Victory Gardens Theater | Backstage Pass with Lia Chang

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.

December 1, 2011
Categories: Asian American Artists, Asian American Issues, Entertainment, New York, Theater, Travel . Tags: Alice Tuan Luis Alfaro, Asian American Plays, Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, Chay Yew, Chicago, Chinglish, David Henry Hwang, Diana Son, Han Ong, Julia Cho, Lia Chang, M. Butterfly, Silk Road Rising, TCG Books, Theatre Communications Group, Version 3.0, Victory Gardens Theater, Zacek McVay Theater . Author: Lia Chang . Comments: Leave a Comment

Lia Chang: The Gospel According to James’ André De Shields, Charles Smith, Chuck Smith, Tyler Jacob Rollinson and Wardell Julius Clark Nominated for Black Theater Alliance Awards

Playwright Charles Smith, André De Shields and director Chuck Smith on the set of the New York production of "Knock Me A Kiss" after the opening night performance at the Abrons Arts Center on November 11, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

Charles Smith’s new play The Gospel According to James, produced last Spring at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater in Chicago, has garnered 5 Black Theater Alliance Award nods, including Best Direction for Chuck Smith, Best Writing for Charles Smith, Best Leading Actor for André De Shields, Best Featured Actor for Tyler Jacob Rollinson and Most Promising Actor for Wardell Julius Clark.

Created to honor local Black Theater Artists, The Black Theater Alliance Awards, Inc. (BTAA) was founded in 1995 and over the past 17 years, has become an important organization and distinctive featured program of Chicago’s cultural landscape.

The Black Theater Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards program focuses on gifted local actors, singers, dancers, directors, choreographers, playwrights, set designers, lighting designers, costume designers, etc. Each year BTAA honors a national African American celebrity who got his/her start in theater.

Complete listing of nominees are listed on the website at www.btaawards.org.

The Black Theater Alliance Awards, Inc. was founded and incorporated in 1995 as a
501(C3), not-for-profit organization. BTAA was founded to honor African Americans who achieve excellence in theater, dance or other areas of the performing arts in the Chicagoland area.

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.

Other Articles on André De Shields:
Photos: André De Shields leads the cast of Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss at The National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, 8/2-8/4
André De Shields to Direct Reading of Jacqueline Malcolm’s The Trade at The Player’s Club on 7/19
Project1Voice’s Multiple Staged Readings of Alice Childress’ Trouble in Mind features André De Shields, Peter Coyote, Roger Robinson, Leslie Uggams, LaChanze, John Mahoney, Bill Irwin, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Irma P. Hall on June 20
André De Shields in Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at the Victory Gardens Biograph through June 12
André De Shields set for Chicago Premiere of Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at the Victory Gardens Biograph
Photos: De Shields, McClendon, Elisa, Glasco, Nemser, Phillips, Thompson at The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy Reading
Spend Valentine’s Day with André De Shields in The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy at the Abingdon Theatre
André De Shields and Charlayne Woodard are featured in Red Bull Theater’s Off Broadway Production of The Witch of Edmonton
André De Shields leads cast of Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss at Abrons Arts Center
André De Shields is having a Devilishly Good Time in Damn Yankees at The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport
Photos of André De Shields in Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory: From Douglass to Deliverance
Achieving the American Dream, Professional Charmer André De Shields Sees Theater is a Way to Life
André De Shields Celebrates Black History Month Starring in The Working Theater’s Production of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory at The Abingdon in February 2010
Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe, MTC’s Ruined are Top Winners at 2009 Audelcos
Multimedia: Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe Opening Night Party Photos
Multimedia: Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe
André De Shields and Reg E. Cathey Star in Cato at The Flea
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

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.

August 11, 2011
Categories: African American Artists, Andre de Shields, Entertainment, Theater, Travel . Tags: Andre de Shields, Anthony Peeples, Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, Bingham McHale, Black Theater Alliance Awards, Black Theater Artists, Charles Smith, Chicago, Christopher Jon Martin, Chuck Smith, Diane Kondrat, double lynching, Indiana, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Indianapolis, Keith Gallagher, Kelsey Brennan, Knock Me a Kiss, Lawrence Beitler, Legacy Creative Arts Company, Lia Chang, Linda Kimbrough, Marcus Hendrick, Marion, New Federal Theatre, The Gospel According to James, Tyler Jacob Rollinson, Victory Gardens Theater, Wardell Julius Clark . Author: Lia Chang . Comments: Leave a Comment

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 at the Public Theatre in New York. Photo by Lia Chang

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.

August 9, 2011
Categories: Asian American Artists, Asian American Issues, Asian American Pioneers, Chinese American History, Entertainment, Japanese American History, Literature, New York, Non profit, Portrait Photography, Theater . Tags: (TCG). Anthology, Alice Tuan, American Theatre, ARTSEARCH, Asian American Plays, Asian Theatre Workshop. Mark Taper Forum. East West Players, Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, Bridget Carpenter, Chay Yew, Constance Congdon, Craig Lucas, D Robert O’Hara, David Henry Hwang, Diana Son, Durango, Han Ong, International Theatre Institute, Jessica Hagedorn, Jose Rivera, Julia Cho, Kia Corthron, Last of the Suns, Lia Chang, Mac Wellman, Maria Irene Fornes, Philip Kan Gotanda, Ping Chong, Question 27, Question 28, Rice Boy, Satellites, Sung Rno, Sunil Kuruvilla, Swoony Planet, The Square, Theatre Communications Group, Version 3.0, Victory Gardens Theater, wAve . Author: Lia Chang . Comments: 2 Comments

Lia Chang: André De Shields to Direct Reading of Jacqueline Malcolm’s The Trade at The Player’s Club on July 19, 2011

Artwork by Karol D. Malcolm

On Tuesday, July 19, 2011, Two-time Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winning actor André De Shields will direct the staged reading of Jacqueline Malcolm’s The Trade, the second entry in her SLAVE Trilogy, at The Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park in New York at 7pm. Admission is free, please RSVP to jacquelinemalcolm@yahoo.co.uk.

Written and created by Jacqueline Malcolm, The Trade follows the story of Albert Shelton, a man born free, yet brought up as a slave. His identity is lost as he tries to find his way in a world where men are traded for beads and the color of the skin can mean death or life. Becoming a Trader himself, Albert’s journey takes him from middle-class Bristol, England to life with the Maroon Tribe of the Blue Mountains, Jamaica, until finally, his destiny and drive throws him into the chaos of pre-independent New York City.

Playwright Jacqueline Malcolm and André De Shields after the performance of Lonnie Carter's The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy, at the Abingdon Theatre in New York on February 14, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

Born in Northhampton, England, playwright Jacqueline Malcolm is a classically trained actress from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York and the London Center of Theatre Studies, London, who has had a passion for writing since a very early age. A published author of the children’s book, The Adventures of Lucy the Lamb (Author House Publishers, 2005), her other writing credits include: The Red Dress (short play, The Kings Head Theatre, London, 2004); Cornflakes (short play, The Kings Head Theatre, London, 2004), Twisted Magnolias (short play, Camden Theatre, London, 2006); Lost In the Moment (short play, 2009); A Child’s Wish (commissioned script for theatre in education project in NY, 2009). Ms. Malcolm has written theatre and movie reviews/articles for LA Splash Magazine, California, as well as a commissioned short story for publication, Stoner Story. She also has an ongoing professional career in administration and event management to an executive level.

Andre De Shields Photo by Lia Chang

In a career that has spanned four decades, De Shields is best known for his electrifying performances in the original Broadway productions of The Wiz in 1975 (title role), Ain’t Misbehavin’ in 1978 (Drama Desk nomination), Play On! in 1997 (Tony nomination) and The Full Monty in 2000, for which he received Tony, Drama Desk and Astaire Award nominations, in addition to both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards. His other Broadway credits include an autobiographical revue, Haarlem Nocturne, and the world premier of two new American plays: Mark Medoff’s Prymate (Drama Desk nomination) and Michael Jacob’s Impressionism, with Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen. He is the recipient of the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival’s Living Legend Award, the 2007 Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance and the 2009 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Performance in a Musical/Male. He won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Achievement for his performance in the 1982 NBC broadcast of Ain’t Misbehavin’. New York theatre audiences have seen De Shields in productions as varied as Cato at The Flea, as the farmer Old Banks opposite Charlayne Woodard, in the Red Bull Theater’s Off-Broadway production of The Witch of Edmonton at The Theatre at St. Clement’s, Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor at the Melting Pot Theatre, Let Me Sing at The George Street Playhouse, Lonnie Carter’s The Gulliver Trilogy at La MaMa e.t.c. and his solo work-in-progress Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory: From Douglass to Deliverance at The Abingdon Theatre about abolitionist Frederick Douglass. At the Classical Theatre of Harlem, he has been seen as Makak in Derek Walcott’s Dream On Monkey Mountain, in the title roles of Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe, CALIGULA and King Lear, directed by Alfred Preisser. Regional audiences have witnessed him as Henry Drummond in Inherit The Wind, Willy Loman in Death Of A Salesman, Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came To Dinner, Scott Joplin in Tin Pan Alley Rag, Vladimir in Waiting for Godot, Jacob Strand in Ibsen’s Ghosts (starring Jane Alexander), and the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. He recently appeared as the title character of Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James, directed by Chuck Smith at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater in Chicago.

André De Shields as W.E.B. Du Bois in Charles Smith's Knock Me A Kiss © Lia Chang

From August 2-4, 2011, De Shields will reprise his critically acclaimed role as W.E.B. DuBois in Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss, directed by Chuck Smith, at The National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, a co-production of Woodie King Jr.’s New Federal Theatre and Legacy Creative Arts Company. Click here for tickets. He then jets off to Italy to be a teaching artist at the 1st Annual La MaMa Umbria International Master Acting Workshops. A triple Capricorn, he is the ninth of eleven children born and reared in Baltimore, Maryland. www.andredeshields.com.

Articles on Andre De Shields:
Project1Voice’s Multiple Staged Readings of Alice Childress’ Trouble in Mind features André De Shields, Peter Coyote, Roger Robinson, Leslie Uggams, LaChanze, John Mahoney, Bill Irwin, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Irma P. Hall on June 20
André De Shields in Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at the Victory Gardens Biograph through June 12
André De Shields set for Chicago Premiere of Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at the Victory Gardens Biograph
Photos: De Shields, McClendon, Elisa, Glasco, Nemser, Phillips, Thompson at The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy Reading
Spend Valentine’s Day with André De Shields in The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy at the Abingdon Theatre
André De Shields and Charlayne Woodard are featured in Red Bull Theater’s Off Broadway Production of The Witch of Edmonton
André De Shields leads cast of Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss at Abrons Arts Center
Andre Dé Shields is having a Devilishly Good Time in Damn Yankees at The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport
Photos of André De Shields in Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory: From Douglass to Deliverance
Achieving the American Dream, Professional Charmer Andre De Shields Sees Theater is a Way to Life
André De Shields Celebrates Black History Month Starring in The Working Theater’s Production of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory at The Abingdon in February 2010
Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe, MTC’s Ruined are Top Winners at 2009 Audelcos
Multimedia: Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe Opening Night Party Photos
Multimedia: Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe
André De Shields and Reg E. Cathey Star in Cato at The Flea

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 PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

June 27, 2011
Categories: African American Artists, Andre de Shields, Entertainment, Theater . Tags: A Child’s Wish, Albert Shelton, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Andre de Shields, Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, Camden Theatre, Charles Smith, Chicago, Chuck Smith, Cornflakes, England, Jacqueline Malcolm, Knock Me a Kiss, La MaMa, LA Splash Magazine, Legacy Creative Arts Company, Lia Chang, London, London Center of Theatre Studies, Lost In the Moment, National Black Theatre Festival, New Federal Theatre, Northhampton, SLAVE, Stoner Story, The Adventures of Lucy the Lamb, The Gospel According to James, The Kings Head Theatre, The Players Club, The Red Dress, The Trade, Twisted Magnolias, Umbria, Victory Gardens Theater, Woodie King Jr. . Author: Lia Chang . Comments: Leave a Comment

Lia Chang: André De Shields in Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at the Victory Gardens Biograph through June 12

André De Shields at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater in Chicago, where he is appearing in Charles Smith's The Gospel According to James through June 12, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

André De Shields has been having a love affair with Chicago, the city where theatre as a way to life began for him, initially as a member of the Pottawattamie Tribe in Michael Butler’s 1969 production of Hair, The American Tribal-Love Rock Musical, directed by Tom O’Horgan at The Shubert Theatre.

Reflecting on his start in Chicago, De Shields shared, “After fifteen months of ‘beads, flowers, freedom, happiness,’ I assumed the role of Clorox in The Me Nobody Knows (Chicago’s Civic Theatre). Hot on the heels of that experience, Stuart Gordon invited me to become a member of The Organic Theatre Company, where, in 1971, I created the cult villain, Xander the Unconquerable, Ruler of the Sixth Dimension in Warp: The World’s First Science Fiction Epic Adventure Play In Serial Form. The Organic achieved this feat fully seventeen years before Star Wars. In 1973, I debuted on Broadway in Warp (Ambassador Theatre).” While in Chicago, he garnered two Jeff Awards (Victory Gardens, Goodman) and a Black Theatre Alliance Award (Goodman). He is the recipient of an Emmy, a Living Legend Award, an OBIE Award and multiple Tony Award nominations. www.andredeshields.com.

Linda Kimbrough as Marie and André De Shields as James in Charles Smith’s The Gospel According To James at Victory Gardens Theater. Photo by Liz Lauren

Through June 12, you can catch him at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park, where he is currently starring as the title character in the Chicago Premiere of Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James, directed by Chuck Smith. The cast also features Linda Kimbrough (Marie), Kelsey Brennan (Mary), Wardell Julius Clark (Tommy Shipp), Zach Kenney (Claude), Diane Kondrat (Bea Ball), Christopher Jon Martin (Hoot Ball), Anthony Peeples (Apples), Tyler Jacob Rollinson (Abe Smith) and Nick Vidal (Claude).

The Victory Gardens production of The Gospel According to James, follows the well-received world premiere, which was commissioned by Indiana Repertory Theatre and presented by Bingham McHale from March 22-April 10, 2011.

Anthony Peeples as Apples, Zach Kenney as Claude and Kelsey Brennan as Mary in Charles Smith’s The Gospel According To James at Victory Gardens Theater. Photo by Liz Lauren

The double lynching immortalized by the iconic Lawrence Beitler photograph served as playwright Charles Smith’s inspiration for The Gospel According to James. The play is set in 1930 in Marion, Indiana, where five young people are eager to break out of their small town. They need a car. They have a gun. The play creates a fictional meeting between James Cameron (De Shields) who survived the lynching and Mary Ball, the only woman with them that night. Years later, contradictory memories are all that’s left of their grand plans. As The Gospel According to James dramatizes the events leading up to the crime, it also explores how unreliable personal memory underlies what we believe to be an immutable public history.

Diane Kondrat as Bea Ball and Christopher Jon Martin as Hoot Ball in Charles Smith’s The Gospel According To James at Victory Gardens Theater. Photo by Liz Lauren

The production team for The Gospel According to James includes scenic design by Linda Buchanan, costume design by Rachel Healey, lighting design by Kathy Perkins, compositions and sound design by Ray Nardelli.

Remaining Performance Schedule:
Thursdays: 7:30 pm
Fridays: 7:30 pm
Saturdays: 4:00 pm, 7:30 pm
Sundays: 3:00 pm

Victory Gardens Biograph Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park. Tickets are $20-$50.The Box Office is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago. Call 773.871.3000, online at victorygardens.org or email tickets@victorygardens.org.

Other Articles on Andre De Shields:
André De Shields set for Chicago Premiere of Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at the Victory Gardens Biograph
Photos: De Shields, McClendon, Elisa, Glasco, Nemser, Phillips, Thompson at The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy Reading
Spend Valentine’s Day with André De Shields in The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy at the Abingdon Theatre
André De Shields and Charlayne Woodard are featured in Red Bull Theater’s Off Broadway Production of The Witch of Edmonton
André De Shields leads cast of Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss at Abrons Arts Center
Andre Dé Shields is having a Devilishly Good Time in Damn Yankees at The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport
Photos of André De Shields in Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory: From Douglass to Deliverance
Achieving the American Dream, Professional Charmer Andre De Shields Sees Theater is a Way to Life
André De Shields Celebrates Black History Month Starring in The Working Theater’s Production of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory at The Abingdon in February 2010
Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe, MTC’s Ruined are Top Winners at 2009 Audelcos
Multimedia: Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe Opening Night Party Photos
Multimedia: Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe
André De Shields and Reg E. Cathey Star in Cato at The Flea
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

June 9, 2011
Categories: African American Artists, Andre de Shields, Entertainment, Theater, Travel . Tags: Andre de Shields, Anthony Peeples, Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, Bingham McHale, Charles Smith, Chicago, Christopher Jon Martin, Chuck Smith, Diane Kondrat, double lynching, Indiana, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Indianapolis, Keith Gallagher, Kelsey Brennan, Knock Me a Kiss, Lawrence Beitler, Legacy Creative Arts Company, Lia Chang, Linda Kimbrough, Marcus Hendrick, Marion, New Federal Theatre, The Gospel According to James, Tyler Jacob Rollinson, Victory Gardens Theater . Author: Lia Chang . Comments: Leave a Comment

Lia Chang

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: The Gospel According to James’ André De Shields, Charles Smith, Chuck Smith, Tyler Jacob Rollinson and Wardell Julius Clark Nominated for Black Theater Alliance Awards

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

Lia Chang: André De Shields to Direct Reading of Jacqueline Malcolm’s The Trade at The Player’s Club on July 19, 2011

Lia Chang: André De Shields in Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at the Victory Gardens Biograph through June 12

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