Yangtze Rep Awards $10K Project YZ Residencies to Jing Dong & Julia Gu, Jesse Jae Hoon, and Jo Mei

Yangtze Repertory Theatre, now in its 34th season and dedicated to producing new work and bold reimaginations of classics that allow audiences to see the world through a contemporary Chinese lens, has announced the newest members of Project YZ, the company’s AAPI Artist Residency program. Launched in 2022, the goal of Project YZ is to support and build an artistic home for AAPI immigrant artists.

The 2025 recipients, who will receive $10,000 ($5,000 unrestricted, $5,000 in professional development) in support over one year, are the duo of writer and director Jing Dong and performer Julia Gu, playwright Jesse Jae Hoon, and writer and performer Jo Mei. During their one-year residency, Yangtze Rep will connect the resident artists with other collaborators, offer research support, and facilitate interviews and focus groups. Dramaturgical development and discussion with Yangtze’s artistic staff will take place throughout the residency.

Chongren Fan, Artistic Director of Yangtze Rep, remarked, “Project YZ exists to make space for theater makers from different disciplines without the pressure of the show-must-go-on mantra. As we enter our fourth year, it feels akin to celebrating a senior year milestone. We are thrilled to embark on this journey with our new cohort of four artists working on three distinct projects, each deeply personal and courageous, engaging intimately with the significant questions confronting us all today.”

Writer and director Jing Dong and performer Julia Gu will develop a one-woman show, to be performed by Gu, that explores the intersections of language, belonging, and art, to reflect on cross- cultural identity, artistic displacement, and the search for immigrant voice. 

Dong says, “I have complicated feelings about Shakespeare. He is a giant, but I’ve never felt the same connection to his work as I do with other great playwrights. And yet, he’s everywhere in this country—especially when society faces challenges and division. As an immigrant and artist, making theatre is the best way I know to process my relationship, and understand our relationships with Shakespeare, and with this country. I’m deeply grateful for Project YZ’s support on this journey, and thrilled to be collaborating with the incredible Yangtze Rep.”

Gu says, “I came to this country as an adult, already shaped by another way of being in the world. To be an immigrant is, in many ways, like being adopted—some adapt fully to their new family, while others, like me, carry traces of another home that never quite fade. I often wonder: Can assimilation be a dialogue rather than a surrender? A two-way street, rather than a one-way crossing? In this project, I want to explore that question through my relationship with both the English and Chinese languages, their cultures, and the works of Shakespeare. My art lives in the space between—seeking not resolution, but resonance.”

Playwright Jesse Jae Hoon will use his residency to develop the first play in a three-part series called The Korea Cycle, which follows the tumultuous political history of South Korea and is inspired by Shakespeare's Henriad. This intimate political thriller will follow the People’s Committees of the late 1940s, from their formation in the hopes of a true democracy of the masses to their systematic undermining and bloody dissolution. 

Jae Hoon says, “I'm incredibly excited to be a part of this fantastic cohort and to be working with Yangtze Rep, having previously collaborated with Chongren on my short play BAGS. The Korea Cycle is a giant behemoth of a project, surprising nobody who knows me, and it's an honor to have Yangtze's support as we begin to tackle the political conflict that would go on to influence America's approach to war, diplomacy, and global economics to the present day.”

Reflecting on her residency, writer and performer Jo Mei says “A revelation after my grandmother's passing leads to an exploration of what gets lost from generation to generation – maybe my family's story can be a call to action for others. I'm so thrilled the creatives at Yangtze Rep see potential in this story. And I am grateful to have their astute guidance and generous support on this creative journey.”

Project YZ is Yangtze Rep’s first residency program. Now in its fourth year, Project YZ is focused on supporting the artistic journey of each resident artist with a process that values open dialogue, honest conversation, and bold endeavors. The goal is to create a sense of belonging through artistic discovery. 

Previous Project YZ resident artists include directors Nana Dakin and Rui Dun; playwrights Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin, Yilong Liu and Minghao Tu; set designer Chika Shimizu; and writer and performer ?avid Lee Hu?nh.

Please visit www.yzrep.org for more information.