Lia Chang: Party 3.0, Scenes from Version 3.0, A New Anthology of Asian American Plays, Edited by Chay Yew at Zacek McVay Theater on 12/4

Lia Chang, David Henry Hwang, BD Wong and Chay Yew at the opening night party of the Broadway production of Hwang's Chinglish at Brassiere 8 1/2 in New York on October 27, 2011.

The Victory Gardens Theater, Silk Road Rising, and Theatre Communications Group is presenting Party 3.0, a selection of scenes from VERSION 3.0, published by TCG Books, directed by Chay Yew on December 4, 2011 from 5-7pm in the Zacek McVay Theater, 2433 North Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. Admission is free.

The evening kicks off with a brief reading of excerpts from the new anthology of contemporary Asian American drama entitled Version 3.0, edited by Victory Gardens’ Artistic Director, Chay Yew, and hot off the press from TCG Books. Version 3.0 features a foreward by David Henry Hwang (Chinglish, M. Butterfly), and includes work by today’s foremost Asian American playwrights including Julia Cho, Diana Son, Chay Yew, Han Ong, Alice Tuan and others. Version 3.0 will be available for purchase at the event, and Yew will be on hand to sign copies.

Then Yew and Luis Alfaro, award-winning playwright, poet and activist (author of Oedipus El Rey, VG’s summer 2012 show) will chat about the anthology and the current state of the art.

Version 3.0
Contemporary Asian American Plays
Edited by Chay Yew
Cover design by Bob Stern
Paperback 680 pages
$22.95 978-1-55936-363-1

Zacek McVay Theater
Victory Gardens Theater
2433 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago
5-7pm
Click here to register.
Contact Daniel Reinglass at the Victory Gardens Theater, 773-549-5788, or via email tickets@victorygardens.org, for more information.

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 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.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Version 3.0, a major new collection of contemporary Asian American plays edited by Chay Yew
Victory Gardens appoints renowned director and playwright Chay Yew as its new Artistic Director
Chay Yew’s Visible Cities at The Studio Theatre on Theatre Row
Playwright David Henry Hwang Reading and Book Signing at The Drama Book Shop on 12/15
Photos: Playwright Lonnie Carter Talks TRIM, The Tiger Woods What If Story, The Romance of Magno Rubio and The Lost Boys of Sudan
Photos: Kathie Lee Gifford at the 2011 Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue Christmas Windows Unveiling in New York
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Jennifer Lim, Leigh Silverman, Samuel L. Jackson, Kenny Leon, David Ives, Douglas Carter Beane and More at The Drama Desk & Fordham University Theatre Program’s “Anatomy of a Breakout” Panel
David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish Takes Home 2 Jeff Awards
Cathy Foy-Mahi Plays Bloody Mary in 2011-2012 National Tour of South Pacific
Photos: Backstage with the Cast of Chinglish and David Henry Hwang at the Longacre Theatre
Lia Chang Photos: Opening Night of Mu Performing Arts’ Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies
Lia Chang Photos: Backstage at Mu Performing Arts’ Four Destinies by Katie Hae Leo
Photos: Crossroads’ Ain’t Misbehavin’
Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright and Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
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: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo at Opening Night Party of Neil LaBute’s Break of Noon
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
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.

Version 3.0, a major new collection of contemporary Asian American plays edited by Chay Yew

Chay Yew Photo by Lia Chang

Version 3.0, a major new collection of contemporary Asian American plays edited by Chay Yew, is hot off the presses courtesy of Theatre Communications Group (TCG). This vital anthology includes a foreword by David Henry Hwang, introduction by Chay Yew and eight full-length plays, each paired with a statement by the author.

Version 3.0, the first major anthology of contemporary Asian American drama in almost two decades, includes Julia Cho’s Durango, Sunil Kuruvilla’s Rice Boy, Han Ong’s Swoony Planet, Sung Rno’s wAve, Diana Son’s Satellites, Alice Tuan’s Last of the Suns and Chay Yew’s Question 27, Question 28. Also included is The Square, a choral piece meditating on 120 years of relationships between non-Asian Americans and the Asian American community, written by sixteen of today’s leading playwrights: Bridget Carpenter, Ping Chong, Constance Congdon, Kia Corthron, Maria Irene Fornes, Philip Kan Gotanda, Jessica Hagedorn, David Henry Hwang, Robert O’Hara, Craig Lucas, Han Ong, José Rivera, Diana Son, Alice Tuan, Mac Wellman and Chay Yew.

PIng Chong Photo by Lia Chang

“I am inspired by the writers in this volume, who have questioned assumptions and expanded the palate of our nation’s dramatic literature… “Version 3.0″ playwrights have kept Asian American theatre vital. On a personal level, seeing and reading their plays has kept me young,” writes David Henry Hwang.

David Henry Hwang Photo by Lia Chang

Editor Chay Yew points out that these third-wave writers “have expanded the world of Asian American theatre… [by] regarding ethnicity in a much more complicated mosaic of identity.”

These playwrights explore the myriad ways in which Asians live in America: freely combining the Medea myth with wave-particle physics; nimbly moving between a field in Kitchener, Canada, and a treetop in Kerala, India; fully examining complexities of gender, sexuality, and family and all the while demonstrating the cultural and aesthetic diversity of their generation.

Philip Kan Gotanda Photo by Lia Chang

Chay Yew is a noted playwright and director whose work has been produced Off-Broadway and across the U.S. He is the Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, has served as head of the Asian Theatre Workshop at the Mark Taper Forum and is a former Resident Director at East West Players.

For 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 13,000 individuals nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through conferences, events, research and communications; awards grants, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and serves as the US Center of the International Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community.

Han Ong Photo by Lia Chang

TCG is North America’s largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 11 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning AMERICAN THEATRE magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre. Version 3.0 is 22.95 and can be purchased by calling 212-609-5900 or online at www.tcg.org. For postage and handling, please add $5.00 for the first book and $.50 for each additional copy.

Version 3.0
Contemporary Asian American Plays
Edited by Chay Yew
Cover design by Bob Stern
Paperback 680 pages
$22.95 978-1-55936-363-1

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Victory Gardens appoints renowned director and playwright Chay Yew as its new Artistic Director
Chay Yew’s Visible Cities at The Studio Theatre on Theatre Row
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
Dr. Bobby Fong, BD Wong & Honorable L. Tammy Duckworth to Receive Awards at National OCA Convention in NY on 8/6
Photos: On the town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in D.C. & NY
David Henry Hwang to Receive 2012 William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award
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
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
David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish is Broadway Bound this Fall; Goodman Theatre Photo Feature
broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal
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.

Lia Chang: Thom Sesma, Peter Kim and Andrew Cristi in Julia Cho’s Durango

Thom Sesma (Photo by Lia Chang)

Thom Sesma, Peter Kim, Andrew Cristi, Roarke Walker and Tony Campisi are featured in the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s production of Julia Cho’s DURANGO.  Performances are in the Playhouse’s Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre through October 19.

Widowed Korean immigrant Boo-Seng Lee (Thom Sesma) finds himself at a loss after being let go from the corporate job he has held for over 20 years as part of company-wide layoffs. It’s not a job he loved, but one that was part of his vision for achieving the American dream and ensuring his two sons achieve happiness and success, which, as for many first-generation immigrants, meant sacrificing his personal desires.

To the outside world, the Lee brothers look like the perfect Korean American sons: 21-year-old Isaac (Peter Kim) plans to be a doctor and has just come home from Hawaii, where he traveled for a medical school interview. His younger brother, Jimmy (Andrew Cristi, 13, is a champion swimmer with a bright future.

(l-r) Peter Kim portrays Isaac Lee, Andrew Cristi is Jimmy Lee and Thom Sesma is Boo-Seng Lee in the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

Boo-Seng doesn’t tell his sons about his job loss when he returns home from work. Instead he decides to take them on a spur-of-the-moment weekend road trip to Durango, Colorado, to ride its historic railroad. Along the way, all three find themselves grappling with old memories and unhealed wounds. As tempers flare and secrets break open, the difference between who they are and who they’ve pretended to be threatens to tear the family apart.

Julia Cho’s plays include The Piano Teacher, The Winchester House, BFE, The Architecture of Loss, 99 Histories and Bay and the Spectacles of Doom. Honors include the Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwriting Award, the Claire Tow Award for Emerging Artists and the L. Arnold Weissberger Award. Cho is a graduate of Amherst College and has degrees from UC Berkeley, NYU and The Juilliard School.

With sets by Kevin Judge, costumes by Anne Kennedy, lighting by Josh Epstein (Lighting Designer) and sound design by composer Ryan Rumery.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sundays.

Tickets for for DURANGO are $47-$57. For more information, call the Playhouse box office at 513/421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800/582-3208) or visit www.cincyplay.com.

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