Silk Road Theatre Project Presents Weiko Lin's New Play 100 DAYS 6/12

After his Buddhist mother passes away of cancer, a college circuit comedian on the road has 100 days to marry in order for his mother's spirit to transition in peace. Reluctant to fulfill this superstitious condition, the man awkwardly reunites with his estranged and married high school sweetheart. The death that reconnects these two as adults turns out to be their source of salvation.

100 DAYS is based on the Taiwanese tradition that if a parent passes away before his or her child is wed, the child has 100 days to get married in order to ensure that the parent's spirit transitions peacefully or risk a delay of 3 years. In Taiwanese culture, parents can only "release their hearts" upon seeing their children marry because then their primary parental duty is fulfilled. When playwright Weiko Lin's mother passed on in Taiwan, he learned about this old tradition. It set the kernel for what would eventually become his newest stage work 100 DAYS.

ABOUT PLAYWRIGHT/ACTOR WEIKO LIN

Born in Taiwan, Weiko Lin immigrated to Los Angeles when he was 8 years old. Winner of a Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award and a graduate of the UCLA M.F.A. program, he started his career in the theater writing and performing for UCLA's Royce Hall, Veterans Wadsworth Theater, and the Century City Playhouse. His last play The Best Man premiered at East West Players in Los Angeles. In film, Weiko wrote a dramatic feature for The Mark Gordon Company and Good Worldwide, Inc. He also has a comedy with Madhouse Entertainment attached to produce. Currently, Weiko is developing a crime thriller with Atlas Entertainment. As a writer/producer, he optioned the American remake rights of the biggest Taiwanese box office hit Cape No. 7, which he is setting up for a Hollywood production. A Fulbright Senior Specialist, he has taught screenwriting at the graduate program at Taipei National University of the Arts. A member of the Dramatist Guild of America and Writers Guild of America-West, Weiko is on the faculty at Northwestern University in the Radio/TV/Film department and the M.F.A. Writing for the Screen and Stage Program.

ABOUT ACTOR EINAT TUBI

Einat Tubi is a native of Tel Aviv, Israel. She was a member of the The Met Theatre before leaving to pursue her studies at UCLA, and has performed in numerous theatrical productions in the Los Angeles area. Einat has starred in a number of short films, most recently September 12th in the role of a half-Arab American teenager struggling to deal with the changed world after 9/11. Notably, Einat earned two Best Actress festival recognitions for her portrayal of the first female Palestinian suicide bomber in Stealing Innocence as well as a Best Actress nomination for Holiday. She can soon be seen in the feature film Kill Katie Malone and in her first starring role in a feature in the tentatively titled, Peace After Marriage, also starring Hiam Abbass.

ABOUT AL KASIDA STAGED READING SERIES
Silk Road Theatre Project's Al Kasida Staged Reading Series is Chicagoland's first and only staged reading series dedicated to developing playwrights of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean backgrounds. In Arabic, "al kasida" means "the ode." The word is meant to evoke the rich tradition of storytelling and epic poetry in the lands of the Silk Road.
Just as written and oral narratives helped convey the cultural and historical realities of antiquity, Al Kasida Staged Reading Series promises to illuminate for Chicago audiences the contemporary realities of a part of the world that is as vast and diverse as it is misunderstood.

All staged readings are free and open to the public unless otherwise stated.

WHEN: Saturday, June 12 at 7:30pm.

WHERE: Silk Road Theatre Project at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St., Pierce Hall, Chicago

COST: Free and Open to the Public.

RESERVATIONS: Reservations strongly recommended. Call 312-857-1234 ext. 201 or email boxoffice@srtp.org

The staged reading will be followed by a Q & A session with playwright Weiko Lin and moderated by SRTP Artistic Director Jamil Khoury.

For further information, visit www.srtp.org or call 312-857-1234.

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