Six-hour epic play to be staged in Inglewood Amphitheater in April/May
[Los Angeles, March 8, 2017] Lee Chen, an actor from China and a performer in Chairman Mao Zedong’s propaganda troop in her childhood, joins the cast of Henry Ong’s epic six-hour stage adaptation of “Dream of the Red Chamber.” “Dream” will be performed at the Inglewood Amphitheater in Edward Vincent Jr Park, behind the Agree Playhouse, 714 Warren Land, Inglewood, this spring. The project is funded, in part, by an Inglewood Growing Artists Performed Project (IGAPP) Creative Services Contract; the program exposes Inglewood audiences to the practices of contemporary artists and supports the work and growth of artists.
“Dream of the Red Chamber,” based on Ts’ao Hsueh Ch’in’s romance novel, tells a moral fable intertwined with realism and the supernatural. The lively comedy of manners revolves around two central characters (Pao-yu and his cousin, Black Jade), detailing the decline of the Chia family during the early Ching dynasty.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of this project,” said Lee, who has played Chinese mothers in about 30 productions in the last five years. Among other roles, she will portray Madam Wang, the mother of the novel’s hero, Pao-yu. “I have grown up with this beloved story and I am so pleased to share it on stage with a diverse cast. While the tale is essentially Chinese, I believe it is universal and will resonate with everyone, regardless of national or racial background.”
One of Lee’s first roles was in Ong’s “Madame Mao’s Memories,” where she played a dancer — performing Cultural Revolution dance movements created by Jiang Qing, Chairman Mao’s widow — at the Bailiwick Theatre in Chicago. Since then, she has appeared in more than 50 theater and dance productions, including “The Joy Luck Club,” “M” Butterfly,” “The Waiting Room,” “One Servant to Two Masters,” “12 Angry Women,” Beijing Opera, Japanese Butoh and Balinese Kecak in Chicago, Honolulu and Los Angeles. She also toured her original one-woman show, “Life Flies,” about her growing up in communist China and becoming an actress in the U.S. Film and TV credits include “Veep,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,”“Girl Meets World,” “Southland,” “Love Arcadia,” and “Midlife.” Last May, “Dead Bird Don’t Fly” took her to the 68th Cannes International Film Festival Short Film Corner. She won Best Supporting Actress for the short film, “Dancing for You” at the California Women’s Film Festival in July,
# # #
For more information on Actress/Teacher Lee Chen go tohttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm2011738/ http://www.leechenactress.weebly.com
Reply