藝術- Chuang Stage 5/16-6/1 Learning How to Read By Moonlight

At CHUANG Stage, we believe in the power of theatre to uplift marginalized voices and illuminate untold stories. We are proud to co-produce Learning How to Read By Moonlight by Gaven D. Trinidad with Company One Theatre, a world premiere that travels across Boston’s cultural hubs. This tour—from the Boston Center for the Arts to Pao Arts Center and beyond—reflects our commitment to bringing theatre directly to the communities whose stories we tell.  Each night, a special guest narrator—local artists, community organizers, and elected officials—joins the performance, creating a one-of-a-kind communal experience that highlights the ongoing struggles and triumphs of immigrant families. As part of CHUANG Stage’s 2024-25 season theme, Letters to Our Younger Selves, Trinidad's new play guides us to find light through community, memory, and dreams, in a time when AAPI immigrant advocacy in Boston is more urgent than ever.   GET TICKETS    A CHUANG Stage & Company One Theatre co-production Learning How to Read by Moonlight a new play by Gaven D. Trinidad directed by Natsu Onoda Power dramaturgy & tour direction by Michelle M. Aguillon featuring Elijah Punzal, Jude Torres*, Christine Armenion, Alfredo Reyes, Nicholas Papayoanou, and Jenine Florence Jacinto Boston Center for the Arts, Plaza Theatre (May 16 – 24) Pao Arts Center (May 29 – June 1) Third venue to be announced! All tickets are Pay-What-You-Want!   GET TICKETS   While his mother struggles to earn money in New York City and his father waits alone in Manila for their daily phone calls, six-year-old Eddie learns English from his imaginary friend. Between the War on Drugs in the Philippines and the anti-immigrant movement in the United States threatening their humanity, will this undocumented family be able to pursue their dreams and address unspoken truths? A musical and multilingual journey of childlike wonder, Gaven D. Trinidad’s Learning How to Read by Moonlight is equal parts playful, poignant, and hella Pinoy. To spotlight Boston’s own community leaders and activism, a new narrator (a fellow artist, community organizer, or elected official) joins the storytelling every night. Learning How to Read by Moonlight is spoken in English and Tagalog with subtitles.   Gaven D. Trinidad (they/he/siya) — Playwright Gaven D. Trinidad is a first-generation Filipinx American dramaturg, playwright, director, and educator from NYC. Their artistic work explores the intersections of race, language, immigration, queerness, ritual, community, and futurity. They have collaborated in artistic and administrative roles at New York Theatre Workshop, The Juilliard Drama Division, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, National Queer Theater, Breaking the Binary, and more. Selected plays: Learning How to Read by Moonlight (BAPF Finalist 2021), novena (Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference Semi-Finalist 2024). Selected dramaturgy credits: The Duat (Philadelphia Theatre Company, PlayPenn), PreP Play, or Blue Parachute (National Queer Theater, NCTC), June is the First Fall (Yangtze Repertory Theatre), Collidescope 2.0 (Ping Chong + Company). Selected directing credits: Joker (National Queer Theater), Are You There Truman? (Pride Plays, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, The Parsnip Ship, Leviathan Lab), Sa Aming Puso (Global Forms Theatre Festival, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York Theatre Salon). Gaven holds a B.A. in American Studies from Dickinson College and an M.F.A. in Dramaturgy from UMass Amherst. They were named a 2021 Rising Leader of Color by Theatre Communications Group. Playwriting Groups/Fellowships: Orchard Project Greenhouse Lab, Ma-Yi Writers Lab. As someone living with bipolar disorder, Gaven is a passionate advocate for mental health awareness. In these challenging times, they encourage folks to support organizations like Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, United We Dream, and Make the Road NY. www.gaventrinidadtheatre.com     Natsu Onoda Power (she/her) — Director & Scenic Designer Natsu Onoda Power specializes in adapting texts into new works of visual theatre, using techniques of comics/graphic novels, animation, and kamishibai (Japanese paper-placard storytelling form). Original works include Postcards from Ihatov (1StStage Tysons), Thumbelina (Imagination Stage), The Lathe of Heaven (Spooky Action Theater, Helen Hayes Awards for Best New Adaptation and Best Scenic Design), The T Party (writer/ director, Forum Theatre/ Company One), Astro Boy and the God of Comics (writer/ director, The Studio Theatre; Company One Theatre; Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Production Design). Favorite directing credits include Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone (The Studio Theater), David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face (Theatre J) and Mary Zimmerman’s The White Snake (Baltimore Center Stage), and the world premiere of Tennessee Williams’s lost play The Lady from the Village of Falling Flowers at Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival. Natsu holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, and is the author of God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post World War II Manga (The University Press of Mississippi, 2009).   Michelle M. Aguillon (she/her) — Dramaturg & Tour Director Michelle M. Aguillon has directed, acted, designed, and produced in the Boston area for over 25 years. She is thrilled to be collaborating with the Learning How to Read by Moonlight production team and ensemble. Michelle has worked with Plays in Place, Footlight Club, Hope Rep Company, The Umbrella Stage Company, Chuang Stage, Company One, Central Square Theater, Emerson College, and Theater Uncorked, among others. Directing credits include The Kittie Knox Plays, Yellow Face, Natural Shocks, Middleton Heights (World Premiere), Dracula - A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Fences, The Joy Luck Club, Disgraced, Passion, Augusta and Noble, Vietgone, and Proof,  among others. Michelle is a playwright/producer/director for the Annual Asian-American Playwright Collective Annual Play Festivals (2020-2025). Michelle is the Executive Director at the Creative Arts School in Reading. She studied acting and theatre at San Francisco State University and the National Theater of London.

Artwork illustrations by Steve Bermundo, designed by Jenny S. Lee.Pictured: Elijah Punzal; photo by Christian Ruiz. *Denotes member of Actors' Equity Association

At CHUANG Stage, we are committed to uplifting hyper-local voices and the stories of Boston’s Asian American communities. As part of this mission, we have partnered with Fresh Ink Theatre Company on their New Play Development and Incubation Residency—dedicated to empowering New England-based AAPI playwrights and expanding the breadth of Asian American storytelling on stage. This season, we are thrilled to support playwright Karina Cowperthwaite and her bold new work, Ugly Feelings, which has been selected for the New Play Development Residency. Through this program, Karina receives one-on-one dramaturgical support, an internal workshop, and a public staged reading to share her work with audiences. Join us this weekend for the first look at this powerful new play! GET TICKETS  Fresh Ink Theatre & CHUANG Stage Present UGLY FEELINGS A Staged Reading Written by Karina Cowperthwaite Directed by Sarah Shin Dramaturgy by Annie Jin Wang Featuring Jillian Sun, Avery Hansberger, Mordecai Choi, Alex Jacobs, Karla Goo Lang, Crystal Manyloun, and Emma Na-yun Downs Saturday, March 8 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, March 9 at 2:00 PM with Post-Show Conversation Following Both Performances Boston Center for the Arts, Black Box Theatre 539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA GET TICKETS Enter the abstract world of angst, confusion, and teenage fantasy as two multiracial Chinese American twins navigate growing up in a white-dominated New England suburb, where they’ve never quite felt like they belong. Content Advisories: Racism, Strong Language (Swearing), References to Disordered Eating, References to Self Harm, Mental Health Crises, Strong Racialized Language, Emotional Abuse Karina Cowperthwaite (she/her) is a director and playwright based in Cambridge, MA. A recent graduate of Harvard College with a joint degree in English and Theater, Dance and Media, Karina is passionate about uplifting Asian American work and challenging her own definition of what Asian American theater is and can be. As Co-President of the Asian Student Arts Project (ASAP), she directed a Pan-Asian adaptation of Legally Blonde, the first musical on Harvard's campus with an all-Asian cast which was featured on NBC News as well as writing, directing and acting in an original play titled Ugly Feelings at the Loeb Drama Center which was nominated for a Hoopes Prize. Professional credits include Dear Everything (Assistant Director Terminal 5), Romeo and Juliet (Assistant Director, American Repertory Theater) WILD: A Musical Becoming (Assistant Director, American Repertory Theater), A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical (Assistant to the Producer). Karina currently serves as the Artistic Coordinator and Special Assistant to the Artistic Director at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.   Sarah Shin (she/her/hers) is a Schwenksville-raised, Boston-trained, Brooklyn-based Korean American theatre artist. As a director, Sarah worked across the country at the regional, fringe, and collegiate level, including Boston Globe’s 2022 Top 10 Pick The Chinese Lady (which also received 5 Elliot Norton Award Nominations and 1 Win).  Her work has been funded and supported the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music, and Theatre, The Boston Foundation, NEFA Public Art for Spatial Justice Grant, and Asian American Arts Alliance WWYD Grant. She worked as Associate/Assistant to Trip Cullman, Barry Edelstein, Sammi Cannold, Diana Oh, Kelly Galvin, and was the SDC Observer for Broadway’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, directed by Tommy Kail. She is a member of Roundabout Directors Group Cohort 4, and previously the Resident Director of Ma-Yi Writers PlayLab. She recently was in residence at the Public Theater to develop a re-envisioned, multimedia production of wAve by Sung Rno. Sarah also co-founded the social collectives Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston and Queer Asian Babes – continuously uplifting the culture and community that have supported her creative work and journey. Annie Jin Wang is a first-generation Chinese-American dramaturg and writer working across the United States with a focus on decolonizing the artistic process. From new play development to revitalizing classic texts for today’s audiences, Annie’s body of work primarily investigates constructs of race, gender, and citizenship through a compassionate and critical lens. She works closely with playwrights, directors, and other generative artists at all stages of their practice to articulate their fullest vision, and encourages inquiry-based artistic processes that are healthy, fearless, and joyful. In addition to live theatre, she has facilitated development and revision processes for opera, film, television, literature, and game design. As a dramaturg, Annie is currently supporting new projects in development at Beth Morrison Projects, Signature Theatre, Fresh Ink Theatre & CHUANG Stage, and NYC PAC. Her collaborators have received recognition from The Public’s Emerging Writers Group, Musical Theatre Factory, Live & In Color, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The O’Neill National Playwrights and Musical Theatre Conferences, the Playwrights’ Center, and the Bay Area Playwrights Foundation, among others. She is currently guest faculty at BerkleeNYC and adjunct faculty at Marymount Manhattan College. Follow us on social media at @chuangstage across platforms! Copyright © 2024, CHUANG Stage, Inc., All rights reserved. Our mailing address is:  CHUANG Stage 539 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02118 Add us to your address book Want to hear from us in a different way? Update your preferences or unsubscribe chutze@bostonorange.com from CHUANG Stage.

DONATE NOW Dear Chutze, As we reflect on 2024, I am filled with gratitude for the impact CHUANG Stage has had on the community—thanks to audience and supporters like you. This year, we brought Asian American stories to life in ways that resonated deeply: Two world premieres: Nuwa in Fairyland, a bilingual take celebrating coming-to-age, and Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?), a moving solo show about family and belonging. Over 50 performances and 30+ community events, reaching more than 4,000 audience members, 79% of whom are AAPI. Radical accessibility: Through our Pay-As-You-Are ticketing model, we broke barriers to theatre, making it possible for working-class immigrant communities to share in the magic of storytelling. These milestones are just the beginning of what we can achieve together. As we prepare for 2025, we need your help to keep building this momentum. Our goal is to raise $2,000 by December 31, ensuring that Asian American voices remain at the center of Boston’s cultural landscape. Here’s how you can help: Donate today: Every dollar directly supports our productions, community events, and artist residencies. Click here to donate. Give $100 or more to receive an exclusive 2024 Year of the Dragon #SupportAsianArts T-shirt, a symbol of your commitment to this work! Make it yours.            (Designed by Jenny S. Lee) Your tax-deductible contribution fuels stories that inspire, empower, and connect us all. Together, we can continue to break barriers, uplift Asian American voices, and transform the future of theatre.  Donate via GiveButter (givebutter.com/chuang)  Write us a check! (539 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118)  Venmo us @chuangstage CHUANG Stage, Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization in Massachusetts. EIN: 84-3036673 Thank you for standing with CHUANG Stage and for believing in the power of stories. With gratitude, Alison Yueming Qu Executive Director, CHUANG Stage P.S. Don’t wait—your gift today ensures these stories thrive tomorrow. Click below to donate now. DONATE NOW

The wait is over: introducing the 2024 - 25 production season at CHUANG Stage!  This season, we are championing radical joy and Asian American activism through love letters and songs for our inner children brought up in a time of diaspora. Check out your curated year of Asian American theatre in Boston and mark your calendars now! In the fall, we present the world premiere of Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?) by Zoë Kim co-produced with Seoulful Productions, a nimble and tender solo performance where tears and laughter collide in a reckoning of Korean/American identity. In the coming spring, we present learning how to read by moonlight by Gaven Trinidad in partnership with Company One Theatre, delving deep into turbulent times, dreams, and bedtime stories through the wide eyes of a Filipino immigrant child. Boston Chinatown: Stories on Our Streets is an oral history musical developed from interviews with Boston Chinatown residents, created by a Boston-based team of AAPI creators and presented in open air and sung back to blocks where community thrives. Our first playwright development and incubation residency with Fresh Ink Theatre invests in hyper-local narratives and the next generation of Boston AAPI playwrights.  Tickets for Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?) go on sale NEXT WEEK! Learn more about these shows below and stay up-to-date with us for ticket drops.

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Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?) A World Premiere Production Nov. 13 - 30, 2024 Co-Produced with Seoulful Productions Written and Performed by Zoë Kim*  Directed by Chris Yejin Boston Center for the Arts, Plaza Black Box Theatre Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?) is Zoë Kim’s autobiographical journey through love’s many forms–how it’s learned, given, and reflected inward. In a nimble and tender solo performance, Zoë shapeshifts into the souls of her family into a whirlwind of memory, where tears and laughter collide. It’s not just a story, but a reckoning–weaving through the soft threads of Korean/American identity, belonging, and healing. Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?) is a poetic love letter to the inner child, and hopefully yours too.

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learning how to read by moonlight A World Premiere Production May 14 - 31, 2025 In Partnership with Company One Theatre Written by Gaven Trinidad Boston Center for the Arts, Plaza Theatre Under the moonlight, six-year-old Eddie imagines a dragon eating moons and an imaginary friend teaching him English. His mother smokes as she prays to a statue of the Santo Niño. His father waits alone in Manila for their daily phone calls. Songs from a mythical giant turtle travel across oceans, but are drowned by the voices of Duterte and Trump on the television. How will the weight of living in this world force them to reevaluate their understanding of community, dreams, and sanctuary? To spotlight Boston's own community leaders and activism, a new narrator (a fellow artist, community organizer, or elected official) joins the storytelling every night. The play is spoken in English and Tagalog with subtitles.

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Boston Chinatown: Stories on Our Streets An Un-monument | Re-monument | De-monument: Transforming Boston Project Funded by The Mellon Foundation and the City of Boston Boston Chinatown: Stories on Our Streets is a new musical theatre project that revives archives, facts, stories, and research of Boston Chinatown, and gives life to a series of oral history interviews to be performed in public spaces of Boston Chinatown.

Fresh Ink Development Residency Ugly Feelings By Karina Cowperthwaite Staged Reading - March 7 - 9, 2025 Boston Center for the Arts Enter the abstract world of angst, confusion, and teenage fantasy as two multiracial Chinese American twins navigate growing up in a white-dominated New England suburb, where they’ve never quite felt like they belong. Fresh Ink Incubation Residency Mary Magdalene, Daughter, Boatperson by Diana Khong After their mother's death, three Vietnamese siblings find ill-suited coping mechanisms: the eldest gambles with the neighborhood aunties, the middle sibling falls in love, and the youngest encounters a chain-smoking goblin. The goblin, in the form of an Asian grandmother, tells her her mother has gone to hell. So she follows her down.

Excited about our season? This is the best time of the year to donate and maximize your impact on Asian American theatre through any of the contribution options below.   Click to donate via GiveButter (Apple Pay accepted!)  Click to venmo us @chuangstage  Write us a check (our address: 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118) CHUANG Stage, Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and your gift is income tax-deductible. EIN: 84-3036673

NÜWA IN FAIRYLAND by Brandon Zang. In Photo: Bowen Huang, Henry Dolgoff, Trevyn Wong, Matt Goldstein, Jen Lewis. Ken Yotsukura Photography   CHUANG Stage pioneers radical accessibility to theatre and the arts for Asian Americans. As both a professional theatre and community organization, all of our programming is "Pay-As-You-Are with $0 Minimum", where we make sure theatre is accessible for working-class and immigrants of Asian American descent, a group underrepresented among arts and culture patrons in Boston. On average, a CHUANG Stage production costs $30,000 - $35,000, while all tickets remain Pay-As-You-Are from $0. We lead this work so that Asian American stories on stage can be heard and seen by all at no barrier to the community. Today until Monday, September 16th, we are fundraising for this cause and want to see YOU show up for the Asian American arts community! You are invited to our first-ever cabaret-fundraiser, Songs of Our Future, celebrating the cultural wealth and talents of our community through an all-star showcase of Asian American musical theatre from Boston! The evening will feature a lineup of Asian Broadway favorites plus musical theatre hits in a reimagined Asian American context. Savor a delicious dinner buffet while enjoying the festivities–for even more fun, participate in our "Pay-As-You-Are" karaoke and mahjong tables, where you can choose to donate for community bonding! Join the joy and the movement today with a gala ticket or sponsorship, and contribute to the future of Asian American theatre in Boston with exclusive benefits this month (see below!) TICKETS & SPONSORSHIPS Ticket & Sponsorship Benefits INDIVIDUAL TICKETS support joyful and radical theatrical productions at CHUANG Stage and help us bring more pan-Asian stories to life, fostering local talents and representation in the arts.  Friend of CHUANG - $88 · Entry to the gala · Access to the dinner buffet · Get a CHUANG Stage sticker or a show art sticker!  Supporter of Stories - $188 · All previous benefits · Limited edition CHUANG Stage tote bag · One free drink ticket  Champion of Culture - $288 · All previous benefits · Exclusive CHUANG Stage t-shirt · VIP seating at the gala  Access Advocate: Sponsor a Gala Performer! - $488 · All previous benefits · Signed card by all gala performers OR an instax photo with all performers! · Two (2) complimentary tickets to a CHUANG Stage production · Name recognition on our website and at events SEASON SPONSORSHIPS advance radical accessibility at CHUANG Stage through our flagship "Pay-As-You-Are" model and community engagement activations at our 2024-2025 production season.  Cultural Leader - $1,500 · All previous benefits including up to three (1 - 3) VIP ticket entry to the gala + dinner buffet · Signed program and poster by the cast and creative team of all 24-25 productions · Exclusive access to final dress rehearsals, and more  Community Activator - $2,500 · All previous benefits including up to four (1 - 4) VIP ticket entry to the gala + dinner buffet · Special behind-the-scenes tour of our productions · Private pre-show reception at 2024 - 25 CHUANG Stage productions · Four (4) complimentary tickets to a CHUANG Stage production, and more  Asian American Legacy Maker - $5,000 · All previous benefits including up to six (1 - 6) VIP ticket entry to the gala + dinner buffet · Acknowledgment in the lobby and pre-show announcement throughout all 2024 - 25 performances · Private dinner with the executive director and key company members · Reserved seating at all CHUANG Stage 2024 - 25 performances, and more TICKETS & SPONSORSHIPS Can’t join us on Monday, September 16th? You can still make a transformative impact on Asian American theatre through any of the contribution options below and ensure your support counts. All contributions made before midnight on Monday, September 16th, 2024 qualify for matching tier benefits, no matter which platform you choose!   Click to venmo us @chuangstage  Write us a check (our address: 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118)  Click to donate via GiveButter (Apple Pay accepted!) CHUANG Stage, Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and your gift is income tax-deductible! EIN: 84-3036673. Follow us on social media at @chuangstage across platforms! Copyright © 2024, CHUANG Stage, Inc., All rights reserved. Our mailing address is:  CHUANG Stage 539 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02118

Join us for an unforgettable evening at Songs of Our Futures An Asian American Musical Gala benefiting CHUANG Stage Monday, September 16th, 6:00 PM –  9:00 PM Pao Arts Center 99 Albany St, Boston, MA 02111, USA   You are invited to our first-ever cabaret-fundraiser, celebrating the cultural wealth and talents of our community through an all-star showcase of Asian American musical theatre from Boston! Experience the joy and excitement of musical performances, community spirit, and cultural heritage as we come together to support Boston's only Asian American professional non-profit theatre company. The evening will feature a lineup of Asian Broadway favorites plus musical theatre hits in a reimagined Asian American context. Savor a delicious dinner buffet while enjoying the festivities–for even more fun, participate in our "Pay-As-You-Are" karaoke and mahjong tables, where you can choose to donate for additional enjoyment and community bonding! Your presence and contributions will help CHUANG Stage continue to create groundbreaking, accessible, and inclusive theatre for the pan-Asian immigrant community. Don't miss this special night to be part of a joyful celebration that champions AAPI talent and Boston’s own arts community by getting your tickets TODAY! TICKETS & SPONSORSHIPS Can’t join us on Monday, September 16th? You can still make a transformative impact on Asian American theatre through any of the contribution options below and ensure your support counts. All contributions made before midnight on Monday, September 16th, 2024 qualify for matching tier benefits, no matter which platform you choose!   Scroll down to get your gala tickets & sponsorship today!  Click to venmo us @chuangstage  Write us a check (our address: 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118)  Click to donate via GiveButter (Apple Pay accepted!) CHUANG Stage, Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and your gift is income tax-deductible! EIN: 84-3036673. Ticket & Sponsorship Benefits INDIVIDUAL TICKETS support joyful and radical theatrical productions at CHUANG Stage and help us bring more pan-Asian stories to life, fostering local talents and representation in the arts.  Friend of CHUANG - $88 · Entry to the gala · Access to the dinner buffet · Get a CHUANG Stage sticker or a show art sticker!  Supporter of Stories - $188 · All previous benefits · Limited edition CHUANG Stage tote bag · One free drink ticket  Champion of Culture - $288 · All previous benefits · Exclusive CHUANG Stage t-shirt · VIP seating at the gala  Access Advocate: Sponsor a Gala Performer! - $488 · All previous benefits · Signed card by all gala performers OR an instax photo with all performers! · Two (2) complimentary tickets to a CHUANG Stage production · Name recognition on our website and at events SEASON SPONSORSHIPS advance radical accessibility at CHUANG Stage through our flagship "Pay-As-You-Are" model and community engagement activations at our 2024-2025 production season.  Cultural Leader - $1,500 · All previous benefits including up to three (1 - 3) VIP ticket entry to the gala + dinner buffet · Signed program and poster by the cast and creative team of all 24-25 productions · Exclusive access to final dress rehearsals, and more  Community Activator - $2,500 · All previous benefits including up to four (1 - 4) VIP ticket entry to the gala + dinner buffet · Special behind-the-scenes tour of our productions · Private pre-show reception at 2024 - 25 CHUANG Stage productions · Four (4) complimentary tickets to a CHUANG Stage production, and more  Legacy Builder - $5,000 · All previous benefits up to six (1 - 6) VIP ticket entry to the gala + dinner buffet · Acknowledgment in the lobby and pre-show announcement throughout all 2024 - 25 performances · Private dinner with the executive director and key company members · Reserved seating at all CHUANG Stage 2024 - 25 performances, and more TICKETS & SPONSORSHIPS By participating at any level, you are directly investing in the future of Asian American theatre in Boston, empowering CHUANG Stage to continue creating groundbreaking, accessible, and inclusive productions for the pan-Asian immigrant community. Join the joy and the movement today!

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NÜWA IN FAIRYLAND A World Premiere Production MAY 23 - JUNE 1 Written by Brandon Zang Directed by Carla Mirabal Rodríguez Starring: Trevyn Wong, Jen Alison Lewis, Matt Goldstein, Henry Dolgoff, Bowen Huang, Yihong Yuan (U/S)   TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW! (PAY-AS-YOU-ARE, STARTING AT $0!) GET TICKETS After getting cast as Puck in his high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Benji dives deep into method acting to prepare for his role. In the enchanted forest of foggy adolescence, he runs into a stranger: the Chinese creator goddess Nüwa (女娲).  Does she hold the key to his birthplace as a transracial adoptee? Or will Benji never escape Fairyland? Conceived by Chinese Canadian playwright Brandon Zang, Nüwa in Fairyland fuses Shakespeare's charm with Chinese folklore into a coming-of-age tale.  In photo: Bowen Huang, Trevyn Wong (left to right) In photo (left): Jen Alison Lewis, Trevyn Wong, Matt Goldstein, Henry Dolgoff, Winnie Chiang, Emma J. Hunt. In photo (left): Jen Alison Lewis, Trevyn Wong, Brandon Zang, Henry Dolgoff, Kaye Huiyuan Hu. Photo by Jenny S. Lee. Location:  Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Black Box Theatre 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA Performance Schedule: *click on dates for tickets to each performance!*   Thursday, 5/23, 7pm  (Opening Night Pre-Show Celebration Sponsored by LUNAR) Friday, 5/24, 8pm  (Queer AAPI Night Out with MAP for Health) Saturday, 5/25, 2pm  (Coffee & Bake Goods Pop-Up with Panethenic Pourovers) Saturday, 5/25, 8pm  (Chinese Adoptee Night with China's Children International) Sunday, 5/26, 2pm Wednesday, 5/29, 7pm Thursday, 5/30, 7pm  (Post-Show Conversation with Creative Team) Friday, 5/31, 8pm  (Tea & Sweets Pop-Up with Panethenic Pourovers) Saturday, 6/1, 2pm (4pm: Special Scribble Sesh: Community Write Out in Fairyland) Saturday, 6/1, 8pm GET TICKETS Make a tax-deductible gift to ensure tickets to Nüwa in Fairyland are PAY-AS-YOU-ARE from $0, a radical initiative where all of the Asian American community gets to see theatre barrier-free! A $25 donation will sponsor an immigrant community member see theatre for the first time. Can you help them join us at the show? CLICK TO SUPPORT NOW! From Our Friends: Morning, Noon, and Night at Company One Theatre! MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT a new play by Kirsten Greenidge directed by Summer L. Williams Apr 26 - May 25, 2024 Boston Center for the Arts, Plaza Theatre FREE with Pay-What-You-Want tickets! Mia just wants her daughter to listen without talking back. Dailyn just wants her mom to quit being so judgemental. And they both just want everything to be perfect for when older sister Alex comes home for her birthday. But when a mysterious visitor from a digital dimension arrives on Mia’s doorstep, the very concepts of home and perfection are challenged. Reality and social media blur together in the newest play from Boston’s own master playwright Kirsten Greenidge. An eccentric reflection of post-pandemic life, Morning, Noon, and Night navigates familial reckoning, digital surveillance, and the ways we can love each other after four long and traumatic years.

NÜWA IN FAIRYLAND A World Premiere Production MAY 23 - JUNE 1 Written by Brandon Zang Directed by Carla Mirabal Rodríguez Artwork Artist: Shaina Lu (@shainadoesart) TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW! (PAY-AS-YOU-ARE, STARTING AT $0!) GET TICKETS After getting cast as Puck in his high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Benji dives deep into method acting to prepare for his role. In the enchanted forest of foggy adolescence, he runs into a stranger: the Chinese creator goddess Nüwa (女娲).  Does she hold the key to his birthplace as a transracial adoptee? Or will Benji never escape Fairyland? Conceived by Chinese Canadian playwright Brandon Zang, Nüwa in Fairyland fuses Shakespeare's charm with Chinese folklore into a coming-of-age tale.  Location:  Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Black Box Theatre 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA Performance Schedule: Thursday, 5/23, 7pm Friday, 5/24, 8pm Saturday, 5/25, 2pm & 8pm Sunday, 5/26, 2pm Wednesday, 5/29, 7pm Thursday, 5/30, 7pm Friday, 5/31, 8pm Saturday, 6/1, 2pm & 8pm *Stay tuned for the announcement on our community events!* GET TICKETS We have an exciting opportunity for you today: make a tax-deductible gift and make sure tickets to Nüwa in Fairyland are PAY-AS-YOU-ARE from $0, a radical initiative to ensure all of the Asian American community gets to see theatre barrier-free. A $25 donation will sponsor an immigrant community member see the theatre for the first time. Can you help them join us at the show? CLICK TO SUPPORT NOW! About the Playwright: Brandon Zang (he/him) is a Chinese Canadian playwright who uses worldbuilding to distance, deconstruct, and dissect the complex issues of today. His work has been developed at Lifeline Theatre, Live Arts, KCACTF, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Queen’s University, and the University of Chicago. His play Ah Wing and the Automaton Eagle is the winner of the 2023 Voaden Prize. Brandon is currently an MFA playwright at Boston University. He is super excited to be making his world premiere of Nüwa in Fairyland with Chuang Stage! About the Director: Carla Mirabal Rodríguez (she/her) is thrilled to be working with Chuang Stage! Carla is a director, actor, and producer from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Recent directing credits include John Proctor is the Villain (Asst. Director, The Huntington), In the Time of the Butterflies (Newton Theatre Company), El voicenote tiene que ser menos de 1 minuto (Dream Boston powered by The Huntington), Things You Should Know When Setting Up an Ofrenda (Huntington Theatre at Boston Theatre Marathon), Temporary (Teatro Chelsea’s A-Típico New Play Festival), Romeo + Juliet (Asst. Director, Teatro Chelsea), and Sonia Se Fue (Asst. Director, Teatro Chelsea). Carla is also the Artistic and Casting Associate at The Huntington. CarlaMirabalRodriguez.com From our friends @ Fresh Ink Theatre Company! ORPHEUS IN THE OVERWORLD Written by Dante Gonzalez Directed by Shira Helena Gitlin April 26 - May 11, 2024 Plaza Black Box Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS The gods have forced Orpheus and Eurydice to repeat their tragedy for centuries, but this time everyone (and everything) is a bit more queer than usual: tomboys, fairies, gods, and god-ish bartenders abound. Join this cast of characters for a celebration of queerness, genderfullness, and staking claim on our own story.  Follow us on social media at @chuangstage across platforms! Copyright © 2024, CHUANG Stage, Inc., All rights reserved. CHUANG Stage, Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization in Massachusetts. CHUANG Stage is Boston's Asian American theatre company cultivating joyful and radical pan-Asian stories that pioneer a translingual activism in the arts.Make a tax-deductible donation today! Our mailing address is: CHUANG Stage 539 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02118

This coming spring, CHUANG Stage is thrilled to welcome you back to Boston Center for the Arts for the world premiere of Nüwa in Fairyland, a new play by Brandon Zang! We can't wait to continue the community conversations started last fall on creative justice of the transracial adoptee experience, and voices of the Asian American diaspora, all in dialogue with Shakespeare classics and mystical Chinese fairytales that once wandered into our coming-of-age.  Mark your calendars now for this fantasy ride with us! NÜWA IN FAIRYLAND A World Premiere Production MAY 23 - JUNE 1 Written by Brandon Zang Directed by Carla Mirabal Rodríguez Artwork Artist: Shaina Lu (@shainadoesart) LEARN MORE After getting cast as Puck in his high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Benji does a deep dive into method acting to prepare for his role. In the enchanted forest of foggy adolescence, he runs into a stranger: the Chinese creator goddess Nüwa. Does she hold the key to his birthplace as a transracial adoptee? Or will Benji never escape Fairyland? TICKETS COMING SOON!  (PAY-AS-YOU-ARE, STARTING AT $0) Location:  Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Black Box Theatre 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA About the Playwright: Brandon Zang (he/him) is a Chinese Canadian playwright who uses worldbuilding to distance, deconstruct, and dissect the complex issues of today. His work has been developed at Lifeline Theatre, Live Arts, KCACTF, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Queen’s University, and the University of Chicago. His play Ah Wing and the Automaton Eagle is the winner of the 2023 Voaden Prize. Brandon is currently an MFA playwright at Boston University. He is super excited to be making his world premiere of Nüwa in Fairyland with Chuang Stage! About the Director: Carla Mirabal Rodríguez is a director, actor, and producer from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Recent directing credits include El voicenote tiene que ser menos de 1 minuto (Dream Boston powered by The Huntington), Things You Should Know When Setting Up an Ofrenda (Huntington Theatre at Boston Theatre Marathon), In the Time of the Butterflies I(Newton Theatre Company), Temporary (Teatro Chelsea’s A-Típico New Play Festival), Romeo + Juliet (Asst. Director, Teatro Chelsea), and Sonia Se Fue (Asst. Director, Teatro Chelsea). Carla is also the Artistic and Casting Associate at The Huntington. CarlaMirabalRodriguez.com

An Exclusive Offer | For Our Very Own Boston API Family  Asian Joy Night Hosted by CHUANG Stage See THE HEART SELLERS by Lloyd Suh at Huntington Theatre Company! Join us to see The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh (The Chinese Lady) on Tuesday, Nov 28th for FREE and enjoy a complimentary evening catered by Kuya's Cooking and Mom and Son's Kitchen, with special performance by the Boston Korean Traditional Dance, and a post-show conversation with renowned playwright Lloyd Suh! Sign up now for FREE tickets to see The Heart Sellers and to RSVP for Asian Joy Night! Location: The Huntington at the Calderwood Pavilion / BCA 527 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02116 RESERVE A SPOT "The Heart Sellers" Starring Judy Song and Jenna Agbayani; photo by Lia Chang 6:00 PM - 7:15 PM Pre-Show Reception Hosted by CHUANG Stage This pre-show reception will be hosted by CHUANG Stage - cultivating joyful and challenging pan-Asian stories in Greater Boston - catered by Kuya's Cooking (Filipino cuisine) and Mom & Son's Kitchen (Korean cuisine), and will feature a special performance from the Boston Korean Traditional Dance Group! 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM "The Heart Sellers" by Lloyd Suh, Directed by May Adrales Jane and Luna run into each other in the grocery store on Thanksgiving in 1973 and find they have much in common: each are recent Asian immigrants, a bit homesick and lonely with hardworking absentee husbands, and adjusting to a new country filled with new opportunities. Over sips of wine and a questionable frozen turkey, they dream of disco dancing, learning to drive, and even a visit to Disneyland, and share their hopes and challenges for making a new home in a new land with grace and dignity. A funny, moving, and big-hearted new play.   9:00 PM - 10:00 PM Post-show Conversation with Playwright Lloyd Suh Lloyd Suh is the 2019 winner of the Herb Alpert Award for Theater. His play The Chinese Lady was hailed a New York Times Critics’ Pick during its NY run. A conversation with Lloyd joined by Michelle Aguillon (Boston-based Filipino Director), and Alison Yueming Qu (Executive Director of CHUANG Stage), moderated by Dramaturg Christine Mok. JOIN THE JOY This weekend! FOUND IN TRANSLATION: SKINLESS A Workshop Staged Reading Written by liqing xu Directed by Tianding He  SKINLESS reimagines the ancient Chinese legend The White Snake as a queer, gender-bending modern fairy tale. Two snake demons, White and Green, come to Earth to experience being human. White transforms into a human and immediately falls passionately in love, but Green cannot successfully become human. Instead, Green’s soul gets separated from their body, and they are cursed to inhabit different human and non-human bodies.  Performance Schedule:  Friday, November 17, 2023 @7PM - followed by creative team talkback Saturday, November 18, 2023 @ 2PM & 7PM   Pricing: Free, suggested donation $10   Address: Pao Arts Center 99 Albany Street Boston, MA 02111 GET TICKETS

FOUND IN TRANSLATION: SKINLESS A Workshop Staged Reading Written by liqing xu Directed by Tianding He   Performance Schedule:  Friday, November 17, 2023 @7PM - followed by creative team talkback Saturday, November 18, 2023 @ 2PM & 7PM   Pricing: Free, suggested donation $10   Address: Pao Arts Center 99 Albany Street Boston, MA 02111 GET TICKET SKINLESS reimagines the ancient Chinese legend The White Snake as a queer, gender-bending modern fairy tale.  Two snake demons, White and Green, come to Earth to experience being human. White transforms into a human and immediately falls passionately in love, but Green cannot successfully become human. Instead, Green’s soul gets separated from their body, and they are cursed to inhabit different human and non-human bodies.  Playful and mysterious, SKINLESS examines the fluid and relative nature of identity. It shows the pitfalls and joys of being perceived or not perceived, and ultimately, is a queer coming-of-age story that’s also about the power of reinvention. Panethnic Pourovers "Coffee & Craft" Pop-Up: On Saturday 11/18 between 3 - 5PM, join us at Pao Arts Center to meet Panethnic Pourovers, a progressive cultural café library serving AAPI, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ folx for some laid-back coffee on us, plus zine-making, and artist-led shadow puppet-making good times together! Join us by selecting this event as an add-on as you check our for SKINLESS tickets! GET TICKETS & RSVP FOR THE POP-UP Starring:  Sharifa Yasmin (She/Her) as WHITE Jenine Jacinto (They/Them) as GREEN Jupiter Lê (He/Him) as ASH Michael J. Blunt (They/He) as MOGWAI   Creative and Production Team:  Stage Manager: Sarah O'Neill Dramaturg: Annie Jin Wang Lighting Designer: Ashley Yung Scenic and Puppet Designer: Yolanda Yuanlu Peng Puppet Designer: Sean Devare Sound and Music Director: JK Wong Costume Designer: Sandra Zhihan Jia   Found in Translation is a collaboration between Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston (AATAB), CHUANG Stage, and Pao Arts Center. Since 2021, Found in Translation amplifies the power and complexities of being multilingual, immigrants, or identifying as Asian American in Greater Boston; these performances connect the pan-Asian community through conversations about race, language, identity, and our experiences when it comes to belongings and a collective more just future.  The Found in Translation Series is supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts' Public Art for Spatial Justice program, with funding from the Barr Foundation.

It's an exciting fall for us at CHUANG Stage--thanks to our newly awarded LaunchPad Theatre Residency at Boston Center for the Arts, we are thrilled to land our very first two-show season at BCA's renowned South End theatre space, upholding Asian American theatre pioneering a translingual activism in Boston! This fall, we champion one of the most poignant yet often overlooked Chinese immigrant history with The Fortune Teller, anchored by Boston Chinatown's own playwright, Christina R. Chan. We are honored to co-produce with TC Squared Theatre Company, who has led this play through a rich development history. For the first staged version, we collectively illuminate a more just Boston reflected through the Asian American immigrant contribution and our enduring heritage. We can't wait to be in community with you this fall at the Boston Center for the Arts! THE FORTUNE TELLER A New Play Workshop Production Co-Produced by CHUANG Stage & TC Squared Theatre Company Written by Christina R. Chan Directed by Kai Chao Associate Directed by Alison Yueming Qu The Fortune Teller Artwork Artist: Shaina Lu (@shainadoesart) Can you predict your destiny? How do we end up where we are? Inspired by an unsettling history, The Fortune Teller traces several generations of a family from China in the 1800s to present-day America, as they search for destiny and each other bound together by immigrant legacy and bloodline. Performances will be followed by community activation + post-show programming! TICKET LINK COMING SOON!  (PAY-AS-YOU-ARE, STARTING AT $0) Location:  Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Black Box Theatre 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA Performance Schedule:  Saturday, October 28 @ 7 PM Sunday, October 29 @ 2 PM Thursday, November 2 @ 7 PM Friday, November 3 @ 7 PM Saturday, November 4 @ 2 PM Now Casting: SKINLESS by liqing xu! We are casting for SKINLESS, a new play workshop reading by liqing xu, featured as a part of our Found in Translation series! SKINLESS reimagines the ancient Chinese legend The White Snake as a queer, gender-bending modern fairy tale. We are seeking to highlight performers who identify as transgender, nonbinary and/or gender expansive, and Asian American and Pacific Islander as well. Click here to learn more and submit! Submissions due October 1, 2023.

September 10, 2023 -- BOSTON DANCE ALLIANCE OPEN CALL/DANCER HEALTH DAY

Presented by Boston Dance Alliance (BDA)

This annual group audition and dancer wellness event gives working artists with diverse abilities the chance to show regional choreographers their moves and get physical assessments from health care professionals. The event boasts a stellar lineup of area teachers leading ballet (Boston Ballet former principal dancer Adriana Suarez), contemporary (Urbanity Dance artist and teacher Haley Day), jazz/musical theater (Boston Conservatory Assistant Professor of Dance Lindsey Klein) and all abilities breakdancing (taught in ASL by DEAFinitely Assistant Dance Coach John Ying, with English translation). Sports medicine specialists from Spaulding Rehabilitation Network and other health care professionals offer physical assessment, nutrition advice and movement guidance. Suggested donation $25; BDA members free. Mass Motion Dance, 100 Holton Street Brighton, Mass., RSVP at bostondancealliance.org

October 28-29, 2023 -- GRUPO CORPO
Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston at the Boch Center Shubert Theater
Brazil’s acclaimed contemporary dance ensemble returns to Boston for the first time since 2018 with a program that underscores its home country’s diverse cultures, with a focus on Afro-Brazilian themes and aesthetics. Among the offerings on this visit are two works by choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras: Gira, inspired by Umbanda religious practice and its celebrants’ spinning movements and ritual gestures; and Gil Refazendo, a 2019 piece reworked in 2022 that centers music by the "godfather of Brazilian music” and Bahian composer Gilberto Gil, the performer and activist who pioneered tropicália music into a global phenomenon. Boch Center Shubert Theater, tickets $35 and up at celebrityseries.org.

December 15-16, 2023 -- DREAMING WITH THE BODY (w.t.)
Presented by Kristin Wagner/Moving Bodies
Buzzy (and busy) dancemaker Kristin Wagner brings her company Moving Bodies and its collaboratively styled choreography to Worcester, Mass. for the first public showing of “Dreaming of the Body (w.t.).” This evening-length performance takes inspiration from the dark side of fairy tales, where love and happiness for female protagonists is gained only from endurance of sacrifice and violence. (Think Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid, where the lead character’s happiness on land relies on having her tongue cut out.) Wagner says the production touches heavy subjects “infused with stories of magic…both dark and light.” Part of the show is informed by work with Worcester-area teens who reimagined new endings for the fairy tales. The young dancers perform alongside Wagner’s professional company. “Dreaming of the Body'' is funded by the Jean McDonough Arts Center (JMAC), and presented in collaboration with Hanover Theater and Worcester Cultural Council. JMAC Brick Box Theater, tickets at jmacworcester.org.

*NEW* CLASSICAL MUSIC/OPERA -- September 10, 2023 @ 7 pm
BOSTON LYRIC OPERA’S “OMAR” GETS BROADCAST DEBUT ON CRB CLASSICAL 99.5
An audio recording of Boston Lyric Opera's (BLO) 2023 production of "Omar," Rhiannon Giddens’s and Michael Abels’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, makes its broadcast premiere Sun., Sep. 10 at 7 PM on CRB Classical 99.5. Tenor Jamez McCorkle (r., w/Brianna J. Robinson, photo by Olivia Moon) makes his BLO debut and reprises the title role he sang in the opera's 2022 Spoleto Festival USA premiere. This is the story of Islamic scholar Omar Ibn Said, captured at 37 and forced to leave his West Africa home on a ship bound for Charleston, where he was sold into slavery. He escaped one enslavement and was forced into a second, where he resisted converting to Christianity and penned the only known Arabic language autobiography of a man enslaved in America. Giddens and Abels infuse Western orchestra traditions with sounds and melodies of Americana, Arabic and West African folk music. Michael Ingram Ellis conducts the BLO Orchestra. Featuring Cierra Byrd, Daniel Okulitch and BLO Emerging Artist alumna Brianna J. Robinson, whose role debut as Julie Opera magazine critic David Shengold called: "awe-inspiring..[it] reminded me and my companion of our first live encounter with Jessye Norman...over four decades ago." "Omar" was co-commissioned and co-produced by Boston Lyric Opera with Spoleto Festival USA, Carolina Performing Arts, LA Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco Opera. Details about the production here. This recording of "Omar" is expected to be available for on-demand streaming later this fall at BLO.org and Classical.org; details to come.

OPERA -- September 14-24, 2023
BOSTON LYRIC OPERA'S NEW "MADAMA BUTTERFLY" EMERGES
Not seen on a Boston Lyric Opera stage since November 2012, this Puccini classic undergoes a dramaturgical rethink without a note of music changes and with minimal libretto tweaks. The production is led by stage director, author (Final Bow for Yellowface) and arts advocate Phil Chan, with an Asian/Asian-American artistic team that includes Oscar- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker and author Arthur Dong (“Forbidden City, USA,” “Hollywood Chinese”). Here, Butterfly (Karen Chia-Ling Ho, r., making her BLO debut) is a performer at a popular 1940s San Francisco nightclub, in love with American naval officer Pinkerton (Dominick Chenes in his BLO debut), forced to hide her Japanese-American identity, and ultimately swept up in World War II-fueled xenophobia. Full release here. Emerson Colonial Theatre, tickets at blo.org.

CLASSICAL MUSIC -- September 27, 2023 @ 7:30 pm
SHELTER MUSIC BOSTON'S "SONGS OF LIFE" INSPIRED BY, AND FOR, MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES
During concerts in homeless and other shelters across Boston earlier this year, Artistic Director Adrian Anantawan and musicians from Shelter Music played a set of music they chose to evoke feelings of joy, sadness, peace and hope. Then they asked residents and staff about other music that inspired similar emotions. Those selections – ranging from the ‘80s anthem “Eye of the Tiger'' and A Tribe Called Quest’s hip-hop classic “Can I Kick It?” to the Portuguese language standard “Eu Gosto de Você” – were offered to four composers, along with participants’ written words, as inspiration to write new chamber music pieces. The new works go on a rolling premiere tour to those same shelters in September and a public concert on September 27. Full press release here. St. Cecilia Parish, 18 Belvidere Street, in Boston. Sheltermusicboston.org.

OPERA -- November 8-12, 2023
Boston Lyric Opera's LA CENERENTOLA / CINDERELLA
It’s been more than 30 years since the last BLO production of Rossini’s adaptation of this oft-told tale. Sweet but put-upon Angelina (Cecelia Hall, in her BLO debut), a young woman from an ungrateful family, learns her true worth with the help of a sympathetic guardian. She still meets and marries a prince, this time in and around some of Boston’s iconic neighborhoods (insert “wicked stepsistah” jokes here). The libretto dispenses with fairy dust in favor of more earthly interventions but maintains its magic with Rossini’s beautiful melodies and energetic score. This new production is helmed by Dawn M. Simmons, the award-winning Boston theater director and artist who brings her talent into opera for the first time. The cast includes Dana Varga (BLO debut) as Clorinda, 2023/24 BLO Emerging Artist Alexis Peart as Tisbe, Levy Sekgapane (BLO debut) as Don Ramiro, Levi Hernandez (the BLO film, “B.”) as Dandini, Brandon Cedel (BLO’s 2019 “The Rape of Lucretia”) as Don Magnifico and Philip Lima (BLO’s 2022 “Romeo & Juliette”) as Alidoro. Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, tickets at blo.org.

LATE SUMMER/FALL ‘23 NEWS, PERFORMANCES, FREE EVENTS 

Boston Lyric Opera’s (BLO) late summer/fall schedule includes two mainstage performances and a number of free community events. The company also announces news about its leadership and its 2023/24 Emerging Artists; all details below.

For more information, or to connect with any of the artists or events noted here, contact John Michael Kennedy at jmk@jmkpr.com, 781-620-1761 (o) or 212-842-1752 (m/t).

“MADAMA BUTTERFLY” – PERFORMANCES, NEWS & EVENTS

PERFORMANCE: A NEW “MADAMA BUTTERFLY” EMERGES 

Not seen on a Boston Lyric Opera stage since November 2012, this Puccini classic undergoes a dramaturgical rethink with a new setting (1940s San Francisco) and without a note of music changes. The production is led by stage director, author (Final Bow for Yellowface) and arts advocate Phil Chan, with an Asian/Asian-American artistic team that boasts Oscar- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker and author Arthur Dong (“Forbidden City, USA,” “Hollywood Chinese”). Here, Butterfly (Karen Chia-Ling Ho, making her BLO debut) is a performer at a popular nightclub, in love with American naval officer Pinkerton (Dominick Chenes in his BLO debut), forced to hide her Japanese-American identity, and swept up in World War II-fueled xenophobia. Emerson Colonial Theatre, tickets at blo.org. Full press release here. 

 

NEWS: ADDITIONAL CAST/ARTISTIC TEAM MEMBERS FOR “MADAMA BUTTERFLY” 

Boston Lyric Opera has announced additional cast and artistic team members for its production of “Madama Butterfly.” South Korean baritone Hyungjin Son, a Master's degree candidate at New England Conservatory, will sing the role of Uncle Bonze. A 20-plus-member BLO Chorus will be led by BLO Chorus Director Brett Hodgdon. Denver-based performing and design artist Fuji Dreskin joins as the production’s Wig and Makeup Designer. Details on the full “Madama Butterfly” cast and creative team is here. Sep. 14-24, Emerson Colonial Theater, 106 Boylston Street, Boston. Info and tickets at blo.org/butterfly. 

FREE EVENT: “OUR STORY: CULTURAL LEGACIES OF JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION”  

In partnership with the New England Japanese American Citizens League and Japan Society of Boston, BLO presents this free artistic panel discussion and performance that explores how contemporary artists respond to the forced mass removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. (Incarceration is depicted in BLO’s new production of “Madama Butterfly.”) BLO Artistic Advisor and mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen moderates a panel sharing firsthand and family stories of individuals who endured this violation of civil rights, and exploring how incarcerated individuals and their descendants grapple with their legacy in music, dance, drama and other cultural expressions. Guests and performers include: American film, TV, stage and classical composer Paul Chihara; Amherst, Mass.-based artist, scholar, educator and “Madama Butterfly” choreographer Michael Sakamoto; and scholar and performer Erin Aoyama whose “No-No Boy” project captures images and songs based on the lives of imprisoned Japanese Americans. FREE. Mon., Sep. 11 at 6 pm, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Smith Hall, Columbia Point, Boston. 

EVENT: “RE-INTERPRETING ‘MADAMA BUTTERFLY’ FOR THE 21ST CENTURY” 

Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” is one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. Loved by audiences and an essential part of the traditional repertoire, its history has a reputation for portraying inaccurate representations of Japanese culture, contributing to stereotypes of Asians and Asian Americans. WBUR arts and culture reporter Cristela Guerra leads a conversation with Stage Director Phil Chan and BLO Artistic Advisor and dramaturg Nina Yoshida Nelsen about their approach to reimagining the opera. The event includes a musical performance. Wed., Sep. 13 at 6:30 pm (doors open 5:30 pm), WBUR CitySpace, 890 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. Tickets start at $5 at wbur.org/events. 

LA CENERENTOLA / CINDERELLA

NEWS: FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR “LA CENERENTOLA” NOV. 8-12 

It’s been more than 30 years since the last BLO production of Rossini’s adaptation of the oft-told Cinderella tale. Sweet but put-upon Angelina (Cecelia Hall, in her BLO debut) is a young woman from an ungrateful family who learns her true worth with the help of a sympathetic guardian before meeting and marrying a prince. This version of the story dispenses with fairy dust in favor of more earthly interventions but maintains its magic with beautiful melodies and an energetic score. This new production is helmed by Dawn M. Simmons, the award-winning Boston theater director and artist who brings her talent to BLO (and opera) for the first time. The cast includes Dana Varga (BLO debut) as Clorinda, 2023/24 BLO Emerging Artist Alexis Peart as Tisbe, Levy Sekgapane (BLO debut) as Don Ramiro, Levi Hernandez (the BLO film, “B.”) as Dandini, Brandon Cedel (BLO’s 2019 “The Rape of Lucretia”) as Don Magnifico and Philip Lima (BLO’s 2022 “Romeo & Juliette”) as Alidoro. Nov. 8-12, 2023, Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston. Tickets at blo.org. 

UPCOMING FREE PERFORMANCES

FREE EVENT: “STREET STAGE” PERFORMANCES AUG. 12 AND OCT. 14 

​​Boston Lyric Opera’s Street Stage rolls back to Boston for two appearances. 

• Late this month, the mobile performance venue appears at the Rose Kennedy Greenway for an afternoon of arias inspired by the company’s 2023/24 season theme: All I Have, I Give for Love. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs to enjoy on-the-hour, 30-minute sets of open-air performances as part of the Greenway’s outdoor Artisan Market. Performances are by soprano (and 2023/24 BLO Emerging Artist) Sarah Joyce Cooper, Emerging Artist alumnus and tenor Omar Najmi (who sings Valcour in BLO’s upcoming “The Anonymous Lover”), and Emerging Artist alumnus/pianist Brendon Shapiro. FREE. Sat., Aug. 12, hourly from 12 noon-3:30pm, Rowes Wharf Plaza on the Greenway, High St. @ Atlantic Ave. 

• Street Stage hosts a variety of featured performances at the Fort Point Open Studios event from 11a-5p. FREE. Oct. 14 (rain date Oct. 15) Midway Artist Studios Mount Washington Street (between A Street and Channel Center Street), Boston. 

FREE EVENT: CONCERT AT THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY COURTYARD 

Boston Lyric Opera repeats its popular tradition of free summer concerts at the Boston Public Library Central Branch Courtyard. This one-hour concert offers a sneak peek at BLO’s 2023/24 season, with members of the Emerging Artist initiative performing some of opera’s most beloved music. Seating is limited; early arrival is recommended. In the event of inclement weather, the concert moves indoors. FREE. Aug. 25, 12:30p, Boston Public Library Copley Square, Dartmouth Street entrance.

COMPANY LEADERSHIP
 

NEWS: BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPOINTS TWO NEW LEADERS 

In its most recent meeting the Boston Lyric Opera Board of Directors approved a dual-leadership structure for the governing body. Alicia Cooney, a co-founder and Senior Advisor of The Monument Group in Boston was appointed Board Chair. Wayne Davis, a Managing Director of Wealth Management at UBS Financial Services in Boston, has been appointed Board President. Cooney and Davis both live in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood and are long-term Board members. Cooney previously served as Board Chair in the early 2000s. Immediate Past Board Chair Michael J. Puzo, who served in that role since 2015, will remain a Board Member for the company. 

 

COMPANY ARTISTS 

 

NEWS: 2023/24 EMERGING ARTIST ROSTER FEATURES NEW, RETURNING SINGERS 

Seven rising opera artists have been announced as Boston Lyric Opera’s 2023/24 Season Emerging Artists. Five of the artists are new to the program, which provides artistic training, performance opportunities and professional development opportunities throughout the BLO organization. Emerging Artists often are seen in BLO mainstage performances, and as guest artists in public and school-based education programs around the city. Artists new to the program this season are (in alpha order) soprano Sarah Joyce Cooper, soprano Emily Michiko Jensen, tenor Philippe L'Esperance, mezzo-soprano Alexis Peart, and soprano Angela Yam.  Returning to the program for a second year are tenor Fred C. VanNess Jr. and baritone Junhan Choi. 

­ ­ ­ 本期彼岸艺术的主講人周兵導演畢業於中國傳媒大學電視編導專業，是南開大學歷史學院藝術史博士。他曾在中央電視台工作20年， 歷任中央電視台《東方之子》欄目編導、《東方時空· 紀事》欄目和《東方時空》特別節目組 製片人， 曾任中央新影集團特別節目部主任， 中央新影集團周兵導演工作室藝術總監。 周兵曾三度獲得中國紀錄片年度導演，代表作有《故宮》、《台北故宮》、《敦煌》、《梅蘭芳》、《下南洋》、《外灘》、《當盧浮宮遇見紫禁城》、《千年菩提路》等等。 ­ ­ ­

­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ 美西時間： 7月9日 | 晚7:00-8:30 北京時間： 7月10日 | 上午10:00-11:30  ­ ­ 講座註冊 ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

­ ­ 【彼岸｜文化】 彼岸文化創立於洛杉磯，致力制作精品原創線上講座，用創新的視角和精心打磨的內容將中國文化在國際文化研究領域的影響以多元化的形式解讀和呈現出來，講座和文化活動內容涵蓋文學、歷史、藝術、人文、科技等與海外華人息息相關的話題，講述海外華人自己的故事。加微信號779605394，進入彼岸文化群，獲取後續活動信息。 ­ ­

­ ­ ­ 【彼岸｜文化】出品 往期精彩內容 ­ ­ ­ 第29期 《民性与现代文化：纪念鲁迅先生诞辰140年》 中國大陸地區觀眾點擊這裡 ­ ­ ­ ­ 第28期 《翡翠收藏與玉文化的傳承 | 第二期》 中國大陸地區觀眾點擊這裡 ­ ­ ­

­ ­ 加微信779605394，進入彼岸文化群獲取後續活動信息。   中國大陸地區觀眾點擊 此處 進入「彼岸｜文化」Bilibili頻道 ­ ­ 彼岸文化爲了更好的舉辦活動，特邀請大家填冩《彼岸文化活動調查問捲》，可掃描下方二維碼進行，感謝大家的支持! ­ ­

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