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The Hyphenated American: Four Plays
Chay Yew has been hailed by Time magazine as "a promising new voice in American theater." In this collection of four new plays, Yew continues to explore issues of artistic expression, self-identity, and the immigrant experience.
In Red, a magical, mysterious drama set during China's Cultural Revolution, a renowned actor stands his ground against a young revolutionary in a struggle that pits politics against free expression and one generation against another. Set in New York's Chinatown, Scissors is a moving portrait of a weekly haircutting ritual between an elderly Chinese manservant and his Caucasian ex-employer. A Beautiful Country chronicles the turbulent history of Asians in America through the eyes of an immigrant drag queen, Miss Visa Denied. In Wonderland, a family working toward their American dream experiences dramatic and unexpected developments that threaten to shatter their hopes. Although aesthetically and tonally different from one another, Yew's four plays evoke an epic backdrop to the dreams, loves, longings, and lives of Asians in America.
224 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2002
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About the author
Chay Yew
12 books1 followerChay Yew is a playwright and stage director who was born in Singapore. As of 2007 he lives in New York City. In July 2011, he became Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago.
Yew's plays include As if He Hears; Porcelain; A Language of Their Own; Red; A Beautiful Country; Wonderland; Question 27, Question 28; Long Season; and Visible Cities. His adaptations include A Winter People (based on Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard) and Federico García Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba. In 1989, the government in Singapore banned his first play As If He Hears because the gay character acted "too sympathetic and too straight-looking".[citation needed] Chay Yew's plays appear in numerous anthologies and are published by Grove Press. He is presently editing an anthology of contemporary Asian American plays, "Version 3.0," for TCG Publications.
Yew was the director of the Mark Taper Forum's Asian Theatre Workshop for 10 years. As of 2007 he serves on the board of directors of Theatre Communications Group. He also serves on the Executive Board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Yew's plays have been produced by many theaters, including the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater in New York City, Royal Court in London, Mark Taper Forum, Manhattan Theatre Club, Wilma Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Intiman Theatre, Portland Center Stage, East West Players, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Perseverance Theatre, Dad's Garage, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Celebration Theatre and TheatreWorks Singapore. He is also the recipient of the London Fringe Award for Best Playwright and Best Play, George and Elisabeth Marton Playwriting Award, GLAAD Media Award, APGF Community Visibility Award, Made in America Award, AEA/SAG/AFTRA 2004 Diversity Honor, and Robert Chesley Award;[citation needed] he has also received grants from the Rockefeller MAP, McKnight Foundation and the TCG/Pew National Residency Program. His plays are published by Grove Press.
As a director, Chay Yew has directed plays at the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, American Conservatory Theatre, Kennedy Center, Long Wharf Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, East West Players, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Goodman Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Geva Theatre Center, Empty Space, National Asian American Theatre Company, Laguna Playhouse, Theatre at Boston Court, Gala Hispanic Theatre, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Northwest Asian American Theatre, Walk and Squawk, Highways Performance Space, Pillsbury Playhouse, Smithsonian Institution and Theatre Rhinoceros. His productions have included such performers as Daniel Dae Kim, Amy Hill, Dennis Dun, Tamlyn Tomita, Sandra Tsing Loh, Margaret Cho, Rha Goddess and Brian Freeman. He also directed the world premieres of David Henry Hwang's and Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar at the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music and Rob Zuidam's Rage D'Amors (Tanglewood).
In 2006, Yew participated in The Collision Project at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Yew has directed numerous productions by other writers, including Naomi Iizuka's plays, "Strike-Slip" at Actors Theatre of Louisville/Humana Festival and "Citizen 13559" at the Kennedy Center; and Julia Cho's Durango at the Public Theater and Long Wharf Theatre.
Chay Yew is the recipient of the 2007 OBIE Award for Direction.
Selected plays
As if He Hears (1988)
Porcelain (1992)
A Language of Their Own (1995)
Half Lives (1996)
Red (1998)
A Beautiful Country (1998)
Wonderland (1999)
The House of Bernarda Alba (2000, adaptation of Federico García Lorca)
Here and Now (2002)
A Winter People (2002, adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard)
A Distant Shore (2005)
The Long Season (2005)
Question 27, Question 28 (2006)
Visible Cities (2011)
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha
Yew's plays include As if He Hears; Porcelain; A Language of Their Own; Red; A Beautiful Country; Wonderland; Question 27, Question 28; Long Season; and Visible Cities. His adaptations include A Winter People (based on Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard) and Federico García Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba. In 1989, the government in Singapore banned his first play As If He Hears because the gay character acted "too sympathetic and too straight-looking".[citation needed] Chay Yew's plays appear in numerous anthologies and are published by Grove Press. He is presently editing an anthology of contemporary Asian American plays, "Version 3.0," for TCG Publications.
Yew was the director of the Mark Taper Forum's Asian Theatre Workshop for 10 years. As of 2007 he serves on the board of directors of Theatre Communications Group. He also serves on the Executive Board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Yew's plays have been produced by many theaters, including the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater in New York City, Royal Court in London, Mark Taper Forum, Manhattan Theatre Club, Wilma Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Intiman Theatre, Portland Center Stage, East West Players, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Perseverance Theatre, Dad's Garage, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Celebration Theatre and TheatreWorks Singapore. He is also the recipient of the London Fringe Award for Best Playwright and Best Play, George and Elisabeth Marton Playwriting Award, GLAAD Media Award, APGF Community Visibility Award, Made in America Award, AEA/SAG/AFTRA 2004 Diversity Honor, and Robert Chesley Award;[citation needed] he has also received grants from the Rockefeller MAP, McKnight Foundation and the TCG/Pew National Residency Program. His plays are published by Grove Press.
As a director, Chay Yew has directed plays at the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, American Conservatory Theatre, Kennedy Center, Long Wharf Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, East West Players, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Goodman Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Geva Theatre Center, Empty Space, National Asian American Theatre Company, Laguna Playhouse, Theatre at Boston Court, Gala Hispanic Theatre, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Northwest Asian American Theatre, Walk and Squawk, Highways Performance Space, Pillsbury Playhouse, Smithsonian Institution and Theatre Rhinoceros. His productions have included such performers as Daniel Dae Kim, Amy Hill, Dennis Dun, Tamlyn Tomita, Sandra Tsing Loh, Margaret Cho, Rha Goddess and Brian Freeman. He also directed the world premieres of David Henry Hwang's and Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar at the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music and Rob Zuidam's Rage D'Amors (Tanglewood).
In 2006, Yew participated in The Collision Project at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Yew has directed numerous productions by other writers, including Naomi Iizuka's plays, "Strike-Slip" at Actors Theatre of Louisville/Humana Festival and "Citizen 13559" at the Kennedy Center; and Julia Cho's Durango at the Public Theater and Long Wharf Theatre.
Chay Yew is the recipient of the 2007 OBIE Award for Direction.
Selected plays
As if He Hears (1988)
Porcelain (1992)
A Language of Their Own (1995)
Half Lives (1996)
Red (1998)
A Beautiful Country (1998)
Wonderland (1999)
The House of Bernarda Alba (2000, adaptation of Federico García Lorca)
Here and Now (2002)
A Winter People (2002, adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard)
A Distant Shore (2005)
The Long Season (2005)
Question 27, Question 28 (2006)
Visible Cities (2011)
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 14, 2023
Wonderland is one of my fav plays
November 22, 2008
As was the case with Jose Rivera's "References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot and Other Plays", the play in this anthology that I read for my 21st Century Drama class was my least favorite of the collection. Fortunately, in both cases, I read all the works, and ended up liking the playwrights much more for it.
Our teacher picked A Beautiful Country, which was certainly lovely in places and had some really interesting information, but I was bothered by its nonlinear structure (and when Chay Yew came to speak to our class, by his lack of justification for said structure - he said he had included many scenes 'just to see if they worked.')
That problem, however, was not present in Red, Scissors, OR Wonderland, all of which I found unusual and rewarding.
Red is notable for its fascinating, indirect exploration of the Cultural Revolution in China (and its impact on Chinese opera), plus a juicy little plot twist - although I'm sure it'd be a very different experience live, as I'd actually be able to see the extensive song and dance required of the story.
Scissors was succinct and poignant, a quiet and swift exploration of the relationship between master and servant after the Great Depression. It is, perhaps, the most divergent of Yew's works here, because race is only of tangential importance.
Wonderland shared much in common with A Beautiful Country - the phrase "A Beautiful Country" is actually mentioned twice in Wonderland, but told the story of a gay immigrant in a much more personal, narrative way, with language like poetry but a story still entirely clear. I would love to see it staged, because again, I felt that I lost a lot from just reading it (but perhaps gained something else entirely from being able to see Yew's line-breaks in his writing).
Our teacher picked A Beautiful Country, which was certainly lovely in places and had some really interesting information, but I was bothered by its nonlinear structure (and when Chay Yew came to speak to our class, by his lack of justification for said structure - he said he had included many scenes 'just to see if they worked.')
That problem, however, was not present in Red, Scissors, OR Wonderland, all of which I found unusual and rewarding.
Red is notable for its fascinating, indirect exploration of the Cultural Revolution in China (and its impact on Chinese opera), plus a juicy little plot twist - although I'm sure it'd be a very different experience live, as I'd actually be able to see the extensive song and dance required of the story.
Scissors was succinct and poignant, a quiet and swift exploration of the relationship between master and servant after the Great Depression. It is, perhaps, the most divergent of Yew's works here, because race is only of tangential importance.
Wonderland shared much in common with A Beautiful Country - the phrase "A Beautiful Country" is actually mentioned twice in Wonderland, but told the story of a gay immigrant in a much more personal, narrative way, with language like poetry but a story still entirely clear. I would love to see it staged, because again, I felt that I lost a lot from just reading it (but perhaps gained something else entirely from being able to see Yew's line-breaks in his writing).
October 31, 2011
Scissors is one of my favorite works of art; I haven't read the other plays in the collection
March 27, 2007
I really enjoyed the abstract nature of this play that, in turn, made it so complex.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews