Artists at Play to Present New Works by Emerging Playwrights of Asian Descent

Los Angeles theatre collective, Artists at Play, will develop and showcase two new works by Asian American Playwrights, Chloé Hung and Nicholas Pilapil. The spring new play reading series, in its sixth year, is open to the public to attend on Saturday, April 28, at Company of Angels. The readings will be presented for free at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. with a $15 mid-day reception between readings. Reception tickets are available at http://bit.ly/AAPReadings18.

"We seek stories that expand the Asian American narrative reflecting modern lives that both encompass and transcend issues of cultural identity," says Producing Artistic Leader Julia Cho. "This year's writers have such unique approaches in their writing-it's exciting to see the kinds of stories they're crafting."

Chloé Hung's Three Women of Swatow will be directed by Rebecca Wear, with Annette Lee as dramaturg. Three generations of women must come together to solve a bloody situation. This darkly comedic play takes a look at the legacy of abuse, the power of family and how to prevent the resurrection of a headless chicken. Three Women of Swatow will be presented at 12 p.m. with a talkback to follow.

Hung is a Chinese-Canadian writer based in Los Angeles. A graduate of NYU Tisch's MFA program in Dramatic Writing, Chloé's first play, All Our Yesterdays, played in two festivals in Canada to critical acclaim. Her second play Issei, He Say (or the Myth of the First) was workshopped at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and will premiere at New Jersey Repertory Company in April 2018 and has garnered an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Her third play Three Women of Swatow was developed with Toronto's Tarragon Theatre company and won the RBC Emerging Playwrights Award. Her play Model Minority was workshopped with Moving Arts Company's MADlab. Chloé currently writes on the third season of the Ava DuVernay-created TV drama "Queen Sugar."

The cast of Three Women of Swatow includes Katherine Chou, Emily Kuroda and Janet Song.

Nicholas Pilapil's Young Dumb Broke High School Kids will be directed by Jer Adrianne Lelliott, with Michael Golamco as dramaturg. Everything sucks for high school kids Bliss, Olivia and Miles. Bliss is a dreamer who's knocked up and knocked down, Olivia is a lover with no one to love her back, and Miles is an orphan who would kill to have a family. Together they sling back slushies, barf down chili cheese fries and try to sort out their lives in the most dangerous ways. Young Dumb Broke High School Kids will be presented at 3 p.m. with a talkback to follow.

Pilapil is a playwright and songwriter. His plays have been developed and performed with Becky and Baldwin, East West Players, Fountain Theatre, Fresh Produce'd LA, Playwrights Foundation and The Vagrancy. His musical-comedy Before and After was the 2017 winner of the Fountain Theatre's Rapid Development Series. He is also the writer of short films zoë (Outfest FUSION, Miniature Film Festival Canada, North Portland Unknown Film Festival) and I Don't Love You (Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Los Angeles Philippine International Film Festival). Nicholas is a happy co-founder of Production Company Becky and Baldwin.

The cast of Young Dumb Broke High School Kids includes Christopher Aguilar, Eddie Liu and Jenapher Zheng.

"In the midst of a national discussion on the lack of diversity and representation, we are proud to present two new plays by emerging playwrights of Asian descent that feature diverse casts," says Producing Artistic Leader Marie-Reine Velez "We couldn't be more thrilled to cultivate and share these stories with Los Angeles."

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