History for
Pabley, Sonia
Sonia
Pabley is a literary agent and has been with Rosenstone/Wender, a
publishing and theatrical agency, for eight years, representing
including adult fiction and nonfiction; children's and YA books;
playwrights and screenwriters; film/tv rights, and all other subsidiary
rights. She is continuing to add new authors to her list and while open
to a variety of genres, is especially looking for narrative nonfiction;
upmarket commercial and literary fiction; smart chick lit, and humor.
She is a graduate of Columbia University.
- Sex in Other People's Houses (Lark Theatre, 2003)
In this raucous, tightly drawn work two young South Asian couples find
that marriage can get in the way of good sex...at least when it's with
their own spouse.
Pabros-Clark, Marcella
- Lina's Garden (LA Women's Theatre Festival, 2005)
Pacificar, Gregory
- Unbiased (East West 2010)
A journalist’s struggle to determine if sex + love in HIV are possible.
He risks his relationships and his own notion of right and wrong to
uncover the truth.
Padmanabhan, Manjula
- Hidden Fires (SALAAM, 2003)
A man confesses that he has 'stamped out' countless 'hidden fires' -
human lives that are less than human to him, merely faceless threats to
his own security - and then finds himself on the receiving end of the
same ruthless treatment. Taken from a series of five, powerful,
hard-hitting monologues in the the playwright tackles head-on issues of
violence, intolerance of others, narrow concepts of community and
nation, each with a twist that lifts it into the realm of real drama.
- The Mating Game (SALAAM, 2004)
Six contestants, three women, three men, prepare to face the final
round of a TV game-show designed to help themselves win a mate and a
dowry - if they're lucky. If they're unlucky, they face forfeits
including torture and death, live in front of an audience of millions.
The subtext of the play is the practice known euphemistically in the
Indian press as "Dowry Death" in which young brides who have brought
insufficient dowries are murdered by their husbands and in-laws,
frequently by being burned alive, so that the man can marry again and
gain a fresh dowry.
Paikai, Garrick
- Who Killed Gilbert Botello? (Kuma Kahua, 2017)
Gilbert Botello is dead. But who killed him? Was it the butler or the maid? Was it the eccentric tycoon or his son? Detective Roy Rodger Kalauakekahuna III and his sidekick Officer Billy Souza investigate the murder and astonishing events surrounding the untimely demise of Gilbert Botello in this comedic murder mystery. Peopled with recognizable characters, Who Killed Gilbert Botello reshapes the typical British whodunnit into a refreshing representation of Hawai'i.
Pak, Gary
- A Ricepaper Airplane (Kuma Kahua, 2002)
Kim Sung Wha is a dying man, piecing together the story of his life for
his nephew. As the old man drifts in and out of consciousness, he tells
of his days working on a sugar plantation, his Korean homeland and his
dream of building an airplane with a broken down bicycle, bamboo and
rice paper, which he would use to fly home.
- Watcher of Waipuna
Gilbert Sanchez is the Watcher of Waipuna, defending his tiny corner of paradise against evil commercial expansion and greedy family members. Based on Gary Pak's short story, this local fairy tale-like parable includes a chorus of housewives, supernatural elements, and examines the powerful connection between humans and the environment—loyalty to our land, connections to place, corporate development, and local displacement.
Pal, Anuvab
BIO:
Anuvab Pal is the author of four plays. His work has been seen at
various off-Broadway venues. In addition, his work has also been
produced at Georgetown University, Bush Theatre in London, Fringe in
Edinburgh, Artwallah in Los Angeles, STAGE Conference in Washington DC
and various theatre's in India. His second play, OUT OF FASHION and the
one-act version of CHAOS THEORY, recently received staged readings at
the prestigious Edward Albee Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Alaska.
- Out of Fashion (SALAAM, 2002)
Out of Fashion is
a historical comedy tying together missed connections of history,
fashion, romance, murder, family and The British Empire, set
under the umbrella of an India struggling to free itself. In
three acts set in three distinct time periods, it traces the history of
three generations of a famous Indian family through their accidental
altercations and unplanned romances with another particular
middle-class English family. The catalyst or the setting for these
unplanned intersections remains a particular suit shop of the highest
prestige in Saville Rowe, London, itself run by the intricate and
intimate connections of several generations of two elitist
suit-makers. The evolution of tailors, monarchs, patriots, common
men and fashion designers within the tailor shop, with time as a fuel,
accidents as the catalyst and myth as the vehicle, forms the heart of
this play of ideas.
- Chaos Theory (SALAAM, 2001)
Chaos Theory is
an intensely romantic, delayed-gratification talkie for people who dig
wordplay — you Before Sunset, Raincoat, Tumhari Amrita, Woody Allen
fans.
- Life, Love and EBITDA (Epic Theatre/SALAAM, 2003)
A dark comedy about women in the corporate world and women who are
affected by them. The play dives into an exploration of female
relationships tied to the fate of an Indian Manhole Cover company. It
tries to understand, through the hurried events of a Christmas weekend,
through the hurried interactions taking place in three large world
cities, the role global business has begun to undertake in manipulating
free will and collective hope.
- Fatwa (Alter Ego Productions, 2004)
Fatwa
is a play about the how far two people go to gain literary immortality.
Our two characters, Michael Jordan and Mohammed Ali, are not the famous
ones. They have the same names but are these two old hopeless failed
writers, who are almost dead and ready for obscurity. As a last effort,
one of them, Michael Jordan, writes a blasphemous book in an effort to
get an Islamic Death Edict (Fatwa) on his head. Sadly, the Middle East
fails to issue any edict or even respond to the novel. Pissed off, Mr.
Jordan seeks the help of Mr. Ali to perform a staged "deadly act"
before a video camera, that will apparently make both of them world
famous. Mr. Ali's only qualification to perform this act is that he
just happens to be "Middle Eastern Looking". The outcome of their brave
and amateur act is the heart of our play. Audiences can expect a comedy
that makes you think about the way America looks at the world and the
way the world looks back at America.
- The President is Coming! (SALAAM, 2007)
The truth: In 2006, President Bush made a visit to India, the first
official visit of a US head of state to the country in a long time. One
of his main goals was to meet some of the young faces responsible for
shaping "the new India" The play: In a dog-eat-dog world of constant
competitions, reality television and short-lived fame, this comedy
explores a day in the life of six ambitious young Indians who will stop
at nothing because THE PRESIDENT IS COMING.
Pamatmat, A. Rey
BIO:
A. Rey Pamatmat’s plays have been produced at the 2004 Queer @ HERE
Festival, the Yale Cabaret, and NYU’s Shop Theater. Staged readings of
his work have been presented at Playwrights’ Horizons, Ma-Yi Theatre
Company, Vortex Theater Company, and the Atlantic Theatre Company. His
full length play New was a 2003 PlayLabs Finalist, and Limbo was a 2002
Heidemann Award Finalist. He is a member of Ma-Yi’s Writer’s Lab, The
HB Playwrights’ Foundation Playwrights’ Unit, and is currently in the
Mabou Mines Resident Artist Program/Suite. Pamatmat recently received
his M.F.A in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama.
- Deviant (Vortex Theatre, 2005)
Worlds collide when Sara and Valerie — a couple pursuing the American
dream — find out their new roommate James is a gay prostitute too jaded
to believe that dreams still matter. When lives and dreams intertwine
in the too-close quarters of their New York apartment, this unlikely
trio turn to art, drugs, and each other while searching for ways to
connect. At once gritty and poignantly lyrical, this new play by rising
Filipino playwright A. Rey Pamatmat signals an exciting new voice in
American theater.
- Beautiful Day (Ma-Yi, 2006)
Felicia, Joey, Kat, and Matthew reunite for a wedding in their small
hometown of Port Huron, Michigan — a town that changes only as much as
it stays the same. Navigating through their old haunts, a traditional
marriage, sexual experimentation, a trouble-making bridesmaid, and
their own dead hurts, the four friends are forced to examine the people
they were, are, and want to be in the six nights preceding one
beautiful day.
- Thunder Above, Deeps Below (2g Productions, 2007)
Three homeless young friends - a Filipina-American with a hidden past,
a Filipina transsexual, and a Puerto-Rican hustler - struggle on the
streets of Chicago to scrounge up enough cash to bus it to San
Francisco before the winter cold hits. All is going according to plan
until Theresa dreams of a bearded man searching for her on Lake
Michigan, a mystery man in sunglasses stalks Gil after he becomes the
star performer at a drag club, a wealthy john appears to be falling in
love with Hector, and Marisol - the assistant manager of a doughnut
shop - begins practicing magic on them with her cups of far-too-strong
coffee. With their hopes and friendships put to the test, will the trio
be able to spare some change?
- Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them (2012)
Three kids — Kenny, his sister Edith, and their friend Benji — are all
but abandoned on a farm in remotest Middle America. With little adult
supervision, they feed and care for each other, making up the rules as
they go.
- after all the terrible things I do (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, 2013)
"A poignant, new American drama finds Daniel, a writer, fresh out of
college, returning to his Midwestern hometown to regain his sense of
self. He takes a job at a local bookstore owned by Linda, an émigré
from the Philippines, and soon after, they realize their connection is
much deeper than a shared love of literature. Together they will have
to face the trauma of their pasts to create second chances for
themselves — but can they find forgiveness?"
- The Shotgun Message (The Private Theatre, 2015)
Journalist Kent MacDonald is no saint and certainly no savior. At least
he never meant to be until 17-year-old Jared winds up missing. Moving
through a lurid world of online sex, naīve parents, and kids who know
too much, it’s up to Kent to find Jared, bring him home, and perhaps
rescue both their souls in the process.
- House Rules (Ma-Yi, 2015)
Rod knows the game is fixed. JJ hates his hand. Twee doesn't think winning is enough. Momo's learning the rules. And why the hell is Henry still playing? Two pairs of siblings (and some guy named Henry) panic when they realize their parents won't always be around to hold all the cards.
- Blood in Your Blood (Ma-Yi, 2017)
Star-crossed lovers, fractured time, and a lusty troll are all connected to the violent, buried history of Cora's family. In her quest to find out how, Cora discovers an enchanted tree that might have the answers tangled up in its roots. But once she digs up the past, what will she do with it ...
- Here Are Our Monsters (Intersect Theatre, 2018)
The play takes place in a post-marriage-equality America, and is about a gay man who proposes to his fiancé.
Panganiban, Conrad A.
- Thicker Than Wine (Bindlestiff Studio, 2011)
A
Dramatic One-Act set in the Philippines during the 1890šs between two
aristocratic brothers where one questions the loyalties between his
family, its allegiance to the colonizing country of Spain and a people
fighting for land, equality and freedom.
- Romero and Julianne (06 Ensemble, 2012)
A soon-to-be homeless man pleads his case to keep his abode through the
use of broken Old-English from a city worker desperate to keep herself
and her own home together.
- Esperanza Means Hope (UNITY Clap Theatre, 2012)
A moving and emotionally charged play with music about the journey of a
songwriter, Esperanza, who battles domestic violence and the seemingly
indifferent stance of her father and a community she once considered
family.
- MamaSiHero (A-Squared Theatre Workshop, 2012)
A tale of love, loss, and Filipino Food is explored when a comic book
writer on the brink of losing her job comes up an idea of a new
Superhero based on her Filipino mother.
- Agent Kilikilišs Mom and his Male Order Bride (A-Squared Theatre Workshop, 2013)
Hired
assassin, Mr. Kill Kill, plots his next hit with a sexy Russian
colleague only to have his best-laid plans foiled by a surprise visit
from his Filipino mom in an Italian Bar.
- Holed Up at The Delta (Bindlestiff Studio, 2014)
The
mysterious tale of a briefcase being passed down from a Pinoy Gangster
in the 1920s to a Pinay Police Detective in 2014 in a room of an
abandoned hotel located in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood.
- Inay's Wedding Dress (Bindlestiff Studio, 2014)
Two
Filipino sisters separated by coasts, age, class, and sexual
orientation clash over a traditional Wedding Dress left to them by
their mother.
- APAT: A Quartet of Short Acts by Conrad A. Panganiban (CIRCA Pintig, 2014)
- Bang, Bang, Clap - A screenwriter goes into therapy in order to get
rid of his writeršs block caused by the constant rhythm of a
traditional Filipino dance called The Tinikling.
- The Family Fructuoso - Comedy ensues when the
"non-traditional" Asian American family of a high school senior
pretends to become the model Filipino Family in order for the daughter
to win a scholarship to a top Ivy League University.
- Infinite Line Between Me, Lolo and Loco - This
mystery explores the effects of mental health of Rizellešs grandfather
on her and her future. Rizellešs world succumbs to a family
secret that changes the roles of who is truly caring for whom?
- Tag Youšre It! - With the help of his best
friend, a young boy of color questions his identity when he notices
that no one on American television looks like him.
- Remembering Them (Sinag-tala Filipino Theater and Performing Arts Assoc.,2014)
A
tribute to the Manongs of San Franciscošs Manilatown, a security guard
unpacks a mountain of memories held within the surface of a barbershop
chair belonging to the grandfather of a curious tourist.
- Welga (Bindlestiff Studio, 2017)
Filipino American coming-of-age story of a high school teen, Johnny Montalban, whose dreams of becoming a famous musician clash with his mother's dream of him first earning his diploma. Set in San Francisco's SoMA Neighborhood, the play explores family conflict against the backdrop of today's educational system, ongoing community pressures, and the legacy of Filipinos in the farm labor movement that sparked the 1965 Delano Grape Strike.
Park, Alex
- Rental Car (AATC, 2004)
Renting cars is not just a job, it's a kick in the nuts. Rental Car explores
the concept of control: control of each other, of our environment, and
of our identities. Bobby just got fired from the rental car company and
needs a Lexus to do "something" in Denver. But his buddy Jim won't let
him because he's too busy thinking naughty thoughts about Brian. Enter
Ted who's trying to pick up on a hot 22 year-old Yumi. Who knew renting
cars could be like this!
- Southern Sails (AATC, 2009)
In the tradition of K-horror films, the vengeful forces of ill-fated love haunt this ghost play.
- Macho Bravado (AATC, 2010)
Macho Bravado
explores the mythology of masculinity with a Korean-American soldier
placed front and center. He is a wounded veteran from an unnamed war,
challenged to find meaning and place at home. The play is a
war-and-love story that finds the protagonist and his wife fighting to
make their way back to each other in the wake of difficult changes and
choices that have recast them as strangers.
Park, Jeany
- 100 Men's Wife (History Theatre, 2007)
1894. In desperation, a 14 year-old Chinese girl, Liang May Seen,
risks her life in making a daring escape from a San Francisco
brothel. Bruised, beaten and exhausted, she is taken in to the
home of a social worker who sets her on the road to faith, marriage and
Minnesota. During her journey, she looks to her faith to find
courage to deal with the shame and horror of her past. In the
end, she becomes one of the most influential leaders in Minneapolis'
Westminster Presbyterian Church. Her story is a tribute to the
human spirit!
Park, Jiahae
- The Emerald City (National Theatre Institute)
- Happy Moon Day, Holly Woo
(3rd place winner, EWP Got Laughs Competition) It's been three months
since Grace Kim ran away from Valhalla, Nebraska. To keep up his
family's spirits, her husband Jonathan desperately declares every day a
new holiday. At the local high school, recently acquired by soft-drink
giant Cream Cola, the curriculum is undergoing a suspiciously corporate
overhaul. Daughter Darlene thinks she has the solution to all their
problems—adopt a homeless senior citizen to be their "New Grandma"—but
the new addition has ideas of her own.
- Hannah and the Dread Gazebo, (Bay Area Playwrights Festival, 2013)
Inside the FedEx box are two things: a 100%
bona-fide-heartšs-desire-level wish and a suicide note. Hannah tracks
the package back to Seoul, where her grandmother recently jumped from
the roof of her retirement home onto the wrong side of the
Demilitarized Zone. They'll need North Korea's permission to retrieve
the body, but Kim Jong Il just kicked the bucket, and things in the DMZ
are even stranger than they seem.
- Peerless (Yale Repertory, 2015)
Peerless is a comedy about ultra-competitive twin sisters, who hatch a plan to get into college after denied access upon early admission.
- Untitled Aging Play (McCarter Theatre Center, 2019)
A McCarter commission, the piece follows a couple exploring the effects of aging on their minds, bodies, and relationship.
Park, Kyoung H.
- Nero (Ma-Yi, 2015)
Nero is a retelling of George W. Bush's Presidency and War on Terror, based on an anachronistic and inaccurate portrayal of Nero's Roman Empire. With this play, Kyoung H. Park intertwines critical perspectives of American Imperialism/exceptionalism with the way these dynamics are manifest in US foreign policy, American democracy and civil rights, and examines the way we live during times of war.
- Pillowtalk (The Tank, 2018)
Set in Brooklyn 2017, PILLOWTALK brings to life one night in the lives of Sam and Buck, a recently married interracial couple. Through a formal exploration of theatrical naturalism and the codified gender norms of ballet's pas de deux, PILLOWTALK queers the intersections of race, gender, and class to challenge our assumptions of love and marriage. Confronting the backlash against marriage equality and #BlackLivesMatter, PILLOWTALK explores how liberation and oppression co-exist in our most intimate spaces, transforming social and cultural traditions into radical performances of change.
Park, Yonsoo
BIO: Yongsoo Park is also a filmmaker and novelist. His novel Boy Genius (2002, Akashic Books) was recognized as a Notable Title by the 2002 Kiriyama Prize. His second novel Las Cucharachas
will be published in June 2004. He is also a former recipient of the
Van Lier Fellowship awarded through the Asian American Writers'
Workshop.
- Free Country (AATC, 1997)
Based on the seminal feature film of the same name FREE COUNTRY (1996,
70min. B&W), which was written and directed by Yongsoo Park. The
play follows the journey of JASON KIM, the oldest of the three Kim
Brothers as they struggle against poverty and hopelessness in Koreatown
in the wake of the senseless murder of their parents. Jason must try to
keep the family together as his younger brothers grow increasingly more
selfish and are lured by the promise of fast money. The play received
its West Coast premiere in 1997 via the Asian American Theater Company
alongside a one-act by Diana Son. This original production was directed
by Karen Amano and received strong critical acclaim in the San
Francisco Guardian and Examiner publications. Yongsoo Park, the
playwright, has since published the novels BOY GENIUS (Akashic Books,
2002) and LAS CUCARACHAS (Akashic Books, 2004) and has written and
directed the festival hit short film ANTIGONE 5000.
Patel, Lina
- First Thanksgiving (EWP, 2003)
A rumination on suburban life in the new landscape.
- In the Backyard (EWP, 2011)
A starry winter night in Los Angeles.
A festive, booze-filled holiday party.
Four people in the backyard.
What in the world could go wrong?
- Bonobos (Artists At Play, 2019)
Four women extricate a friend from a bad relationship. Chaos ensues. A darkly comedic telenovela for the stage, Bonoboslooks at female friendships and loyalty and wonders, why can't two wrongs equal a right?
Pegues, Juliana
- Q & A (Mu Performing Arts, 2007)
From speed dating to police line-ups, Asian Americans question and
answer social and political interrogation starting with the most-posed
question, "where are you from?" Our three characters are labeled yet
unnamed: "9066" for the WWII executive order which interned her
ancestors, "187" for the gangsta rap allusion to murder, and as "Ŋ"
says, "it's kinda obvious, isn't it?" When their self-constructed masks
come down, each character must ask (and answer) what they are
ultimately more guilty of: self-hate or self-love?
Pena, Ralph
- Flipzoids (Ma-Yi Theatre, 1996;)
Vangie has brought her mother from the Philippines to live with her in
the states. Unfortunately, she never knew the trouble and pain it would
cause the both of them. While Vangie is busy trying to assimilate and
"melt" into Western Culture, Aying wanders to the beach, meets and
befriends a young Filipino in search of an identity. Don't miss this
poignant and salient play that reaches to anyone who has ever
questioned who they are - and wondered what exactly they should call
"home."
- Cinema Verite (Ma-Yi Theatre, 1992)
- Kuti-Kutitap (book and lyrics) (Ma-Yi Theatre, 1993)
- Kape Barako (NYSF Public Theatre, 1995)
- December (Ethical Culture, 1994)
- Loose Leaf Bindings (work-in-progress)
- Tail (2g, 2008)
Finding the Mr. Right requires the right set of tools. Armed with
binoculars,a GPS navigation system, and a rental car, a post-modern
Manhattanite sets out to track her man. How far are you willing to go?
- Nebraska (Ma-Yi, 2008)
Nebraska
is Ralph Peņa’s new play about Immigration and extreme American
Right-Wing Politics. The play imagines what might happen when an
ancient Hindu goddess decides to take up residency in Nebraska, and
finds herself pulled into the inner sanctum of a radical Christian
organization.
Perez, Cheryl Tsai
- Antigone: The Rock Musical (East West, 2011)
The year is 2054. Civil unrest has torn apart the mythical country of
Thebes. A futuristic retelling of Antigone set to a rock and roll
soundtrack.
Perry, Rochelle
- Japan, 1946 Meets California, 2010 (East West, 2010)
When the unwilling Rita is forced to spend her last college spring
break with her 86 year old grandmother Keiko, she realizes Keiko
suffers from a disease she knows little about - dementia. When we were
young our grandparents taught us about the world and who we would
become. Now it's our turn to remind them of their past.
Peters, Katherine
- The Night My Cat Called Me (Theater Mu, 1998)
Phi, Bao
- All is Fair (Mu Performing Arts, 2010)
A Chinese American radical Vietnam Vet. A mixed Vietnamese/Chinese
American son in the military. An Adopted Korean graphic novelist with a
surprise hit book. A Hmong American agent, fiscally conservative and
socially liberal. What happens when you throw them a dinner party? And
what does it all have to do with identity politics, Frank's Nursery and
Crafts, mountaineers, and Lord of the Rings?
Ping, Chin Woon
Ms.
Chin holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toledo and a B.A. from the
University of Malaya. She has been a writer-in-residence at Wilkes
University and at the National University of Singapore, where she was
also a Senior Fellow. She has been the recipient of a Pennsylvania
Council on the Arts fellowship and was a Fulbright Senior Lecturer at
the Shanghai International Studies University. Her poems have been
published in many literary journals included Kenyon Review and
Westerly, and have been included in many anthologies including Asian
American Literature.
- Details/Cannot/Body/Wants (Ubu Rep, 1997)
Polatin, Daria
- Ninja: The Musical (Desipina, 2006)
Three singing Ninjas who fight injustices in the word--overcoming
everything from personal issues to wardrobe malfunctions...who else
would you want on your side?
Premsirat, Michael
- The Clouds, The Ocean and Everything In Between (AATC, 1998)
A story about life and death, love and loss, history and philosophy,
remembering and forgetting. It sucks to be half-Thai and half-Filipino
or half-Irish and half-Japanese or half-Vietnamese and half-French
(especially if you don't look white!). What do you do when you're
caught in between a heritage from which you feel increasingly
disconnected and a nation by which you aren't entirely accepted? You
buy a six-pack of Guinness, a carton of cigarettes and create your own
space in a hostile world
- Beautiful Little Fool (USC, 2009)
Forbidden love. Past loss drives present desires. Mrs. Wallace can’t
stay away from a Filipino American teenager named Gilly. Justine and
her teacher, Mr. Esperanza, deal with the consequences of their affair.
And commedia dell’arte lovers Harlequin and Columbine escape the story
the teachers have assigned to their classes, disrupt the narrative and
f$@k s#*t up.
- The Sweetness of You (Playwrights' Arena, 2010)
Joon and Lolly are a brother and sister rock band stuck playing in dive
bars, but when an important manager shows up at the club, will Joon
thrash on with the band or settle down and marry his new girlfriend -
and will his obsessed sister allow it? Based on 'Tis Pity She's A Whore, The Sweetness of You bites down hard on the '80's rock scene and the taboo of forbidden passion.
Primlani, Angeli
- Night Shift (Rasaka, 2009)
A young girl and an older woman face danger and each other in the
middle of the night in a motel lobby on a quiet North Carolina
highway.
Prosser, Elise Kim
-
Hip-Hop Kim-Bop: A Korean Herstory in the City of Angels (SDAART, 2010)
a contemporary comedy in which four women all named Kim meet at jury
duty. Through coincidence, calamity, and kim-chee, the four become
friends and discover their cultural and personal identities.
Purohit, Deep
- LotusMart, Ohio (2003)
A comedic reading about two Indian "superheroes" that meet in a
convenience store in mid-Ohio and plot to take over the world!
- Bones (Ma-Yi, 2014)
The funeral's done. All
that's left of him is in a box. Four women in one family fight to
decide how to let go. And how to move on.
- A Valentine (Ma-Yi, 2017)
Set in a blighted American city, two ex-lovers meet up on Valentine's night. What starts out as a casual reunion becomes a night where the past and present collide —exposing old truths and revealing new lies.
Quan, Betty
- Mother Tongue
The
mother speaks only Cantonese, the eldest daughter Mimi acts as
translator for her mother and for her younger deaf and signing brother.
Tensions in the family explode as Mimi prepares to leave home for
university. Mother Tongue is an extraordinary drama, and was nominated for a Governor General Award for Drama
- The Dragon's Pearl (Young People's Theatre, 1995)
- Waiting for Mao (Tarragon Theatre, 1996)
- Naomi's Road (1996)
- Fault Lintes (Green Thumb Theatre, 1997)
- Nancy Chew Enters the Dragon ()
- Nitro! ()
- One Ocean ()
- Ghost Train (Young People's Theatre, 2001)
Betty Quan's play, based on the Paul Yee book, tells the story of
Choon-Yi, a one-armed Chinese girl with an artistic gift who comes to
Canada to find her father, a worker on the Canadian railroad. Spanning
years and continents, the story is complicated -- part ghost story,
part history lesson, part portrait of the artist as a young girl.
Quill, Erin
Erin
May Ling Quill is an actress, singer, director and producer of both
stage and film productions. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon, she
was member of the original Broadway cast of the 2004 TONY
Award-winning musical, Avenue Q, and has also played Lady Thiang
in The King & I opposite Debby Boone. Other credits include NYPD
Blue, girlsclub, China Dolls, Godspell, Anything Goes, and
numerous workshops. Former Vice Chair for the Screen Actors' Guild
Asian American Subcommittee and a member on its National
EEOC, she consulted on the revision of the Asian Language
Contract. She is a member of East West Players and Lodestone
Theater Ensemble. In addition to her own sold-out shows They
Shoot Asian Fosse Dancers, Don't They? and When My Slanted Eyes are
Smiling, I Can't See a Damn Thing, Quill has produced Lodestone Theater
Ensemble/FOX's All American APA Comedy Jam and, most recently, the
upcoming short film POLLEN, starring Alec Mapa. Her next project is the
pilot of Screening Party, based on the book by Dennis Hensley.
- Yellow Feva (EWP: Paper or Plastic, 2000)
An indictment of Broadway? Never! It's a play about musicals and the
people who do them-it's funny, it's sarcastic-it's an Amy Tan
swallowing your bitterness because she enjoys being a girl! type of
experience.
- They Shoot Asian Fosse Dancers, Don't They? ()
- When My Slanted Eyes are Smiling, I Can't See a Damn Thing ()
Racelis, Felix
- Winged Therapy - 1995
The Pilipino American Rosales family has achieved the American
dream: a home in the S.F. avenues, lots of envious friends and a
son in a psychiatric hospital. A coming of age story set in the
turbulent, sex-crazed world of 1970's San Francisco.
- Days of Rest - 1999
- 3+2, GT VW (EWP: Paper or Plastic, 1999)
- Woof! (2000, The Playwrights Group)
An eccentric retiree confronts his daughter about her bizarre web-based sex surrogate business.
- Peanut Butter (NoHo International Theatre Festival, 6/2000)
Dottering father, nerdy son, media hungry mother and her really kinky
past---what does it spell? This wacky 10 minute play is a Finalist in
the West Coast 10 Minute Playwriting Contest and was developed in East
West's David Henry Hwang Writers Institute. 6/01, NoHo International
Theatre Festival.
- Post-Matinee Tristesse (Playwrights Group, 2001)
An erudite professor salivates for a delectable youth who's definitely
not on the menu in this riotous skewering of December/May romances and
assorted sacred cows. 10-11/01, Tamarind Theatre
- Shhh! (TSI, 2003)
A tale of two mismatched library assistants: he, a literate neurotic, and she, a latent biker groupie.
- Mignon (TSI, 2003)
A wacky tale of a doctoral candidate who hires a call girl with a specialty in 17th century French poetry
- Uncommon Threads (Fire Rose Productions, 2004)
A ten-minute play.
- Home Again (2005)
Home Again reveals
critical moments in the life of a family that planned poorly. It's a
very short play with a very long rippling message, and the audience
fills in the blanks.
- Manimal Crackers (Celebration Theatre, 2006)
This is a dramedy about a Pilipina American zoo keeper, her Korean
American partner who's undergoing female to male transgender therapy,
and her narcissistic former fashion model mother who's going into
politics. Just another American family Norman Rockwell forgot to
paint.
- Death and Taxes (Playwrights Connection, 2007)
Can a heavy set diabetic narcissist, who's just shot her husband, find peace in mid 90's suburban Dallas?
- Bride of Godzilla (2007)
A
young couple who are part of a studio diversity writing program have
one last chance to pitch a project to an impatient producer. It's a
matter of life or debt.
- Tel Aviv Take-off (FirstStage, 2008)
A Southern matron visits her son who's studying in Tel Aviv, and makes
his school an offer that's hard to refuse. But did we say she's got an
agenda?
- House of Sticks (FirstStage, 2008)
A short play, where a young homeless shelter director escorts a major
donor on a tour to seal the deal on a major gift, until a homeless
client throws a wrench into her plans.
- New Business (ShortLived 3.0, 2010)
Two longstanding members of an organization in decline discuss momentous new business.
Raja, Gautam
Gautam Raja (Playwright,
VAIDEHI) is a freelance journalist and writer based in Bangalore,
India. He has worked for publications in Oman and the UAE. He is
currently the resident playwright and lighting designer of The
Artistes' Repertory Theatre, Bangalore. His plays have been performed
in various cities in India, as well as in London, Amsterdam and
Berkeley. A collection of plays, Damini the Damager and Other Plays,
was published in March 2006 by Unisun Publications.
- Vaidehi (Lark Theatre, 2006)
VAIDEHI
begins with a birth and ends with its conception. A prisoner of
societal expectations, Vaidehi struggles to fight the origin of her
name (one of exemplary womanly and wifely virtue) to find intimacy and
independence amongst the men that surround her.
Ramakrishnan, S. Karthick and Thottam, Jyotti
- Interrogations (SALAAM, 2006)
Based on true events, Interrogations
tells the story of a family tragically affected by the silence
surrounding their abusive household. Told form a variety of
perspectives, Interrogations provides audience members with a chilling
look into a family and community shattered by the consequence of
denial, fear, and violence.
Ramolette, Ed
ED RAMOLETE is a is a member of the East West Players and the David Henry Hwang Writers Institute. His play, Shadow Dance of a Mosquito Boxer,
was a finalist in the East West Players Y2K New Voices Playwriting
Competition. Ed has presented new work with the East West Players New
Voices Project at the Japan American National Museum and most recently
appears in the film, Much Adobo About Nothing, which premiered at the
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Ed is on the boards of the
Hereandnow Theater Company, The Filipino American Library and is
Co-Chairman of the Filipino American National Historical Society
(FANHS) National Conference.
- Shadow Dance of a Mosquito Boxer (EWP: Paper or Plastic, 1999)
Ramos, Nathan
- As We Babble On (EWP, 2016)
As We Babble On explores the pursuit of success, its costs and how our drinking habits change with money. Benji, a first generation Asian American struggles in New York City to find his voice as his writing career stalls. As the professional paths of his best friend Sheila and his half sister Laura begin to blossom, he begins to unravel. As We Babble On explores what lengths we are willing to go to realize our dreams, whether morality is tied to upward mobility and whether boxed wine and soda is an appropriate sangria recipe after the age of 24. As We Babble On was the first place winner of East West Players' 2042: See Change Playwriting Competition.
Rebusit, Nancy
- The Romance of Magno Rubio (from a Carolos Bulosan story) (NWAAT, 1984)
Reddy, Geetha
- On a Wonderverse (Crowded Fire Theatre, 2015)
As the sole woman on a team of award-winning scientists, Dr. Schen is
often uncredited or dismissed by her peers. Then one fantastical night
in her lab, she creates something incredible…a vibrant new
universe. Playwright Geetha Reddy weaves a highly imaginative and
breathtaking look at the intersection of science and spirituality, as
Dr. Schen becomes an avatar of Shiva and must decide whether to keep or
destroy her growing Universe.
- Safe House (Ferocious Lotus, 2016)
Do you remember where you were on 9/11? Enter the isolation chamber of a stay-at-home mother raising a pair of profoundly different twins, June and July. As her world becomes smaller, she goes to extreme measures to survive the threats of the modern world. When real disaster strikes, will she be ready? On this anniversary of September 11th, Safe House asks how we've progressed as a country in the last 15 years and if we've evolved in our fears and perceptions of the "other."
Regullano, Joy
- Undocumented (East West, 2013)
Not all undocumented people work on farms or hang around Home Depot.
Some of them are high school seniors in magnet schools. Try getting a girlfriend when you can't get a job or a driver's license.
- I Won't Miss You (East West, 2013)
When 17-year-old Janey's best friend Tim begins to appear in her
bedroom at night after dying in a car crash, their awkward undeclared
feelings begin to surface. Will he still take her to prom like he
promised in the B.D. era (Before Death) or must she move on?
Respicio, Mae
- Pieces (EWP, 2003)
Emma grew up adopted and abused. She's been estranged from her parents
for five years. Now, the only way to face her present is to confront
her past
Reyes, Kristine
- Queen for a Day (Diverse City Theatre, 2006)
The play tackles a young girl's rite of passage into adulthood brought
about by the death and dying of a beloved aunt, exploring the profound
changes that affect her relationship with her own mother and her
extended family.
- Quarter Century Baby (Diverse City Theatre, 2010)
A one-act play tells the story of a parents’ surprise visit to their
Filipino daughter and her American boyfriend—a visit which causes
turmoil and reveals painful truths.
- Something Blue, (Divese City Theatre, 2010)
A one-act play follows an estranged father’s quest to reconnect with his daughter on her wedding day.
Reyes, Rodney
- Who Am I (Cuchipinoy, 2009)
In a shadowy world, one seemingly ripped from reality, a man filled
with alcohol and self-loathing tries to explain to his creation why he
terminated her existence; a young woman confronts her mother who
disappeared more than two decades earlier; a tormented man battles his
inner self that he has been trying to deny all of his life; and a
junkie with no hope whatsoever comes face to face with God. But when
compassion and retribution walk hand in hand, and answers often only
lead to more questions, the chance to ease one's pain does not come
easily, if at all.
Reyes, Rosemary Cho
- Friends and Enemies (EWP: Paper or Plastic, 1999)
Rhee, Margaret
- You're the Pharmacist (EWP, 2005)
A Korean American pharmacist dreams of being a Dallas Cowboy
Cheerleader and in her endeavor, she and everyone around her learns the
real meaning of the American Dream.
- Sense (EWP, 2006)
A doctoral student in anthropology is writing a paper on “Asian
American Performance Theory in Politics of Ethnic Identity.” She meets
Leonard, an actor who’s Asian American, too. Things are good until it
all doesn’t make sense. But then it all does, in bed. Will she realize
that? Will he?
Ricca, Mike
- Stuck (Bindlestiff, 2006)
Rigg, Kate and Leah Ryan
- BIRTH OF nASIAN (Mark Taper, 2004)
Cool, hilarious and provocative, Birth of nAsian
is Nuyorasian trip hopcomedy theatre. Performer Kate Rigg brings you a
host of edgy, surreal characters from a token Asian newscaster with a
non-ethnic sounding name to a hundred year old trini to a China-Latina
with an axe to grind. Accompanied by former
classical-virtuoso-turned-rocking-electronic-violin-diva Lyris Hung on
beats, live violin, samples and soundscape, Birth is a mix of comedy and spoken word pieces reflecting the urban voice of Asian America.
Rivamonte, Lia
- What Do You Know About Me? By Marissa Frakenfield (Theatre Mu, 1998)
- Filipino Sisters (Theater Mu, 2000)
A folk story by Lia Rivamonte, three young women choose their own futures.
Rivera, Cliff
- *fLiPsIdErS* (AAWA, 2003)
Flipsiders are outsiders daydreaming invisible. Call Benjamin a Flip
and he'll "stab you with exclamation points." His girlfriend, Angelica,
is no angel. Tito, or Uncle, "is not a dishwasher no more." He is "a
propessional shoper." Tom-Boy smokes and sells manna. Boss only dresses
the part of a cop. Jojo lives in a Balikbayan Box. They are all
American, thoroughly Filipino. After a long respite in the Philippines,
Jojo returns to America, only to find his childhood friends beat down,
but far from beaten. During a Halloween weekend laden with debauchery
and Vicks, we witness five Flipsiders reconcile the past with an
uncertain future, culminating in holiday jeer: nevertheless hopeful.
Rochanahusdin, Siwaraya
- Waking Dreams (AATC, 2004)
Set in the early 1990's of the Bay Area, a young woman, Nat, loses her
brother to what was called "the worst mass murder in recent Arizona
history." During a news blackout and time for reelection she must find
a way to keep public interest into the investigation of her brother’s
death. In the wake of the tragedy she explores the meaning of family,
holding onto community, and herself.
Rno, Sung
BIO:
His work has been produced by East West Players, Thick Description,
Asian American Theater Company, North West Asian American Theater, San
Diego Asian American Rep, Dance Theater Workshop, Immigrants' Theater
Project, Seoul International Theater Festival, Ma-Yi Theatre Company,
and the New York International Fringe Festival. Honors include a
2003-2004 NEA/TCG Playwriting Fellowship, the 2003 Whitfield-Cook
Prize, a New York Fringe Festival Excellence in Overall Production
Award (for YI SANG COUNTS TO THIRTEEN, directed by the author); a Van
Lier/New Dramatists playwriting fellowship; a Van Lier/New York Theater
Workshop playwriting fellowship; first prize in the Seattle
Multicultural Playwrights' Festival; commissions from the Mark Taper
Forum, the Joseph Papp Public Theater and Ma-Yi Theater; an artistic
residency at Mabou Mines; and honorable mention in the 2001 Bay Area
Playwrights Festival. His plays and poetry are published in the
anthologies But Still, Like Air, I'll Rise (Temple Press); Premonitions
(Kaya Press); The Nuyorasian Anthology (AAWW); and Echoes Upon Echoes
(AAWW). He received a BA from Harvard and an MFA from Brown. He is a
member of the Dramatists Guild and New Dramatists. He lives in New York
city
- Konishiki, Mon Amour (NY Shakespeare Festival, 1993)
- Cleveland Raining (East West, 1994)
A Korean-American brother and sister living in the Ohio countryside:
the sister is a medical student who drives the interstate searching for
their father; the brother has dreams of a flood and begins building an
ark out of a Volkswagen bug. A lonely female motorcyclist and an
oddball mechanic enter their lives, while the brother and sister try to
piece together the fabric of their frayed family history. While the
brother builds an engine that runs off emotional loss, the sister
finally uncovers the fragile truth of her family, something both
revelatory and sad.
- Drizzle and Other Stories (NWAAT, 1994)
A trilogy of one-acts based on short stories by Korean fiction writer
Hwang Sun Won. Each play employs spare language, with jagged situations
and conflicting ambivalent emotions. "Masks" portrays a world where the
rules dictate that two friends find themselves as enemies during a war.
"In a Small Island Village" involves a female journalist who finds that
language fails her in the harsh world of a remote fishing village in
Korea. "Drizzle" is about two real estate men having a coffee break
that turns into a discussion about business, war, and the ambivalence
of doing the right thing.
- Gravity Falls From Trees (AATC, 1997)
Isabella goes to the hospital because she is abnormally cold. Soon she
finds herself on a cloud with Isaac Newton and a guilt-ridden pilot.
All of them are in search of a Newton's "Fourth" Law, one that fuses
emotion and motion. Isabella finds that the shared event in their lives
was the tragic downing of Korean Air 007, an unfortunate political
consequence of the Cold War. While Isabella doesn't necessarily make
better sense of the event, she eventually breaks through the emotional
freeze that she's been suffering through, and finds a way to lighten
the gravity of history.
- wAve (Ma-Yi, 1999)
wAve is a radical reformulation of the Medea myth. A surreal
tragicomedy, wAve oscillates between poetry and satire, Korea and
America, M*A*S*H and Miss Saigon. It explores love denied, dirtied and
ultimately betrayed by the ferociously fragmentary forces at work in
our culture at the dawn of the 21st century.
- Yi Sang Counts to Thirteen (Seoul International Theater Festival, 2000)
Three characters: Red, Green, and Blue are involved in a love triangle
that intermingles poetic scenes, a spoof on detective noir involving
limbs as characters, and erotic rituals involving Diet Coke. Blue must
choose between his friendship with Red and his love for Green; but
finds that he gets neither in the end. His only solace is the words and
images that erupt in his feverish mind, the joy of creation coupled
with the sense that the end is fast approaching
- Infinitude (LCC Productions, 2003)
An ensemble comedy set in 1999 as a group of friends say goodbye to
their 20s and the 20th century. The play revolves around the subjective
world of Filo, who has an interesting relationship with truth and the
objective world, as well as with his childhood friend Samantha (Sam).
His life is a bit of a random walk, dealing with the dangers of digital
video, the allure of the internet, and the frustrations of unrequited
theater, leading to a sense of closure as tenuous as the beginning of
the new millennium.
- New World
A
collection of one-act dark comedies, all dealing with the theme of
cultural colonization. NEW WORLD is a variation on the theme of a boat:
we see the conquerors, the conquered, and the modern neuroses that
results. Wonderful Life is a skewed vision of the Jimmy Stewart film;
it plays with subjectivity in the face of a violent crime. Raisins is a
comedy about two gangsters who’ve just screwed up a job and end up in a
heated debate about identity politics. Konishiki, Mon Amour involves a
young woman’s obsession with Sumo wrestling, Connie Chung, and Hostess
dessert products. Change is a monologue about an assimilated son and
his estranged father—it leaps between their points of view, shedding
new perspective on both characters.
- Principia (New York Theatre Festival)
A play about the “publish or perish” world of scientific research.
Newton Park finds that he’s been accused of falsifying data. The
problem is, he’s not sure himself whether or not he’s innocent. As his
case becomes ever more muddied, so do his relationships with his former
girlfriend (now collaborator), his best friend, and his advisor. When
his neatly defined world spirals out of control, he actually finds that
he learns more about truth than what he’s ever learned in his own
research.
- Yi Sang Counts to 13 (Lodestone, 2006)
Blue loves Green. Green likes Red. Red is Blue's best
friend. Blue could be the Korean surrealist author Yi Sang.
On the other hand, he could just be a guy who wants a cigarette.
A dark poetic comedy about love, geometry and the mysteries of Diet Coke
- The Trajectory of a Heart, Fractured (2g, 2008)
Orville thought he was in love with Joanne, and now he’s wondering why
he’s on a plane with Yumi, who is beginning to wonder also. Orville
just wishes he could fly. And Joanne just wishes. A meditation on
gravity’s emotion.
- Project: Balangiga with Ralph Peņa (Ma-Yi, 2008)
The play is a documentary-style inquiry into the ongoing debate
surrounding the proposed repatriation of the church bells taken by
American soldiers from the town of Balangiga during the Philippine
American War. The excerpted scene imagines a virtual town meeting
between the residents of Balangiga and Cheyenne, Wyoming, where the
bells are presently installed.
- Happy (New Dramatists, 2015)
What happens when a sales rep for a blockbuster antidepressant starts feeling depressed and anxious himself? His life slowly unravels, spinning more and more out of control. The more he becomes lost, however, the more free and alive he feels. Eventually, he has to make a choice about whether to take on the Happiness Machine itself.
Roberts, Dmae
BIO:
Dmae Roberts is an Amerasian writer and radio producer living in
Portland, Oregon. Since 1984, Roberts has written and produced more
than 300 documentaries, audio arts pieces and feature stories for
National Public Radio, MonitorRadio and Public Radio International. She
is the executive producer of MediaRites, a non- profit multicultural
production organization.
- Breaking Glass (Portland Repertory Theatre, 1995)
full-length original play about an interracial family in rural Oregon produced at Portland Repertory Theatre
- Janie Bigo (NWAAT, 1997)
Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, girl gets boy, in a zany blend of music, magic tricks and comedy.
- Lady Buddha (Media Rites, 1997)
A multi-media play funded by the Regional Arts and Culture Council/On
the Boards/Seattle and produced by MediaRites at the IFCC.
- Mei Mei ()
- Picasso in the Back Seat (Artists Repertory Theatre,1996)
Full-length original play about the value of art in America today.
Rodger, Victor
- My Name is Gary Cooper (Kumu Kahua, 2014)
Rodger, a playwright of Samoan ancestry, deals with themes of race, racism and identity. In My Name is Gary Cooper,
he combines knowledge of classic Hollywood films about the South
Pacific with a determination to bring Pacific Island characters to the
foreground. He says, “Hollywood’s South Pacific films, white characters
entered the brown world and stirred things up. What if, I wondered, a
brown character entered the white world instead, and stirred things up?
What would it look like?”
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