Vietnam Project II Press Release

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New York City 10036
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www.ksa-pr.com
February 15, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press contact: Brett Oberman at Keith Sherman & Associates, 212-764-7900, brett@ksa-pr.com
VIETNAM PROJECT II: PAST AND PRESENT
MARCH 18 - 26, 2011
MARCH 30 – APRIL 17, 2011
TWO PLAYS CELEBRATING VIETNAMESE TRADITION AND ARTISTRY
AT THE WEST END THEATRE, 263 W 86TH STREET (THE CHURCH OF ST. PAUL & ST. ANDREW)
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WWW. P AN A SIAN R EP.ORG
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Three years ago, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre made history when they presented their Vietnam
Project, featuring the first professional production to be performed in Vietnamese on a New York
stage. This spring, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre will continue their pioneering tradition of presenting
bilingual productions with Vietnam Project II: Past and Present at the West End Theatre (263 W. 86th
Street between Broadway & West End Avenue in the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, 2nd floor). The
second edition series will offer two productions from Vietnamese-American playwrights: We Are
written and directed by Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc, a bilingual production, performed in Vietnamese and
English, incorporating the traditions of Vietnam’s rich cultural past, and Monster by Derek Nguyen and
directed by Kaipo Schwab, an English language modern day detective drama.
We Are plays March 18th – 26th. Featuring an international cast from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and
North America, We Are fuses Vietnamese legend and traditional theatrical techniques such as Cai
Luong (southern style of opera), and movement. We Are introduces five powerful female characters in
five chapters that explore the historical legacy of Vietnamese women who marry or work abroad. We
Are features Lê Khanh, Thái Hòa Lê, Ngoc Dang, Leon Le, Nguyen thi Minh Ngọc, Chantal Thuy and
Tienne Vu. The scenic design is by Kim Tran; costume design by Bao Tron Chi; and lighting design by
Ji-youn Chang. The music by Trịnh Cong Son is performed by singer Kim Minh and guitarist Duc Tri.
The translation is by Ian Bui.
Monster plays March 30th – April 17th. Set in the California desert suburb of Sun Valley, Detective Tran
investigates the disappearance of a Vietnamese high school student following a brutal hate crime—but
as the case unfolds, he discovers that nobody is completely innocent…not even himself. Monster is a
surreal contemporary film-noir play that intermixes truth with fact. A journey in which perspective
manipulates objectivity and guilt fuses with innocence. Playwright Derek Nguyen, who identifies as
both an American and a Vietnamese “boat person,” began writing Monster when the Columbine
massacre dominated the headlines and when the U.S. was reflecting on the 25th Anniversary of the
Fall of Saigon. Monster features Daniel Lê as Detective Tran, Deanna Gibson, Justin R. G. Holcomb,
Tonia Jackson, Brad Lewandowski, Patricia Randell, Claro de los Reyes, and Tran T. Thuc Hanh. The
scenic design is by Gian Marco Lo Forte; costume design by Carol Pelletier; lighting design by Ji-youn
Chang and video coordinator is Rocco D’Santi.
“We are proud to present this 2nd installment of our Vietnam Project,” says Tisa Chang, Artistic
Producing Director of Pan Asian Rep. “We Are is informed by traditional Vietnamese legend and
presentational styles. Monster is a contemporary story with Vietnamese Americans at its center
reflecting the vestiges of the Vietnam War. So we have subtitled this year’s Vietnam Project Past and
Present. Two plays that are centuries apart in their inspiration, but joined together by one rich culture.”
We Are is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Pan Asian is
supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years
of building strong, creative communities in New York State’s 62 counties; the New York City
Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; Queens Council member Peter
Koo; Shubert and Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundations. Educational programs are supported, in
part, by MetLife Foundation and Con Edison.
GENERAL LISTING INFORMATION: Pan Asian Rep’s Vietnam Project II: Past and Present runs at
the West End Theatre (263 W. 86th Street between Broadway & West End Avenue in the Church of
St. Paul & St. Andrew, 2nd floor) March 18 – April 17. We Are will run March 18th – 26th; Tuesday –
Saturday at 7:30PM with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 3PM. Monster plays March 30th – April
17th; Tuesday – Saturday at 7:30PM with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:30PM.
Via Subway,
take the 1 train to 86th Street. Tickets are $45 with discounts available during Community Nights,
Previews, and for seniors and students, call OvationTix at 212-352-3101. Group discounts are
available by calling 212-868-4030. For more information about Vietnam Project II, Pan Asian Rep and
a schedule of weekday student matinee performances for middle and high school students, visit
www.PanAsianRep.org.
**A limited number of tickets are available to the public for the Opening Night performance of We Are (March 18 at 7:30pm) and Monster
(April 5 at 7:00pm). Tickets are $75 each and include a post-show party with the artists. Call Pan Asian Rep to purchase 212-868-4030.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc (Playwright and Director, We Are) is a theatre director, writer, playwright, theatrical
professor, and principal of Tran Huu Trang Theater (a traditional arts training school), journalist and cofounder of Small Theatre, an initiative to reinvigorate the performing arts in Vietnam. She has written and
directed many plays and screenplays, including Hai Nguyet, which won the “A” prize of the National Cinema
Association and was shown at the 3 Continents Festival in Nantes, France 1998, and the upcoming
Vietnamese feature film that will be internationally released, Oriental Pearls.
Derek Nguyen (Playwright, Monster) fled Vietnam as a child and was raised in the U.S. His exploration of
identity and connection to his birthplace, both of which are indelibly linked to US involvement in Vietnam
resonate within this East Coast premiere. Other Plays include Mother's Milk (Mark Taper Forum
commission), A Slight Itch (Y2K New Voices Playwriting Award), Lee/Gendary (three 2009 New York
Innovative Theater Awards including Best Production of a Play). His screenplays include Seeing Red (dir:
Liselle Mei and Joan Chen), Noguchi (dir. Risa Morimoto), and The Potential Wives Of Norman Mao (dir. Derek Nguyen).
He's received a NYFA grant, a Van Lier Fellowship at New York Theatre Workshop, IFP No Borders Program fellowship,
Tribeca Film Festival's All-Access fellowship, and a Sundance Screenwriters Lab fellowship.
TISA CHANG (Artistic Producing Director, Pan Asian Rep) is a director and producer. She founded Pan
Asian Repertory Theatre to empower Asian American artists and to expand the repertoire of American
Theatre, and has guided the company to achieve national and international recognition. She has directed
extensively for the late Ellen Stewart’s La Mama Chinese Theatre Group with bilingual premieres of Return
of the Phoenix, A Servant of Two Masters, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Thunderstorm. Highlights for
Pan Asian Rep include: The Joy Luck Club by Susan Kim based on the novel by Amy Tan, Cambodia Agonistes by
Ernest Abuba with music by Louis Stewart; Rashomon by Fay & Michael Kanin which was invited to the Havana Theatre
Festival in September 2003. Tisa is a member of SDC, the union of stage directors & choreographers, where she served
on its Executive Board for 13 years, and is on the Board of CAATA, the newly formed Coalition of 11 National Asian
American Theatres in the USA.
Founded in 1977, PAN ASIAN REPERTORY THEATRE is the East Coast’s most veteran producer of Asian American
theatre. For 34 years, Pan Asian Rep has celebrated the artistic expressiveness of Asian and American theatre artists
under the highest standards of professional excellence creating Asian classics and Newworks. Under the direction of Tisa
Chang, the company's renowned Masterpieces from China, Japan, India, Korea, Cambodia, Tibet, and Asian America,
bring under-represented themes to American audiences while deepening their understanding of Asian American cultural
heritage.
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