Inkwell Theater (Los Angeles, CA) presents FORTUNE WHEEL
John, a Chinese-American war veteran, returns from Iraq to try to rebuild his life and reconnect with his estranged mother from Hong Kong, Betsy. However, both mother and son allow the demons of their pasts to blur into the present and threaten their chances for a normal life.
A staged reading at
VS. Theatre
5453 W. Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
March 16 through 18, 2015 at 8 pm.
Starring:
BETSY: Emily Kuroda
JOHN: Peter James Smith
MARK: Burl Moseley
ASAD: Deja Soufka
Stage Play by Joey Damiano
Joey Damiano’s play Fortune Wheel was developed at Inkwell Theater Development LAB, East West Players and Playwrights’ Arena. Joey’s plays have received readings or were performed at David Henry Hwang Theater, the Los Angeles Theatre Center, VS. Theater, Pacific Asia Museum of Pasadena and Search to Involve Pilipino Americans Community Theater (SIPA). Other works include Thrash, Piglets; Cimarron Gardens, The River and the Raft and The Audition, which was performed at the Japanese American National Museum’s opening night reception for the exhibit “Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986.” Joey is a recipient of Inkwell Theater’s Max K. Lerner Playwriting Fellowship. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (University of Southern California), a Master of Arts in English Literature (California State University, Dominguez Hills) a Master of Social Work: Community Mental Health (California State University, Fullerton) and a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies (California State University, Long Beach).
Directed by Jeff Liu
Jeff Liu is a writer, screenwriter, theater director and film director. His theatrical productions include the world premieres of: Texas, Solve for X by Judy Soo Hoo, Murderabilia, Terminus Americana (Ovation Award nominee for Best World Premiere) by Matt Pelfrey, The Golden Hour, Grace Kim and the Spiders from Mars by Philip W. Chung, The Chinese Massacre (ANNOTATED) by Tom Jacobson, and Ixnay, Wrinkles and Slice by Paul Kikuchi. Liu wrote and directed a two-part film entitled Yellow Face, based on the David Henry Hwang play of the same name, which is considered a hybrid of the stage drama, a YouTube sketch, and a short film. It premiered at the 2013 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Liu co-wrote Charlotte Sometimes, a feature film directed by Eric Byler that explores the complex relationships among four Asian Americans which won the Audience Award for Best First Feature at the 2002 South by Southwest Film Festival and was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. Previously, Liu was the Literary Manager at East West Players and the David Henry Hwang Writer’s Institute at East West Players, and Resident Director for Lodestone Theatre Ensemble during its ten year run. Liu graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley in Dramatic Art and earned his MFA in Theatre Direction from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
A unique program in Los Angeles, The Lab aims to bring the writer out of their office, or coffee shop, and into the rehearsal room. We believe that nothing benefits works-in-progress more than artistic collaboration, and are focused on developing new plays through a collaborative workshop process. We believe that by working in a rehearsal setting with a director and actors, a playwright can best further their play. During a six-week intensive process, writers will not only see and hear their original draft, but will see their re-writes, changes, and inspired ideas come to life. After all that work is accomplished, the play will be presented as a reading for leaders in the theatre community as well as our fellow artists and dedicated supporters.
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