Aya Esther Hayashi holds a PhD in Musicology from The Graduate Center, CUNY, and works as the Development Associate at Pan Asian Repertory. Her areas of research include musical communities within fandom and race, ethnic, and gender identity performance in musical theatre. Forthcoming publications: “Interview: A.J. Holmes, Team StarKid” in Intellect’s Fan Phenomena: Harry Potter and “‘YouTube! Musicals! YouTubesicals!’ Cultivating Theatre Fandom through New Media” in the Routledge Companion to the Contemporary Stage Musical.