 24 male roles, 5 female roles, 4 creatures, and 2 inanimate objects.
As a director and educator, Wessel has 2 years of experience as a TA/AD for teenagers in the HYAE program (2014-2016), and another 2 years teaching college students at UHM in the areas of acting, accent work, and English (2019-2022). Most recently, they TA'd for Greenstage's Summer Camps (2025). Theatrical credits include Cabaret at Mānoa Valley Theatre (Accent Coach), The Princess and the Frog with Youth Theatre Northwest (Director), Hamlet of Errors! at Hawai’i Shakespeare Festival (Director), The Moors at UEA (Director), and Murder at the Victorian Estate at Earle Ernst Lab Theatre (AD).