Ching Chong Chinaman
Full length
3M, 3W
The ultra-assimilated Wong family is as Chinese-American as apple pie: teenager Upton dreams of World of Warcraft superstardom; his sister Desi dreams of early admission to Princeton. Unfortunately, Upton’s chores and homework get in the way of his 24/7 videogaming, and Desi’s math grades don’t fit the Asian-American stereotype. Then Upton comes up with a novel solution for both problems: he acquires a Chinese indentured servant, who harbors an American dream of his own.
Production history:
[2010] Pan Asian Rep (New York City) upcoming production
[2010] SIS Productions (Seattle) upcoming production
[2009] Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis) production
[2008] Impact Theatre (Berkeley, CA) production
[2008] Guthrie Theatre/Asian American Theater Conference (Minneapolis) reading
[2008] UCSC Rainbow Theatre (Santa Cruz, CA) production
[2008] Impact Theatre (Berkeley, CA) reading
[2008] Mu Performing Arts New Eyes Festival (Minneapolis) reading
[2007] New York International Fringe Festival (New York) showcase
[2007] Horizon Theatre (Atlanta) reading
[2007] Yale University (New Haven) reading
Awards:
[2010] Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Paula Vogel Award in Playwriting winner
[2009] PEN USA Literary Award for Drama finalist
[2009] City Pages Top 10 play of 2009
[2009] Jane Chambers Playwriting Award honorable mention
[2008] Princess Grace Award finalist
[2008] East Bay Express Top 10 play of 2008
[2008] Ford Foundation Emerging Writers of Color Fellowship winner
[2007] Yale Playwrights Festival winner
[2007] Kumu Kahua Theatre’s Pacific Rim Prize winner
Crevice
Full length
3M, 2W
Unemployed twentysomething siblings Liz and Rob get lives. Or try to. Commissioned by PlayGround.
Production history:
[2009] Best of PlayGround Festival (San Francisco) reading
Highrise
Full length
2M, 1W
Brothers Jeremy and Ethan have been fending for themselves all their lives. When Ethan visits his brother for an investment banking job interview, the bond of brotherhood is truly tested as a life of sibling rivalry and the promise of status and wealth threaten to come between the ambitious young men.
Production history:
[2007] City Lights Theatre Company (San Jose, CA) reading
Our Peculiar Institution
One act
2M, 2W
Through the lens of minstrelsy, the institution of slavery and concepts of ownership are tilted in comic relief as a newly married man returns to his family’s long-abandoned ancestral plantation, ready to start a new life. Yet, what he and his young wife find there threatens their nascent marriage and the very ground they tread on.
Production history:
[2009] Bay Area Playwrights Festival (San Francisco) reading
Over the Asian Airwaves
One act
3M, 3W
In the heyday of old-time radio, a young, idealistic Asian American woman and her motley crew prepare for the biggest broadcast of their lives. A fast-paced 1940s farce.
Production history:
[2009] Three Wise Monkeys/Asian American Theater Company (San Francisco) production
[2007] EndTimes Productions (New York City) production
[2005] Playwrights Project (San Diego) production
[2004] Horizon Theatre (Atlanta) reading
[2003] Asian American Theater Collaborative (Boston) production
Samsara
Full length
3M, 2W
When American couple Katie and Craig vow to make a last-ditch effort to create a baby of their own, their quest leads them to India, where a thriving commercial surrogacy industry offers them one final chance at parenthood. But will their decision to “rent out” a surrogate unite or divide them? A hilarious, unsettling look at reproduction in the 21st century, Samsara questions whether we can truly achieve intimacy in the face of shrinking worlds and expanding boundaries.
Production history:
[2009] Desipina (New York City) reading
[2009] Exit Theatre/DIVAfest (San Francisco) reading
Shorter plays include:
CAUTION
Escaping Chinatown
Giving Up the Ghost
In the Beginning Again
The Life and Death of Joshua Zweig
Lives of the Formerly French
Mother Tongue
Zachary Zwillinger Eats People
