Ping Chong and Company Rebrands as Pink Fang

After more than five decades of groundbreaking theater and artmaking, Ping Chong and Company has announced a historic evolution: a renewed mission, a dynamic co-leadership model that honors Ping Chong’s legacy as a groundbreaking theatrical innovator, while boldly shaping the future of socially engaged performance, and a new name, Pink Fang.

Founded in 1975, Ping Chong and Company has expanded the possibilities of theater—blending multimedia, movement, and documentary storytelling to explore issues of history, identity, social justice and global connections. The company’s signature Undesirable Elements series has become a national platform for storytelling, community dialogue, and self-expression, and is created in collaboration with local organizations and community members, The company’s visionary approach to new work development and artist support builds cultures of care within creative practices, builds long-term organizational and artistic partnerships, and models its values in spaces of community-building.

Throughout the transition period, the company continued to generate innovative new partnerships with artists and community organizations, such as critically acclaimed new work by Artistic Leadership Team member Nile Harris; The Truth Beneath, a new work exploring democracy and disinformation by Artistic Leader Talvin Wilks and Paul Berman; Beyond Punishment partnership with writer and director Kirya Traber and the Justice Beyond Punishment Collaborative; and the continued education program and new curricular launches such as Passages Alaska.   

The vision for the next era of this pioneering organization was officially unveiled at a public reception and celebration, titled Uncovery: P_______  ________G, on June 23 at La MaMa Galleria, 47 Great Jones Street, New York, NY. This location represents a powerful and enduring history between the company and La MaMa, as Ping Chong and Company has been a resident theater of La MaMa since 1988.

This moment marks the culmination of a three-year strategic transition period, funded by the Mellon Foundation, that began in 2022 with the concurrent retirements of Ping Chong and longtime Executive Director Bruce Allardice. Announced in 2023, the company’s Interim Artistic Leadership Team—Sara Zatz, Jane Jung, Nile Harris, Mei Ann Teo, and Talvin Wilks—has since stewarded a deep process of reflection, artistic visioning, and structural redesign. Together, Jung and Zatz bring over 30 years of dedicated service to the company, ensuring continuity and grounding the transition in deep institutional knowledge. 

“What made this transition possible was the extraordinary depth of experience, care, and vision that the Interim Artistic Leadership Team brought to the table,” said Amy Chin, PCC board chair. “Collectively, they carried decades of knowledge from within the Ping Chong Company—rooted in its artistic legacy and committed to its future. Their stewardship through this multi-year process has been nothing short of transformational, grounded in thoughtful collaboration and driven by the values that have always defined our work. I would also like to applaud and celebrate the faith, hard work and dedication of current and former Board members in supporting and shaping this new genesis.” 

In a gesture both humble and visionary, Ping Chong personally requested that the company be renamed, recognizing that its future would be carried forward by new artists and fresh voices. The name Pink Fang is derived from one of many absurd distortions of Ping Chong's name over the course of his career. This misnomer has been irreverently embraced by the company, as a subversive reclaiming of a distortion. This name change is not a departure, but a continuation—one rooted in deep respect for the past and a radical commitment to the future. 

"All things must evolve and change, and I knew the company could not grow into the next iteration with my name on it. I knew when I decided to retire that the future was in the hands of new artists, and I told them that all I want is for them to continue creating art that honors humanity, but how they do it is their path to make. I trust them, and I believe in the future of Pink Fang" - Ping Chong 

At the heart of this evolution is the understanding that Ping Chong’s legacy was never about a single name—but about expanding the boundaries of storytelling, uplifting diverse voices, and building artistic homes for those too often left out of the narrative. As part of this next chapter, the company will also serve as the steward and holder of the Ping Chong archive, ensuring that his formative body of work remains accessible and influential for generations to come.

“Ping’s vision has always been one of evolution and imagination,” said the new Leadership Team in a joint statement. “We are deeply honored by his trust in us to carry the company forward. His call to rename the organization was a powerful act of faith—an invitation to shape a future beyond his own legacy. Pink Fang symbolizes both continuity and change: a name that holds our roots while embracing the fierce creativity and collective leadership that define our next chapter.”