LoNyLa

 

LoNyLa announces the Year of the Dragon Readings, an initiative to bridge the East-West divide and develop new plays by Asian writers or writers of Asian descent.

 

A joint effort by LoNyLa London, LoNyLa Hong Kong (in partnership with Hong Kong Dramatists) and Singapore Liaison Drayton Hiers of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Asia, the reading series will involve broadcasting the new work over the Internet and conducting a three-city feedback loop. Similar to LoNyLa’s transatlantic vLab, audiences need only click on a hyperlink to view the reading on computers from offices and homes.

 

LoNyLa London will do readings of three new plays: NEWS TO A MUSE by Richard Chang, THE EVOLUTION OF GOD by Shawn Hirabayashi and ALAMEDA by Jeremy Tiang.

 

LoNyLa Hong Hong will broadcast HOME.LAND by Janice Poon and THE ISLE by Poon Wai Sum.

 

A new play by Chong Tze Chien and an up-and-coming playwright (TBA) will be streamed live from Singapore.

 

Bios of the Writers:

 

Richard Chang (New York City) is a Malaysian-born playwright-performer based in New York. An Urban Artist Initiative fellow, he is a long-time collaborator with Chinese Theater Works where he has served as co-writer and co-director, and originated many roles. His solo comedy, Goy Vey! Adventures of a Dim Sun in Search of his Wanton Father, debuted at Pan Asian Rep and has toured as far as the Leeds Jewish International Performing Arts Festival. He is completing a play about Wong Chin Foo, a 19th century civil rights activist who was the first to call himself Chinese American. Richard’s principal screen roles include New York, I Love You, No Menus Please, Saving Face, Windhorse and Kidnapped (NBC).

 

Chong Tze Chien (Singapore): TBA

 

Shawn Hirabayashi (Louisville, KY) has been working at his craft since 1989 during which time he has authored 18 plays that have been produced at various theatres (e.g., Southern Rep, Vital, Ripple Productions, Circle Rep Lab, Sundog, One Dream). During that time he has garnered three awards (Berrilla Kerr, OOBR, and New Play Bacchanal), a residency (New River Dramatists), been commissioned (Wildcard Productions, Starfish Theatreworks, and Reckless), and earned an MFA in playwriting from the Yale School of Drama.

 

Janice Poon (Hong Kong) is a writer and theatre professional based in Hong Kong who has been awarded the Asian Cultural Council Lee Hysan Foundation fellowship to pursue research on dramaturgy and new play development in the United States for twelve months in the year 2010-11. Poon created Hong Kong’s first literary department as a member of PIP Theatre Limited. She has edited six publications on Hong Kong theatre and culture; created and performed original solo works and collaborated on major productions with some of the most important experimental theatre companies in Hong Kong. Four of her plays received staged readings in the Hong Kong Playwright Scheme, the Lark Play Development Center and the Martin E. Segal Theatre in New York.

 

Poon Wai Sum (Hong Kong) is the Artistic Director of Prospects Theatre Co., Hong Kong and Teaching Consultant/Visiting Lecturer in Playwriting and Dramatic Literature At Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He has been commissioned by almost all of the professional theatre companies in Hong Kong for new works. Some of the awards he gained include Award for Arts Achievement, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, 2003; Awardee of The Secretary for Home Affairs’ Commendation Scheme, Home Affairs Bureau, 2006. Spiders In Meditation, one of his award-winning plays, was translated into German and stage-read by Germany’s Dusseldorf Theatre House.

 

Jeremy Tiang (London) is a Singaporean writer and translator. He trained as an actor at Drama Centre London after reading English at Oxford. His version of A Dream of Red Pavilions, adapted from the 18th century Chinese classic Hong Lou Meng and developed by Yellow Earth Theatre, received a staged reading from Pan Asian Repertory Theatre in Dec 2011. Other work includes Polyglottalstop, godshaped hole and Operation Opera. Jeremy won the Golden Point Award 2009 for his short story Trondheim, was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize 2011, and recently completed a residency with the University of Iowa on the International Writing Program.

 
 
 
 

[email protected] is | Topic: Events | Tags: None

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 11th, 2011 at 1:11 pm and is filed under Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.