Thumping Claw One Acts return (May08)

Producers Andrea Apuy, David J. Lee, Neil Sehgal, and Ewan Chung present “Thumping Claw 2008”, four original one-acts written by acclaimed and emerging Asian American playwrights. The show will run at the Actor’s Playpen in Hollywood from May 22 to June 22.

After a run of sold-out shows and glowing reviews last summer, this year’s show features writers from both coasts for another fresh and topical theatrical experience, including Julia Cho (“Post It”, directed by Leslie Ishii), Lloyd Suh (“Happy Birthday William Abernathy”, dir. David J. Lee), Michael Golamco (“Please Stand By”, dir. Heidi Helen Davis), and Carla Ching (“Dissipating Heat”, dir. Darrell Kunitomi).

Why more one-acts? Producer-director Lee explains, “There really isn't much of a market out there for them. Everything in theater and film is about full-lengths, and I like the fact that Thumping Claw provides a venue for compelling stories that don't need a full 90 minutes to be told.”

“Thumping Claw” not only provides such a venue but also gives back to charity. “I always find it interesting when Asian American artists band together to do something,” says writer Julia Cho. “I like the combination of community and art, and it's something I very much want to support.” A portion of this year’s ticket sales will go towards the Chinese Parents Assocation for the Disabled (www.cpad.org), “a non-profit organization dedicated to help individuals with special needs and their families (e.g., autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy).” Autism also happens to be the theme of Golamco’s piece, “Please Stand By”.

This combination of art and charity leads to Thumping Claw’s motto: Make some noise. Leave your mark. Director Heidi Helen Davis agrees: “I fully expect that the people at the helm of this company will maintain the integrity and excellence they have shown, and this will be a most vital place for actors, writers and directors to create important theatre. I am proud to be involved with this group of artists.”

“Thumping Claw 2008” runs Fridays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $22 at the door and $18 online. Discount tickets are available for large groups, seniors, and students. Tickets can be purchased at www.BrownPaperTickets.com. Directions to the theatre can be found at www.theactorsplaypen.com. Street parking available. Visit www.thumpingclaw.com for the latest updates.

Originally from Los Angeles, CARLA CHING is a playwright and teaching artist with The New Victory Theater, Lincoln Center Institute, and Young Playwrights. She wrote and performed with the pan-Asian performance collective Peeling for 3½ years. Her work with Peeling appeared at Second Stage Theater, The Asian American Writers Workshop, NYU, Rutgers, Cornell, Columbia, and St. Mark’s Theater. Her full-length plays include TBA (Second Generation/ Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center), DIRTY (finalist for the Cherrylane Mentorship Project; readings by Interborough Repertory Theater and Cannery Works/Stamford Center for the Arts), YELLOW GIRL, FOUND OBJECTS, and THE RIPPLE EFFECT. Short plays include NEXT BIG THING (Vampire Cowboys/Battle Ranch), THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF LITTLE GOTH GIRL (Second Generation/Public Theater), MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION (Ma-Yi commission/Ohio Theater), DISSIPATING HEAT (Desipina and Company/Tenement Theater, finalist for the Heideman Award from the Actors Theater of Louisville), CAUGHT (No-Pants Theater Company/Manhattan Theater Source), and FIRST (Above Ground Theater Company/Trilogy Theater Annex). Her upcoming play, BIG BLIND/LITTLE BLIND, is about a futuristic high-stakes poker game for an organ transplant in a world beset by a new kind of plague. She served as an artist delegate with Ma-Yi, The Hip Hop Theater Festival, and The Foundry at the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya in January 2007, and then at the US Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia in June 2007. She is a member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab and the Dramatist Guild. BA, Vassar College. MFA, Actors Studio Drama School.

JULIA CHO’s plays include THE PIANO TEACHER, DURANGO, THE WINCHESTER HOUSE, BFE, THE ARCHITECTURE OF LOSS and 99 HISTORIES. Her work has been produced at The Vineyard Theatre, The Public Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, South Coast Repertory, New York Theatre Workshop, East West Players, The Theatre@Boston Court, Theater Mu and Silk Road Theatre Project among others. Honors include the 2005 Barrie Stavis Award, the 2005 Claire Tow Award for Emerging Artists and the 2004 L. Arnold Weissberger Award. An alumna of the Juilliard School and NYU's Graduate Dramatic Writing Program, Julia is currently a resident playwright at New Dramatists. Her plays are available from Dramatists Play Service and www.playscripts.com.

MICHAEL GOLAMCO writes for both stage and screen. He was a Top 50 Project Greenlight screenwriter and Top 15 finalist for the ABC/Disney Writing Fellowship, and his award-winning short film DRAGON OF LOVE (Dir. Doan La) is currently running on The Sundance Channel. His plays have been produced at theaters across North America and published in multiple anthologies. His last full-length play, COWBOY VERSUS SAMURAI, has seen six productions since its premiere in New York City in November, 2005; it has also been published in Smith and Kraus’s “New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2006” and “The Best Stage Scenes of 2006.” His current full-length theater projects include BUILD, written under commission from actors Daniel Dae Kim and Joel de la Fuente, and YEAR ZERO, a comedic drama about young Cambodian Americans living in Long Beach, California.
You can find Mike on the web at: www.michaelgolamco.com.

LLOYD SUH is the author of AMERICAN HWANGAP (Ojai Playwrights Conf., NYS&F, Lark BareBones, NYSCA grant, McCarter Theatre Center IN-Festival), THE CHILDREN OF VONDERLY (produced by Ma-Yi, NYFA Fellowship), THE GARDEN VARIETY (South Coast Rep commission), and MASHA NO HOME (first produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre; West Coast premiere at East West Players), along with several shorter plays including WITH A HAMMER & A NAIL (EST/Youngblood), NOT ALL KOREAN GIRLS CAN FLY (EST/Marathon), and X5000, a play for children being presented as part of City Theatre of Miami's annual Short Cuts tour this summer. He is Artistic Director of Second Generation, where he has produced world premiere productions by Carla Ching, Julia Cho and Michael Golamco among others, and Co-Director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, the largest resident company of Asian American playwrights ever assembled.
List of credits:
* The Children of Vonderly, produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company, October 2007.
* American Hwangap, presented at the Ojai Playwrights Conference, Summer 2007.
* American Hwangap, presented at New York Stage & Film's Vassar Powerhouse Season, Summer 2007.
* American Hwangap, presented at the McCarter Theatre Center's IN-Festival, January 2007.
* Not All Korean Girls Can Fly, presented in the Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon, 2006.
* Masha No Home, produced at East West Players, 2003.
* Masha No Home, produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 2003.

Questions? Email



	Return Of “The Thumping Claw” One-Acts Series, May 22 At Actor’s Playpen Producers Andrea Apuy, David J. Lee, Neil Sehgal, and Ewan Chung present “Thumping Claw 2008”, four original one-acts written by acclaimed and emerging Asian American playwrights. The show will run at the Actor’s Playpen in Hollywood from May 22 to June 22. After a run of sold-out shows and glowing reviews last summer, this year’s show features writers from both coasts for another fresh and topical theatrical experience, including Julia Cho (“Post It”, directed by Leslie Ishii), Lloyd Suh (“Happy Birthday William Abernathy”, dir. David J. Lee), Michael Golamco (“Please Stand By”, dir. Heidi Helen Davis), and Carla Ching (“Dissipating Heat”, dir. Darrell Kunitomi). Why more one-acts? Producer-director Lee explains, “There really isn't much of a market out there for them. Everything in theater and film is about full-lengths, and I like the fact that Thumping Claw provides a venue for compelling stories that don't need a full 90 minutes to be told.” “Thumping Claw” not only provides such a venue but also gives back to charity. “I always find it interesting when Asian American artists band together to do something,” says writer Julia Cho. “I like the combination of community and art, and it's something I very much want to support.” A portion of this year’s ticket sales will go towards the Chinese Parents Assocation for the Disabled (www.cpad.org), “a non-profit organization dedicated to help individuals with special needs and their families (e.g., autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy).” Autism also happens to be the theme of Golamco’s piece, “Please Stand By”. This combination of art and charity leads to Thumping Claw’s motto: Make some noise. Leave your mark. Director Heidi Helen Davis agrees: “I fully expect that the people at the helm of this company will maintain the integrity and excellence they have shown, and this will be a most vital place for actors, writers and directors to create important theatre. I am proud to be involved with this group of artists.” “Thumping Claw 2008” runs Fridays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $22 at the door and $18 online. Discount tickets are available for large groups, seniors, and students. Tickets can be purchased at www.BrownPaperTickets.com. Directions to the theatre can be found at www.theactorsplaypen.com. Street parking available. Visit www.thumpingclaw.com for the latest updates. BIOS: Originally from Los Angeles, CARLA CHING is a playwright and teaching artist with The New Victory Theater, Lincoln Center Institute, and Young Playwrights. She wrote and performed with the pan-Asian performance collective Peeling for 3½ years. Her work with Peeling appeared at Second Stage Theater, The Asian American Writers Workshop, NYU, Rutgers, Cornell, Columbia, and St. Mark’s Theater. Her full-length plays include TBA (Second Generation/ Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center), DIRTY (finalist for the Cherrylane Mentorship Project; readings by Interborough Repertory Theater and Cannery Works/Stamford Center for the Arts), YELLOW GIRL, FOUND OBJECTS, and THE RIPPLE EFFECT. Short plays include NEXT BIG THING (Vampire Cowboys/Battle Ranch), THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF LITTLE GOTH GIRL (Second Generation/Public Theater), MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION (Ma-Yi commission/Ohio Theater), DISSIPATING HEAT (Desipina and Company/Tenement Theater, finalist for the Heideman Award from the Actors Theater of Louisville), CAUGHT (No-Pants Theater Company/Manhattan Theater Source), and FIRST (Above Ground Theater Company/Trilogy Theater Annex). Her upcoming play, BIG BLIND/LITTLE BLIND, is about a futuristic high-stakes poker game for an organ transplant in a world beset by a new kind of plague. She served as an artist delegate with Ma-Yi, The Hip Hop Theater Festival, and The Foundry at the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya in January 2007, and then at the US Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia in June 2007. She is a member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab and the Dramatist Guild. BA, Vassar College. MFA, Actors Studio Drama School. JULIA CHO’s plays include THE PIANO TEACHER, DURANGO, THE WINCHESTER HOUSE, BFE, THE ARCHITECTURE OF LOSS and 99 HISTORIES. Her work has been produced at The Vineyard Theatre, The Public Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, South Coast Repertory, New York Theatre Workshop, East West Players, The Theatre@Boston Court, Theater Mu and Silk Road Theatre Project among others. Honors include the 2005 Barrie Stavis Award, the 2005 Claire Tow Award for Emerging Artists and the 2004 L. Arnold Weissberger Award. An alumna of the Juilliard School and NYU's Graduate Dramatic Writing Program, Julia is currently a resident playwright at New Dramatists. Her plays are available from Dramatists Play Service and www.playscripts.com. MICHAEL GOLAMCO writes for both stage and screen. He was a Top 50 Project Greenlight screenwriter and Top 15 finalist for the ABC/Disney Writing Fellowship, and his award-winning short film DRAGON OF LOVE (Dir. Doan La) is currently running on The Sundance Channel. His plays have been produced at theaters across North America and published in multiple anthologies. His last full-length play, COWBOY VERSUS SAMURAI, has seen six productions since its premiere in New York City in November, 2005; it has also been published in Smith and Kraus’s “New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2006” and “The Best Stage Scenes of 2006.” His current full-length theater projects include BUILD, written under commission from actors Daniel Dae Kim and Joel de la Fuente, and YEAR ZERO, a comedic drama about young Cambodian Americans living in Long Beach, California. You can find Mike on the web at: www.michaelgolamco.com. LLOYD SUH is the author of AMERICAN HWANGAP (Ojai Playwrights Conf., NYS&F, Lark BareBones, NYSCA grant, McCarter Theatre Center IN-Festival), THE CHILDREN OF VONDERLY (produced by Ma-Yi, NYFA Fellowship), THE GARDEN VARIETY (South Coast Rep commission), and MASHA NO HOME (first produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre; West Coast premiere at East West Players), along with several shorter plays including WITH A HAMMER & A NAIL (EST/Youngblood), NOT ALL KOREAN GIRLS CAN FLY (EST/Marathon), and X5000, a play for children being presented as part of City Theatre of Miami's annual Short Cuts tour this summer. He is Artistic Director of Second Generation, where he has produced world premiere productions by Carla Ching, Julia Cho and Michael Golamco among others, and Co-Director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, the largest resident company of Asian American playwrights ever assembled. List of credits: * The Children of Vonderly, produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company, October 2007. * American Hwangap, presented at the Ojai Playwrights Conference, Summer 2007. * American Hwangap, presented at New York Stage & Film's Vassar Powerhouse Season, Summer 2007. * American Hwangap, presented at the McCarter Theatre Center's IN-Festival, January 2007. * Not All Korean Girls Can Fly, presented in the Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon, 2006. * Masha No Home, produced at East West Players, 2003. * Masha No Home, produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 2003. Home \| News \| Calendar \| Directory \| Plays \| Library/Storefront \| Timeline Copyright 2008, Roger W. Tang Questions? Email

Return Of “The Thumping Claw” One-Acts Series, May 22 At Actor’s Playpen