Signature Theatre & Lark Play Development Center Present the Contemporary Chinese Playwriting Series, March 15-17, 2013

Signature Theatre (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) and Lark Play Development Center (John Clinton Eisner, Artistic Director; Michael Robertson, Managing Director) are presenting the Contemporary Chinese Playwriting Series, curated by Signature’s Residency One Playwright David Henry Hwang, whose play THE DANCE AND THE RAILROAD, directed by May Adrales, opened at Signature on Monday, February 25, 2013 and has been extended until March 24, 2013.

David Henry Hwang. Photo by Lia Chang

For one week beginning Sunday, March 10, the two theatre companies will host a group of distinguished playwrights, directors, translators, adaptors, and actors who will engage in a cross-cultural dialogue through the development and presentation of English-language versions of four contemporary Chinese plays. The play translations—co-commissioned by the companies—will be presented in readings as part of the translation development process on March 15, 16 and 17 in the Studio Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).

A vital component of David Henry Hwang’s residency at Signature, and an extension of Hwang’s many international collaborations at the Lark Play Development Center, the Contemporary Chinese Playwriting Series is aimed at exposing U.S. audiences to the diverse, dynamic world of contemporary Chinese playwriting while fostering a conversation between Chinese and U.S. artists.. The four contemporary Chinese plays include:

PLAYING THE VIOLIN
by Wei-Jan Chi, literal translation by Cheng-Han Wu, adaptation by Madeleine George, directed by Daniel Jaquez
Reading on Friday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m.
Summary: The death of Liu San’s best friend starts him on a wild ride through hidden memories and alternate realities.

THE CAPTAIN
by Nick Yu, literal translation and adaptation by Zhao Binghao, directed by Josh Hecht
Reading on Saturday, March 16 at 2:30 p.m.
Summary: Sixty years after being rescued from drowning by the captain of a fishing vessel, a fisherman living with Alzheimer’s receives a mysterious visitor from the sea.

PUNKS’ CARNIVAL
by Meng Jinghui, literal translation by Nick Frisch, adaptation by Lloyd Suh, directed by Victor Maog
Reading on Saturday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Summary: A gritty exploration of Beijing’s underground punk scene, complete with songs and slapstick.

WILD BOAR
by Candace Chong, literal translation by Joanna Lee and Ken Smith, Adaptation by David Henry Hwang, directed by Lisa Peterson
Reading on Sunday, March 17 at 2:30 p.m.
Summary: In a thinly disguised Hong Kong, an editor investigates the disappearance of a socially-conscious historian, and unwittingly lands a role in creating the Perfect City.

The readings are free to the general public and each presentation will be followed by a moderated talkback. Reservations are required and can be made by emailing stcevents@signaturetheatre.org

The Contemporary Chinese Playwriting Series is generously supported by the Henry Luce Foundation and the Asian Cultural Council.

Signature Theatre Company is a participant in the Global Connections-ON the ROAD program, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the professional not-for-profit American theatre.

David Henry Hwang Articles:
Photos: David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad Opening Night at Signature Theatre
Signature Theatre extends David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad starring Ruy Iskandar and Yuekun Wu through March 24, 2013
Ruy Iskandar and Yuekun Wu Set for Signature Theatre’s Production of David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and The Railroad, February 5 – March 17, 2013
Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge Star in David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at South Coast Repertory, January 25 – February 24, 2013
Photos: Partying with the Cast of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child; Extended Run Ends December 16, 2012
Signature Theatre’s Production of Golden Child by David Henry Hwang has been extended through December 16, 2012
Greg Watanabe, Julyana Soelistyo and Jennifer Lim Lead the Cast of Signature Theatre’s Production of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child, October 23-December 2, 2012
David Henry Hwang to Receive the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the 5th Annual Steinberg Playwright “Mimi” Awards on October 29, 2012
Berkeley Rep’s Production Photos of David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, Starring Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge, Extends through October 21, 2012
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Oskar Eustis, BD Wong, Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and Leigh Silverman at WNYC’s The Greene Space
Click here for other articles on David Henry Hwang.

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe Celebrate New CD, Convergence with Concerts in Washington D.C. on February 27 and in New York on March 5, 2013
Hold These Truths Opening Night at Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s Tenney Theatre with Daniel Dae Kim, Joel de la Fuente and Jeanne Sakata
Ron Domingo, Francis Jue and Jon Norman Schneider Join the Cast of the World Premiere of Paper Dolls at the Tricycle Theatre, February 28 – April 13, 2013
Harlem Nights with Lorey Hayes, Actress, Director and Award-Winning Playwright of Power Play and Massinissa
Signature Theatre’s World Premiere of Sam Shepard’s Heartless Starring Lois Smith, Gary Cole, Jenny Bacon, Betty Gilpin, and Julianne Nicholson Extends through September 30, 2012
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. She is a Signature Theatre alumni who was in the cast of Sam Shepard’s Chicago, during his Signature 1996-1997 Playwright-in-Residence Season.
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 liachangpr@gmail.com

Lia Chang: Playwright Edgar Mendoza awarded Kennedy Center’s inaugural Paul Stephen Lim Asian-American Playwriting Award for his play Blue Note Run

Edgar Mendoza, playwright

In April, playwright Edgar Mendoza, a 2009-2010 Dramatist Guild Fellow, received the Kennedy Center’s inaugural Paul Stephen Lim Asian-American Playwriting Award for his play Blue Note Run.

Supported by the University of Kansas Endowment Association, this award is given to the outstanding full-length or one-act play on any subject written by an Asian-American student, in honor of Paul Stephen Lim’s outstanding career as a teacher, playwright and passionate advocate for new voices in the American Theatre. Mendoza received a cash award of $2,500, membership in the Dramatists Guild of America, and a Lark Play Development Center residency at New York Stage & Film this summer. In addition, Blue Note Run was a semi-finalist for the 2010 Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference.

Mendoza’s other plays, Old Man Nature, Dead Love Triangle, Amnestia, Like, Tito Roy, Lion Plaza and All The Earth, have received staged readings and workshop productions in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and San Jose.

Mendoza graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, with an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing, where he was a two-time recipient of the Shubert Foundation Fellowship. His screenplay, The Unifying Theory, was awarded the $10,000 prize in the 2008 Alfred P. Sloan Screenwriting Competition, and he also won the opportunity to attend the American Film Institute-Sloan Film Summit in Hollywood.

Prior to graduate school, he received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. Edgar served as a constituent representative for United States Senator Barbara Boxer, and as district representative for California State

About the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival
Developed by Roger L. Stevens, Kennedy Center Founding Chairman, the KCACTF is dedicated to encouraging, recognizing, and celebrating the finest and most diverse work produced in college and university theater programs. The eight regional festivals and the national festival provide an opportunity for college and university theater departments to present their work, especially new or student-written work, and to receive outside assessment. Since its establishment in 1969, the KCACTF has reached more than 18 million theatergoers, students, and teachers nationwide. For more than 35 years, the Kennedy Center has provided quality arts educational experiences through performances, residencies, workshops, conferences, career development programs, symposia, and on-line and print resources. For more information about the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, please visit www.kcactf.org.

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 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.

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 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, VIBE, 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:
A night out with Gordana Rashovich, Flora Goforth in The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
André De Shields Set for World Premiere of Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at Indiana Rep, 3/22-4/10
Photos: De Shields, McClendon, Elisa, Glasco, Nemser, Phillips, Thompson at The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy Reading
Photos of Lion Dancers in Los Angeles Chinatown
Photos: A.B. Cruz III and Lillian Kimura Receive 2011 AALDEF Justice in Action Awards
Photos of Lion Dancers in Los Angeles Chinatown
Photos: Chinese New Year Festival at The Huntington in San Marino
Photos:The Working Theater’s Off-Broadway production of HONEY BROWN EYES by Stefanie Zadravec at The Clurman
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
Photo Call: BD Wong and the Cast of Heading East at the Asia Society
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

Lia Chang: Reading of Jeanne Sakata’s Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi Starring Joel de la Fuente on February 22 in New York

Jeanne Sakata Photo by Chris Komuro

This afternoon, I had a delightful brunch with playwright and award-winning actress Jeanne Sakata and her husband Tim at Marseille in New York. She just finished participating in the Lark’s 2010 Winter Writers’ Retreat, developing her new play At Thirteen, and tomorrow night, The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College is presenting her play Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi, directed by Lisa Rothe and featuring Joel de la Fuente, as the inaugural staged reading in the First Throws Play Reading Series. Inspired by a true story, Dawn’s Light takes place in Seattle during World War II, where University of Washington student Gordon Hirabayashi is agonizing over U.S. government orders to forcibly remove and mass incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast. As he fights to reconcile his country’s betrayal with his passionate belief in the U.S. Constitution, Gordon journeys toward a greater understanding of America’s triumphs — and a confrontation with its failures.

First Throws is John Jay’s first playwright salon, presenting new theatrical works and readings in a casual setting. First Throws presents new works that examine issues of justice with an artistic perspective. The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College is located at 899 Tenth Avenue in New York. The reading which is free and open to the public, begins at 7pm. RSVP to dawnslightppc@aol.com.

Joel De La Fuente as Gordon Hirabayashi in Dawn's Light

Sakata makes her playwriting debut with her solo play, Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi, which received its world premiere in November 2007 at East West Players, co-presented by the UCLA Department of Asian American Studies, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, and the Japanese American National Museum. Dawn’s Light was recently workshopped at the New York Theatre Workshop’s August 2009 Dartmouth Residency, and was chosen by the Epic Theatre Ensemble and the Lark Play Development Center for their first collaborative public reading. Dawn’s Light was the also inspiration and theatrical centerpiece for the 2009 civil rights symposium on the Hirabayashi case at the University of Tennessee, Civil Liberties, National Security and the Legacies of the Japanese Removal and Incarceration. An accomplished actress in stage, film and television, Sakata has been honored with the LA Ovation Award for Best Lead Actress for her acclaimed portrayal of Master Hua in Chay Yew’s Red at East West Players.

Lisa Rothe recently became the Director of Off-Site Programs and Partnerships at the Lark Play Development Center. She is passionate about new work and has workshopped, developed and directed many new plays. Recent credits include: Interpreting William by James Still (Indiana Repertory); Looking for the Pony by Andrea Lepcio (Synchronicity Performance Group @ Seven Stages in Atlanta); Penelope by Ellen McLaughlin and composer Sarah Kirkland Snider (Getty Villa, Gallatin School in NYC, Princeton University); Couldn’t Say by Christopher Wall (MITF – Best Director Award) as well as productions for NYMF and SPF. She also received an EST/Sloan Foundation grant with composer Kim Sherman and librettist Margaret Vandenburg for work on Ada, a new opera. Guest Director: NYU Graduate Acting, the Juilliard School and Yale School of Drama. Alum of the Women’s Project Director’s Lab as well as a Drama League alum & Fox Fellow. MFA: NYU Graduate Acting.

Most recently, Joel de la Fuente has appeared onstage in Chiori Miyagawa’s I Have Been to Hiroshima, Mon Amour directed by Jean Wagner (Ohio Theatre) and as Ariel in The Tempest (Shakespeare Theatre of NJ). On film and television, he has recently concluded working on the feature film “The Adjustment Bureau” starring Matt Damon, as well as appearing in his ninth season on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Selected New York theatrical credits include: Ivanov in Ivanov (Mint Theater/NAATCO, Jonathan Bank, dir.); The Downtown Plays (Tribeca Theater Festival, John Rando, dir.); Claudio in Beatrice and Benedict with the New York Philharmonic (conducted by Sir Colin Davis); Fuenteovejuna (David Herskovitz, dir.); Vershinin in The Three Sisters (Mud/Bone Theatre Collective); The Square (Lisa Petersen, dir.); America Dreaming (Michael Mayer, dir.); Valentine in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (NYSF, Adrian Hall, dir.). Joel is an alumnus oF Brown University and the Graduate Acting Program at N.Y.U.

Since opening its doors in 1988, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater has been an invaluable cultural resource for John Jay College and the larger New York City community. Under the new direction of Executive Director Shannon R. Mayers, the Theater is dedicated to the creation and presentation of performing arts programming of all disciplines with a special focus on how the artistic imagination can shed light on the many perceptions of justice in our society. The Theater has hosted prestigious events for Lincoln Center Festival, Great Performances, Julliard, Alvin Ailey and numerous television specials for HBO and Comedy Central.

About John Jay College of Criminal Justice: An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art and science in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit http://www.jjay.cuny.edu.

For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu/theater.php.

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 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.

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 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, VIBE, 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:
A night out with Gordana Rashovich, Flora Goforth in The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
André De Shields Set for World Premiere of Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at Indiana Rep, 3/22-4/10
Photos: De Shields, McClendon, Elisa, Glasco, Nemser, Phillips, Thompson at The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy Reading
Photos of Lion Dancers in Los Angeles Chinatown
Photos: A.B. Cruz III and Lillian Kimura Receive 2011 AALDEF Justice in Action Awards
Photos of Lion Dancers in Los Angeles Chinatown
Photos: Chinese New Year Festival at The Huntington in San Marino
Photos:The Working Theater’s Off-Broadway production of HONEY BROWN EYES by Stefanie Zadravec at The Clurman
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet,Tracee Chimo opening night of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon
André De Shields leads cast of Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss at Abrons Arts Center
STORIES FROM CHINESE AMERICA: The Arthur Dong Collection, Vol. 2 as 4 disc DVD Box Set
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Photo Call: BD Wong and the Cast of Heading East at the Asia Society
cllick here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.