Tony award-winning actor BD Wong stars in NBC’s Awake; video preview and interview

BD Wong Photo by Lia Chang

Tony award-winning actor BD Wong plays Dr. John Lee in NBC’s new drama “Awake,” which also stars Jason Isaacs, Laura Allen, Steve Harris, Dylan Minnette, Michaela McManus, Wilmer Valderrama and Cherry Jones. The series premiere airs on March 1, 2012 at 10pm.

According to the official “Awake” website:
“Awake” is an intriguing drama about a detective Jason Isaacs, (“Harry Potter,” “Brotherhood”) who finds he is leading an arduous double life that defies reality.
Following a tragic car accident, detective Michael Britten finds himself awake in two separate realities: one where his teen son, Rex (Dylan Minnette, “Saving Grace”), died in the crash and his wife, Hannah (Laura Allen, “Terriers”), survived and another where Hannah has perished, leaving Michael and Rex to pick up the pieces. In order to keep both of his loved ones alive, Michael begins living in two dueling realities, churning up confusion. In one reality, Michael and his wife debate having another child, while in the other, his son Rex is turning to his tennis coach, Tara (Michaela McManus, “The Vampire Diaries”), to fill the void from the loss of his mother.

Trying to regain some normalcy, Michael returns to solving crimes in both worlds with the help of two different partners, Detective Isaiah “Bird” Freeman (Steve Harris, “The Practice”) and Detective Efrem Vega (Wilmer Valderrama, “That ’70s Show”). Michael is assigned a different case in each reality and quickly discovers that his dual existence is actually a powerful tool. He begins to solve impossible cases by using his two realties to gain unique perspectives and link clues that cross over from world to world.

Helping Michael to navigate his two realities are his bureau-assigned therapists Dr. Evans (Emmy Award-winner Cherry Jones, “24″) and Dr. Lee (BD Wong, NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”). While both therapists work to untangle his two worlds, Michael has no interest in proving either one is false. But when memories of the accident begin to haunt him, he is forced to confront the truth about what really happened the night of the crash.
Click below for NBC’s preview of the first 7 minutes of “Awake”.

Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Tony Award winner BD Wong is the only actor ever to have received all five major New York Theater awards for his Broadway debut in David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly (Outer Critics’ Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, Theatre World Award, Clarence Derwent Award, Tony Award).

Wong appeared on the top-rated series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” for 11 seasons where he played Dr. George Huang, a forensic psychiatrist and expert on the criminal mind.

Additionally, Wong gained notice as a cast regular on HBO’s critically acclaimed series “Oz,” playing the resilient prison priest, Father Ray, for the show’s five-season run. His other television credits include a starring role in “All-American Girl” and HBO’s telefilm “And the Band Played On,” as well as guest-starring roles in “Welcome to New York,” “Chicago Hope,” “The X-Files,” “Bless This House,” “Shannon’s Deal” and the Hallmark miniseries, “Marco Polo.”

Wong has also appeared in more than 20 feature films, including Jurassic Park, The Freshman, Father of the Bride (1 & 2), Seven Years in Tibet, Executive Decision, The Salton Sea and Stay. Wong can also be heard as the voice of Shang in the Disney animated films Mulan and Mulan II.

Wong’s additional New York theater credits include The Tempest, A Language of Their Own, and As Thousands Cheer. He gained accolades in the Broadway musical revival of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown in a critically acclaimed performance as Linus, and in the Roundabout Theatre’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures, for which he received a Drama League nomination for distinguished performance. Wong made his New York directorial debut and produced the New York Musical Theatre Festival production of The YELLOW WOOD, and recently helmed Cindy Cheung’s solo show, SPEAK UP CONNIE at Stage Left Studio. He appeared in Herringbone at The McCarter Theatre and the La Jolla Playhouse.
Click below for the NBC interview with BD Wong.

Related Articles
Cindy Cheung’s solo show SPEAK UP CONNIE, directed by BD Wong at Stage Left Studio has been extended, February 4-15, 2012
Extended through 8/23- “In Rehearsal” Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Featuring Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, Thom Sesma as Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas
OCA Awards Gala Photos: David Henry Hwang, Tamlyn Tomita, BD Wong, Dr. Bobby Fong & Tammy Duckworth
Photo Preview of BD Wong and the Cast of Heading East at the Asia Society, 5/24-26
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Click here for other articles on BD Wong

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: Laila Robins, Sean Dugan, C.J. Wilson, Peter Francis James, Bill Irwin and Tricia Paoluccio at Signature Theatre Company’s revival of Edward Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque
NY Knicks’ Jeremy Lin on 2nd Sports Illustrated Cover and Time Magazine (Asia)
Photos: Working Theater’s Production of Rob Ackerman’s CALL ME WALDO at Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex through March 11, 2012
Photos: Larry Bryggman, Denise Burse, Peter Jay Fernandez, Tim Hopper, Arliss Howard, Kobi Libii, Mary McCann, Neil Pepe, David Pittu, Steve Rosen, Sheila Tapia, Debra Winger at Atlantic Theatre’s Opening Night of Gabe McKinley’s CQ/CX
Athol Fugard’s Blood Knot, starring Colman Domingo & Scott Shepherd in The Alice Griffith Jewel Box at The Pershing Square Signature Center through March 11, 2012
broadwayworld.com: Photo Flash: SPEAK UP CONNIE In Rehearsal
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Photos & Video: Celebrate Chinese New Year with David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish
Fred Korematsu Becomes First Asian American in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Civil Rights Exhibition
Remembering Civil Rights Leader Gordon Hirabayashi,1918- 2012
Photos: “How To Succeed” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rose Hemingway and John Larroquette at Lord & Taylor for Windows Unveiling
Multimedia: Promises, Promises’ Stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo at Opening Night Party of Neil LaBute’s Break of Noon
Celebrating my mom – AN ACTIVE VISION: BEVERLY UMEHARA…LABOR ACTIVIST…1945-1999
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.

In 2010, the Library of Congress established The Lia Chang APA Theater Portfolio in the Asian Pacific American Performing Arts Collection housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian Pacific American Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, Smartmoney.com The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.



All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at lia@backstagepasswithliachang.com.

Extended through 8/23- “In Rehearsal” Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Featuring Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, Thom Sesma as Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas

Lia Chang in the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress where her "In Rehearsal" display of photographs drawn from the Lia Chang Theater Portfolio are on view through August 23, 2011. Photo by Reme Grefalda

From July 20 through August 23, “In Rehearsal”, a display of photographs drawn from the Lia Chang Theater Portfolio in the Library of Congress’ Asian American Pacific Islander Collection, is on view in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room, located in Room 150 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The hours of the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room are 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

The cast of Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Sponsored by the Library of Congress’ Asian Division, the display features photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas and Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, on view Through August 23.

BD Wong in rehearsal for a staged concert of Heading East, a Richard Rodgers Development Award-winning musical by Robert Lee and Leon Ko on May 22, 2010, at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

In May, 2010, actor BD Wong invited me to photo-document his latest theatrical passion project. The staged concert performance of Heading East, a Richard Rodgers Development Award-winning musical by Robert Lee and Leon Ko, which BD was co-producing with Andrew Asnes and starring in, also featured Cindy Cheung, Fay Ann Lee, Manu Narayan, Lydia Gaston, MaryAnn Hu, Ming Chan Lee, Angela Lin, Kelvin Moon Loh, Hazel Anne Raymundo, Jon Norman Schneider and Rodney To at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York. Helmed by Darren Lee, the staged concert performances of Heading East benefitted the Asia Society. Click here to learn more about Heading East.

(1st Row)Rodney To, MaryAnn Hu, Cindy Cheung, Fay Ann Lee, Angela Lin, Hazel Anne Raymundo,(2nd Row) Jon Norman Schneider, Ming Chan Lee, Manu Narayan and Kelvin Moon Loh in rehearsal for a staged concert of Heading East, a Richard Rodgers Development Award-winning musical by Robert Lee and Leon Ko on May 22, 2010, at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

“The historical importance of these rehearsal photographs is in its documentation of Asian American theater in a working and evolving environment. The camera captures the spontaneous interactions among actors, playwright, stage director, choreographer, producer, and musicians before opening night,” said Reme Grefalda, curator of the AAPI Collection at the Library of Congress.

BD Wong, Kelvin Moon Loh, Hazel Anne Raymundo, Manu Narayan rehearse with director Darren Lee at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York.. Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Heading East co-creator Robert Lee rehearses a Peking opera move with actress MaryAnn Hu during a rehearsal at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York.. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Heading East co-creator Robert Lee rehearses a Peking opera move with actress MaryAnn Hu during a rehearsal at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York.. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Director Darren Lee stages a scene of Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York.. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

The cast of Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York.. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Director Darren Lee stages the curtain call for Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at Asia Society in New York. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Opening night champagne toast for the cast of Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East backstage at the Asia Society in New York on May 24, 2010. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

In August, 2010, I photographed Thom Sesma’s makeup transformation into Scar for The Lion King Las Vegas at The Mandalay Bay Theatre.

Thom Sesma in the makeup chair in his dressing room on August 23, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Theatre, where he is currently starring as Scar in Disney's The Lion King Las Vegas through December, 2011. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Makeup artist Laura Sill transforms Thom Sesma into Scar, in his dressing room at the Mandalay Bay Theatre, where The Lion King Las Vegas has performances through December, 2011. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Thom Sesma, who plays Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay, in his dressing room on August 23, 2010. Photo by Lia Chang Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

The Library of Congress is a central repository for all types of Asian publications that are not broadly available at other locations in the United States. Initiated in 1869 with a gift of 10 works in 934 volumes offered to the United States by the Emperor of China, the Library’s Asian collection of more than 2 million items is the largest and most comprehensive outside of Asia. For more information about the division and its holdings, go to www.loc.gov/rr/asian/.

Thom Sesma, who plays Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay, in his dressing room on August 23, 2010. Photo by Lia Chang Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Thom Sesma with makeup artist Laura Sill in the dressing room on August 23, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Theatre, where he is currently starring as Scar in Disney's The Lion King Las Vegas. Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Thom Sesma, who plays Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay, in his dressing room on August 23, 2010. Photo by Lia Chang Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.

Thom Sesma, who plays Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay, in his dressing room on August 23, 2010. Photo by Lia Chang Credit: Photo from The Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Chang has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Chang was featured as Joy in the Signature Theater Company’s revival of Sam Shepard’s 1965 Obie award winning play, Chicago directed by Joseph Chaikin at the Public Theater. Off Broadway credits include: Jeff Weiss’ Obie Award winning Hot Keys (Naked Angels), Raunchy Asian Women (Ohio Theatre), The Confirmation (The Vineyard), Behind Closed Doors (MCC), Power Play (Billie Holiday Theatre), Two Gentlemen of Verona, Underground Soap, and Famine Plays (Cucaracha Theatre). She has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon and Taxman. Chang currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”.

Chang’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post.

Selections of Chang’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection. Photographs by Lia Chang are in the permanent collections of the Angel Island Immigration Station, Asian American Federation of New York (AAFNY), the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) in San Francisco, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation Art Collection and the New York Historical Society.

A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Chang is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog. She is a National Tropical Botanical Garden Environmental Journalism Fellow, a Scripps Howard New Media Fellow at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, a Visual Journalism Fellow at the Poynter Institute for New Media and a Western Knight Fellow at USC’s Annenberg College of Communications for Specialized Journalism on Entertainment Journalism in the Digital Age. She is the recipient of the Asian American Journalists Association 2001 National Award for New Media and the Organization of Chinese Americans 2000 Chinese American Journalist Award. Avenue Magazine named her one of the “One Hundred Most Influential Asian Americans” in 1997. She is featured in Joann Faung Jean Lee’s book “Asian American actors: oral histories from stage, screen, and television”.
Other Articles on “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” & “In Rehearsal”
Extended through 8/23- “In Rehearsal” Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Featuring Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, Thom Sesma as Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas
Mu Performing Arts 2011-2012 20th Anniversary Season: Four Destinies, Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them, Into the Woods, & Mu Daiko 15th Anniversary Concert
OCA Awards Gala Photos: David Henry Hwang, Tamlyn Tomita, BD Wong, Dr. Bobby Fong & Tammy Duckworth
Temple Press: Rick Shiomi recounts his tour for “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”
Mu Blog: Rick Shiomi’s Book Tour Logbook
knightarts.org: Reading on the road inside the book tour
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug! on View Through August 2
Photos: Rick Shiomi Checks out Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of Library of Congress; Attends “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” Book Signing in NY on 7/29
“Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, A New Anthology of Asian American Plays Is Subject of Book Talk
broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal
asiancemagazine.com: New Anthology of Asian American Plays Book Talk

Other articles by Lia Chang
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Celebrating my mom – AN ACTIVE VISION: BEVERLY UMEHARA…LABOR ACTIVIST…1945-1999
Photos:Meredith Anthony, David Levien, Lyndsay Faye, Henry Chang & Dr. Julie Salzano Discuss the Mind of Sexual Predators
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
H I R O S H I M A in Benefit Concert for Japan on 9/21 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in NY
Photo Preview of BD Wong and the Cast of Heading East at the Asia Society, May 24-26, 2010
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang: OCA Awards Gala Photos: David Henry Hwang, Tamlyn Tomita, BD Wong, Dr. Bobby Fong and Tammy Duckworth

Co-emcees Tamlyn Tomita and David Henry Hwang with OCA convention co-chairs Vicki Shu, June Jee and David Fung. Photo by Lia Chang

Tamlyn Tomita and David Henry Hwang co-emceed the 2011 OCA National Convention Awards Gala at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York on August 6, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

On Saturday, August 6, 2011, it was party central in the Grand Hyatt Hotel Ballroom in New York, where actress and activist Tamlyn Tomita and playwright David Henry Hwang co-emceed the 2011 National OCA Convention Awards Gala. OCA, a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), held their 2011 National Convention, Advocacy Through Compassion – A New York State of Mind, from August 4-7, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

President of Ursinus College, Dr. Bobby Fong and actor, BD Wong received OCA Pioneer Awards; Tammy Duckworth received the OCA Outstanding Citizen Achievement Award. Astria Wong, OCA-Greater Phoenix, Kwong Eng, OCA-New York, Nancy Woo, OCA-Greater Sacramento, Peggy Chen, OCA-Westchester & Hudson Valley, Rita Chu, OCA-St. Louis, Sam Luk, OCA-Greater Los Angeles were among this year’s OCA Unsung Heroes Awards honorees.

2011 OCA Awards honorees BD Wong, Tammy Duckworth and Dr. Bobby Fong with former OCA National President Ginny Gong, OCA First Lady, Ashley Lee and OCA National President, Ken Lee. Photo by Lia Chang

2011 Pioneer Awards Honorees

2011 OCA Pioneer Award Recipient Dr. Bobby Fong. Photo by Lia Chang

Dr. Bobby Fong is the President of Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. He attended Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in English and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He later earned a doctorate in English Literature from the University of California-Los Angeles in 1978. His academic career began at Berea College in Kentucky, where he taught from 1978 to1989. In 2001 he became President of Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, one of only 20 Asian-American college presidents in the United States. Active in many higher education associations, Dr. Fong is Vice Chair of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and serves on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the American Council for Education’s National Task Force on Institutional Accreditation, and on the board of the Lingnan University Foundation.

Tamlyn Tomita, Ken Lee, OCA National President, Dr. Bobby Fong, 2011 OCA Pioneer Award honoree and playwright David Henry Hwang. Photo by Lia Chang

2011 OCA PIoneer Award Recipient BD Wong Photo by Lia Chang

BD Wong is a multi-award winning actor whose work includes theater, television, and film. He is the only actor ever to have received all five major New York Theater awards for his Broadway debut in “M. Butterfly.” He played Dr. George Huang, a forensic psychiatrist and expert on the criminal mind, on the top-rated series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for eleven seasons. Wong also gained notice as a cast regular on HBO’s critically acclaimed series Oz, playing the resilient prison priest Father Ray for five seasons. Wong’s film credits include Jurassic Park, Father of the Bride (1 & 2), and Seven Years in Tibet. He can also be heard as the voice of Shang in the Disney animated films Mulan and Mulan II. Wong’s community work has also been recognized by Asian AIDS Project, GLAAD, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Tamlyn Tomita, Ken Lee, OCA National President, BD Wong, 2011 OCA Pioneer Award honoree and playwright David Henry Hwang. Photo by Lia Chang

2011 OCA Outstanding Citizen Achievement Award Honoree Tammy Duckworth Photo by Lia Chang

2011 OCA Outstanding Citizen Achievement Award Honoree
Tammy Duckworth, a Major in the Illinois Army National Guard, served in Iraq as an Assistant Operations Officer and also flew combat missions as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot. During a mission north of Baghdad in 2004, her aircraft was ambushed and a rocket-propelled grenade struck the helicopter she was co-piloting. She continued to attempt to pilot the aircraft until passing out from blood loss. As a result of the attack, Duckworth lost both of her legs and partial use of one arm. For her actions, she received several awards, including the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, and the Combat Action Badge. Since her recovery at Walter Reed, Duckworth has dedicated her life to public service, advocating on behalf of disability rights and Veterans. In 2008, she was selected by Candidate Obama to deliver the presidential campaign’s key address on Veterans’ rights at the Democratic National Convention. In 2009, she was named as an American Veterans (AMVETS) Silver Helmet award recipient as well as The George Washington University’s Colin Powell Public Service Award Recipient.

Tamlyn Tomita, Ken Lee, OCA National President, 2011 OCA Outstanding Citizen Achievement Award Honoree Tammy Duckworth and playwright David Henry Hwang. Photo by Lia Chang

Photo by Lia Chang

Michael Lin, Jessica Chao and Cao O, executive director of AAFNY. Photo by Lia Chang

BD Wong and Richert Schnorr Photo by Lia Chang

OCA-NY Chapter board member novelist Ed Lin with his wife actress Cindy Cheung at the OCA Awards Gala Dinner at the Grand Hyatt in New York on 8/6/11. Photo by Lia Chang

Baayork Lee and Christine Toy Johnson Photo by Lia Chang

Michael Lin, Del. Mark Keam (D-35) and his wife Alex Seong Keam with old friends and new at the OCA National Convention Awards Gala Dinner. Photo by Lia Chang

The 2012 OCA National Convention will be held in Las Vegas next year, and the Las Vegas Chapter rolled out the welcome mat and unveiled a hilarious short video to entice members to attend.

OCA-Las Vegas Chapter members Vida Lin, Janice Ma, OCA Las Vegas President, Michelle DiTondo, VP Human Resources MGM, Sheena Wang and Duy Nguyen. Photo by Lia Chang

The last OCA convention I attended was in Atlanta in 2000, when I received the OCA 2000 Chinese American Journalist Award, for an article I wrote about my mother, Bev Umehara, a union labor activist. It was great to be reunited with so many friends and colleagues, including two of my favorite men David and BD, who are featured in my “In Rehearsal” Display of photos, drawn from the Lia Chang Theater Portfolio in the Asian Reading Room at the Library of Congress, from July 20-August 2, 2011. Special thanks to Samantha Chang and Jennifer Oh.
Click here for More OCA Awards Gala Dinner Photos
www.ocanational.org.

David Henry Hwang, Lia Chang and BD Wong

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Chang has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Chang was featured as Joy in the Signature Theater Company’s revival of Sam Shepard’s 1965 Obie award winning play, Chicago directed by Joseph Chaikin at the Public Theater. Off Broadway credits include: Jeff Weiss’ Obie Award winning Hot Keys (Naked Angels), Raunchy Asian Women (Ohio Theatre), The Confirmation (The Vineyard), Behind Closed Doors (MCC), Power Play (Billie Holiday Theatre), Two Gentlemen of Verona, Underground Soap, and Famine Plays (Cucaracha Theatre). She has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon and Taxman. Chang currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”.

Chang’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post.

Selections of Chang’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection. Photographs by Lia Chang are in the permanent collections of the Angel Island Immigration Station, Asian American Federation of New York (AAFNY), the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) in San Francisco, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation Art Collection and the New York Historical Society.

A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Chang is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog. She is a National Tropical Botanical Garden Environmental Journalism Fellow, a Scripps Howard New Media Fellow at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, a Visual Journalism Fellow at the Poynter Institute for New Media and a Western Knight Fellow at USC’s Annenberg College of Communications for Specialized Journalism on Entertainment Journalism in the Digital Age. She is the recipient of the Asian American Journalists Association 2001 National Award for New Media and the Organization of Chinese Americans 2000 Chinese American Journalist Award. Avenue Magazine named her one of the “One Hundred Most Influential Asian Americans” in 1997. She is featured in Joann Faung Jean Lee’s book “Asian American actors: oral histories from stage, screen, and television”.

Other articles by Lia Chang
Portraits of New York Chinatown After 9/11 Featured in “Post 9/11”: Commemorative Display at Library of Congress Asian Reading Room, 8/30-9/15
Extended through 8/23- “In Rehearsal” Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Featuring Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, Thom Sesma as Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Celebrating my mom – AN ACTIVE VISION: BEVERLY UMEHARA…LABOR ACTIVIST…1945-1999
Dr. Bobby Fong, BD Wong and Tammy Duckworth to Receive Awards at National OCA Convention in NY on 8/6
Photo Preview of BD Wong and the Cast of Heading East at the Asia Society, May 24-26, 2010
David Henry Hwang to Receive 2012 William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award
Photos: On the town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in D.C. & NY
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug! on View Through August 23
Photos: Rick Shiomi Checks out Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of Library of Congress
Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition at the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles, has been extended through November 7, 2010
Multimedia: George Takei, Nancy Kwan, Lisa Lu and Tsai Chin attend Hollywood Chinese:The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition Opening Night
The Chinese American Museum partners with Academy award nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong on a groundbreaking exhibition about Hollywood’s forgotten past
In Arthur Dong’s Hollywood Chinese, Chinese Tinseltown Tales told by Asian Silver Screen Icons
BD Wong Stars in the La Jolla Playhouse Production of Herringbone, August 1-30
David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng and BD Wong at the Asian American Writers Workshop Literary Awards
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang: Dr. Bobby Fong, BD Wong and Tammy Duckworth to Receive Awards at National OCA Convention in New York on August 6

2011 OCA Pioneer Award Recipient BD Wong and the cast of Robert Lee and Leon Ko's Heading East at the Asia Society in New York n May 23, 2010. Photo by Lia Chang

Dr. Bobby Fong, BD Wong and Tammy Duckworth will be honored at the 2011 National OCA Convention, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, 109 East 42nd Street in New York, during the Gala Awards on Saturday, August 6, 2011. President of Ursinus College, Dr. Bobby Fong and actor, BD Wong will receive OCA Pioneer Awards. Tammy Duckworth, will be receiving the OCA Outstanding Citizen Achievement Award. OCA will also recognize the achievements of its own members with the Chapter of the Year Award and the Unsung Heroes Awards.

OCA, a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), is holding their 2011 National Convention, Advocacy Through Compassion – A New York State of Mind, from August 4-7, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

The annual OCA National Convention draws hundreds of APAs from around the country and features three days of workshops, exhibits, youth and college programs, film screenings and notable speakers. For more information and to register for this year’s National Convention, please visit our the website at www.ocanational.org.

2011 Pioneer Awards Honorees
Dr. Bobby Fong is the President of Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. He attended Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in English and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He later earned a doctorate in English Literature from the University of California-Los Angeles in 1978. His academic career began at Berea College in Kentucky, where he taught from 1978 to1989. In 2001 he became President of Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, one of only 20 Asian-American college presidents in the United States. Active in many higher education associations, Dr. Fong is Vice Chair of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and serves on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the American Council for Education’s National Task Force on Institutional Accreditation, and on the board of the Lingnan University Foundation.

BD Wong is a multi-award winning actor whose work includes theater, television, and film. He is the only actor ever to have received all five major New York Theater awards for his Broadway debut in “M. Butterfly.” He played Dr. George Huang, a forensic psychiatrist and expert on the criminal mind, on the top-rated series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for eleven seasons. Wong also gained notice as a cast regular on HBO’s critically acclaimed series Oz, playing the resilient prison priest Father Ray for five seasons. Wong’s film credits include Jurassic Park, Father of the Bride (1 & 2), and Seven Years in Tibet. He can also be heard as the voice of Shang in the Disney animated films Mulan and Mulan II. Wong’s community work has also been recognized by Asian AIDS Project, GLAAD, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

2011 OCA Outstanding Citizen Achievement Award Honoree
Tammy Duckworth, a Major in the Illinois Army National Guard, served in Iraq as an Assistant Operations Officer and also flew combat missions as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot. During a mission north of Baghdad in 2004, her aircraft was ambushed and a rocket-propelled grenade struck the helicopter she was co-piloting. She continued to attempt to pilot the aircraft until passing out from blood loss. As a result of the attack, Duckworth lost both of her legs and partial use of one arm. For her actions, she received several awards, including the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, and the Combat Action Badge. Since her recovery at Walter Reed, Duckworth has dedicated her life to public service, advocating on behalf of disability rights and Veterans. In 2008, she was selected by Candidate Obama to deliver the presidential campaign’s key address on Veterans’ rights at the Democratic National Convention. In 2009, she was named as an American Veterans (AMVETS) Silver Helmet award recipient as well as The George Washington University’s Colin Powell Public Service Award Recipient.

Other articles by Lia Chang
Photo Preview of BD Wong and the Cast of Heading East at the Asia Society, May 24-26, 2010
David Henry Hwang to Receive 2012 William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award
Photos: On the town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in D.C. & NY
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug! on View Through August 2
Photos: Rick Shiomi Checks out Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of Library of Congress
Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition at the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles, has been extended through November 7, 2010
BD Wong to Star in Heading East at Asia Society, May 24-26Multimedia: BD Wong, Anastasia Barzee, Clarke Thorell, Cindy Cheung and Orville Mendoza at Rattlestick Playwrights Theaters’ Musical Mix ‘n’ Mingle
BD Wong, Anastasia Barzee, Cindy Cheung and Orville Mendoza in Rattlestick’s Musical Mix ‘n’ Mingle
Multimedia: George Takei, Nancy Kwan, Lisa Lu and Tsai Chin attend Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition Opening Night
The Chinese American Museum partners with Academy award nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong on a groundbreaking exhibition about Hollywood’s forgotten past
In Arthur Dong’s Hollywood Chinese, Chinese Tinseltown Tales told by Asian Silver Screen Icons
BD Wong Stars in the La Jolla Playhouse Production of Herringbone, August 1-30
David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng and BD Wong at the Asian American Writers Workshop Literary Awards
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo opening night of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and “New York Undercover”.

Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.

Lia Chang Photos: On the Town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in Washington D.C. and New York

R.A. Shiomi's Yellow Fever. Photo by Lia Chang

On Wednesday, July 27, I reconnected with Rick Shiomi, the author of one of my favorite plays, “Yellow Fever,” when we were both in Washington D.C. at the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress in the Thomas Jefferson Building. The groundbreaking Asian-North American playwright, taiko troupe leader, and artistic director of Mu Performing Arts, was on a week long book tour to promote “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” (Temple University Press, June 2011), which he co-edited with Josephine Lee and Don Eitel.

Rick Shiomi with my display of photos “In Rehearsal”, drawn from the Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection. Photo by Lia Chang

Reme Grefalda, the curator of the Asian Pacific Islander Collection, had put together a marvelous program which included his talk about the Anthology, and a week-long display in the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress.

Rick Shiomi looks at a glass case of the published works of his fellow Asian American Theater Pioneering peers including Frank Chin, Philip Kan Gotanda, David Henry Hwang, Velina Hasu Houston and Genny Lim. Photo by Lia Chang

The display featured 37 photographs drawn from the Lia Chang Theater Portfolio including Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s “The Lion King Las Vegas”; rehearsals of a staged concert of Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s musical “Heading East” starring BD Wong at the Asia Society in New York; of David Henry Hwang’s play, “ChingLish,” which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago this summer and is bound for Broadway this fall; and of “Bakwas Bumbug!,” a pop opera by Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri, which recently made its off-Broadway debut.

Original scripts by Carlene Sobrino Bonnivier, Velina Hasu Houston, Christine Toy Johnson, Lani Montreal, Edgar Mendoza and Jeanne Sakata. Photo by Lia Chang

The Library of Congress’ goal is to establish a national Asian Pacific American holdings, with a nationwide outreach, and the focus of the display was in celebration of works by Asian American playwrights.

The published works by Asian American Playwrights at The Library of Congress. Photo by Lia Chang

Drawn from the Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection, original scripts by Carlene Sobrino Bonnivier, Velina Hasu Houston, Christine Toy Johnson, Lani Montreal, Edgar Mendoza and Jeanne Sakata are on view. The display also highlights works by Frank Chin, Philip Kan Gotanda, Jessica Hagedorn, David Henry Hwang, Genny Lim, Chay Yew and others.

Rick Shiomi, Julie Azuma and Tamio Spiegel. Photo by Lia Chang

Two days later, I joined Rick at Julie Azuma and Tamio Spiegel’s apartment in New York, where they hosted a swell book party for him.

Tisa Chang, Artistic Producing Director of Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Carla Ching, Artistic Director of Second Generation, Rick Shiomi, Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts, Jorge Ortoll, Executive Director of Ma-Yi Theater Photo by Lia Chang

The Asian American Arts scene turned out in this reunion of sorts, including Tisa Chang, Artistic Producing Director of Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Carla Ching, Artistic Director of Second Generation, and Jorge Ortoll, Executive Director of Ma-Yi Theater; authors Henry Chang and Ed Lin; actors Raul Aranas and Henry Yuk; artist Tomie Arai, director Stann Nakazono; and Kentaro Ando and Masakazu Kigure, from the Consulate General of Japan. Cathie Hartnett of My Talk Radio in St Paul, Carol Connolly, the poet Laureate of St. Paul and Phil Nash from Washington D.C., stopped in as well.

Happy Valley playwright Aurorae Khoo and Rick Shiomi Photo by Lia Chang

Playwright Aurorae Khoo, whose play “Happy Valley” is in the anthology, talked about the process of developing her play with Mu Performing Arts, while actors Cindy Cheung, Fay Ann Lee, Amy Chang and Sean Tarjoto read excerpts from plays featured in the book.

Sean Tarjoto, Rick Shiomi, Cindy Cheung, Fay Ann Lee, Amy Chang Photo by Lia Chang

Rick took the time to answer some questions about “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”.

Rick Shiomi Photo by Lia Chang

How does this anthology live up to its title?
Rick: The plays in this anthology were all written and produced after 2004 and reflect a larger horizon of Asian American issues and communities while still dealing with existing challenges in playful and different ways. There is a play about the Hmong American community and experience which is just now receiving attention within Asian American theater world. There’s a play about Korean adoption which has been a major focus of attention in Minnesota but only now coming to wider national attention (including an upcoming forum on this
issue at the Library of Congress). But there are also plays about LGBTQI issues in Asian American families, transnational events such as the transfer of Hong Kong to China and the history of women in the media and performance. So I feel the anthology truly addresses the issues and conversational framework for Asian Americans in the 21st century.

Carol Connolly, the poet Laureate of St. Paul, Rick Shiomi and Cathie Hartnett of My Talk Radio in St. Paul. Photo by Lia Chang

How was Mu Performing Arts involved in the book?
Rick: Mu Performing Arts helped to develop and produce the world premiere of six of the seven plays in this anthology. Through programs funded by the Jerome and Ford Foundations, we have been able to focus on developing new work by emerging Asian American writers. With two of the three book editors on staff at Mu, we were able to look at over a dozen new plays produced by Mu in the past decade and other plays we felt were in the same realm, before we selected the ones in this anthology.

Rick Shiomi with novelist Ed Lin and his wife Cindy Cheung, an actress who read excerpts from the Anthology. Photo by Lia Chang

What’s your favorite story in regards to the plays in this book?
Rick: I have two stories and both reflect how initial problems in the development of plays can be deceiving and ultimately overcome. The first is about “Asiamnesia” by Sun Mee Chomet. It started as a group writing effort in our Jerome New Performance Program. Sun Mee had gathered a group of Asian American women writers to create the play but through several drafts we never thought it worked well because the writing was too disparate. Finally, we asked Sun Mee to write the play herself and she did with great success as the play was recognized by the Minneapolis Star Tribune critic, Rohan Preston, as the “best new script” of 2008, So in a way I feel Sun Mee failed her way to success, through talent and determination. The second story is about “Bahala Na,” by Clarence Coo. When we first read it, we felt it was too poetic to work on stage but when we actually did a reading of it, we all loved the style because it fit the epic nature of play. So we decided to work on it as part of our Ford Foundation, Emerging Writers of Color Program and eventually produced the world premiere of the play in 2007.

Rick Shiomi with Kentaro Ando and Masakazu Kigure, from the Consulate General of Japan Photo by Lia Chang

Rick Shiomi and Phil Nash Photo by Lia Chang

A Soh Daiko reunion for Peter Wong, Teddy Yoshikami and Rick Shiomi Photo by Lia Chang

“Asian American Plays for a New Generation” is available online at Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Asian-American-Plays-New-Generation/dp/1439905169

Henry Chang, noted mystery/crime fiction novelist, surprised Rick with an original script of Yellow Fever for him to sign. Photo by Lia Chang

Mu Performing Arts Website
For more information about the division and its holdings, go to www.loc.gov/rr/asian/.

Other Articles on “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” & “In Rehearsal”
Temple Press: Rick Shiomi recounts his tour for “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”
Mu Blog: Rick Shiomi’s Book Tour Logbook
knightarts.org: Reading on the road inside the book tour
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug! on View Through August 2
Photos: Rick Shiomi Checks out Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of Library of Congress; Attends “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” Book Signing in NY on 7/29
“Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, A New Anthology of Asian American Plays Is Subject of Book Talk
broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal
asiancemagazine.com: New Anthology of Asian American Plays Book Talk
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and “New York Undercover”.

Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com.