THE PILL PLAY Will Be Performed Off-Broadway in May

This May, an ensemble of New York–based student artists will bring THE PILL PLAY, an original Mandarin-language theatrical production (with English subtitles), to Actors Temple Theatre in New York City for two performance days — May 9/10.

Directed by Sophia Zhao, written by Katherine Xiyu Guan and produced by Alex Zhang, THE PILL PLAY is a work of magical realism that sits at the intersection of contemporary relationship drama and surreal theatre.

"The people in this play are not extraordinary. Anna wants to stop lying to herself. Ben wants, for once, to tell the truth. Lucy wants her lover to be perfect. These are not unusual desires. And yet, in the hands of a machine that processes without understanding, each of them becomes the author of their own undoing,” writes director Sophia Siya Zhao. "The pill is not an answer. It is an opening. The machine offers you a choice, but the consequences are sealed the moment you reach for it. You think you are deciding. You think you are finally taking control. And yet these same people, in the very next breath, will tell you they had no choice at all." "We live in an age where love can be performed, pain is content, and intimacy gets flattened into something watchable. The vending machine in this play is not a metaphor. It is already here."

THE PILL PLAY will feature Jingyi Luna Peng (Anna), Jaden Zhao (Ben), Zia Lan (Lucy), Lucy Sha (Chemist), Yuchen Zhou (Joe), Katherine Xiyu Guan (Cashier), Samuel Yang (Lover 1), and Sean Shu (Lover 2).

THE PILL PLAY will feature scenic and prop design by Siyin Yan, Yiran Yang, and Seoin (Kacy) Kim, costume design by Iris Li and Serena Zhou, lighting design by Nathan Palavos, sound design by Jiarui (Nicole) Yang and Etho Fung, movement and intimacy direction by Jay Gao, and makeup design by Jesyca Gu and Lily Huynh. Aspects of the production will be overseen by Minara Jiaqi Ling, the production manager; Karina Quinn will serve as technical director and Khione Han will serve as dramaturg. Cassie Zhang and Angela Li will serve as stage managers. Marketing is led by marketing coordinator Serena Hou, social media manager Carissa Chen, graphic designer Christine Yici Huang, and photographers Suki Zhang and Selena Feng.

PRODUCTION SYNOPSIS

THE PILL PLAY is not an ordinary love story—nor an ordinary multiple choice question. Set against the backdrop of a mysterious vending machine that dispenses placebo 'prescriptions', the play follows interconnected characters whose lives subtly collide as they navigate fractured relationships, emotional avoidance, and the seductive illusion of control.

Anna, a photographer juggling an open relationship on New Year's Eve, gets dumped—and then encounters a vending machine that dispenses a pill that will make her honest. Ben, a coldly analytical businessman, sits across from a therapist in a session that slowly unravels into something far darker than investment regrets. Lucy, locked in an eerily perfect domestic arrangement with Joe, finds that the cost of perfection may be higher than she imagined.

Each character orbits the same mysterious Chemist, a figure who seems to know exactly what pill each of them needs—though whether those pills help or harm is never quite clear. Blending grounded contemporary realism with surreal theatrical elements, THE PILL PLAY invites audiences to question what truly heals us: belief, confrontation, or the stories we choose to tell ourselves.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION AND TICKETS

THE PILL PLAY begins performances at Actors' Temple Theatre (339 W 47th St, New York) in New York City on Saturday, May 9 and runs through Sunday, May 10, for three performances only. 

The performance schedule is as follows: Saturday, May 9 at 2:30 PM and 7:30 PM; Sunday, May 10 at 2:30 PM. The production runs approximately two hours and is performed in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

SOPHIA SIYA ZHAO she/they (Director) is a New York and Beijing-based director, playwright, and actor. A junior Drama major at NYU Tisch trained at Playwrights Horizons Theater School, her work has been presented at Off-Broadway venues and theater stages in Beijing. Drawing on magical realism and a taste for stylized performance, Sophia connects intimacy, identity, and social structures through a physicalized, dramaturgically rigorous lens. Her work has been featured in BroadwayWorld, China Daily, and other international publications. She is dedicated to cross-cultural theater that bridges personal storytelling with global perspectives.

ALEX ZHANG he/him (Producer) is an actor, director, and producer from Beijing, China, currently studying at Playwrights Horizons Theater School at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, with a minor in Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology. He made his Broadway theater debut as an actor at The Apollo Theater and has worked under the production department of the National Theater of China on their production of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's Die Physiker. In 2024, he produced, co-directed, and acted in I Had a Dream, an original charity one-act musical benefiting educational causes. THE PILL PLAY marks his Off-Broadway debut as a producer.

KATHERINE XIYU GUAN she/her (Playwright) is a playwright, actor, director, and cultural researcher working between China and New York. Recent credits include MEI (Wuzhen Theatre Festival, 2025), where she served as playwright, director, and performer; Railway Platform (playwright/director); and Mr. Donkey (actor), among others. Grateful to the world for making creation possible.

JINGYI Luna PENG she/her (Anna) is a theater artist from Beijing, China, and is currently based in New York City. Recent acting credits: Anti-Gone (Edinburgh Fringe, A.R.T./New York Theater), Of Ashes and Souls (The Flea), Femme 9 19 (AMT Theater), Metamorphosis (NYU Black Box). New York University 26', BFA Theater & Media, Culture, and Communication. More: umaygonowhere.com.

RUOCHENG (JADEN) ZHAO (Ben) is an actor from Shanghai. Being an undergraduate at NYU Acting at Tisch School Of The Arts, he had his acting training at both Stella Adler Studio of Acting and Stonestreet Screenacting Studio. Jaden has been to Apollo Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe, Now Theater and many other places, has abundant acting experience in Shakespeare, Musicals, and contemporary Drama, in both screenacting and stage, both Mandarin and English. He is here to play, to experience, to live.

ZIA ZHIYU LAN she/her (Lucy) is a freshman at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, New Studio on Broadway, studying Musical Theatre. Born and raised in Beijing, she has been performing from a young age. Recent credits include Earthaholics (Knife Dog Play Festival) and student-produced short films. She was recognized as an Outstanding Singer in the CS Music Vocal Competition. For loving parents, dear and supportive friends, and mentors who believed in her before she did.

LUCY SHA 沙可萱 she/her (Chemist) a first-year in NYU TISCH Drama, training at Playwrights Horizons Theater School. Lucy is an actor, singer, playwright, and songwriter who is thrilled to be making her Off-Broadway debut. Recent credits include The Book of Will (National High School Institute at Northwestern University), The Importance of Being Earnest and Breathing Corpses. Recent Musical credits include West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, and Annie.

YUCHEN ZHOU he/him (Joe) is a New York–based bilingual actor and emerging writer-director. Recent credits include Buttalk (Edinburgh Fringe), Anti-Gone 俺抬杠 (A.R.T./New York), Birds and the Curiosity (Hollywood Fringe). A graduate of Vassar College's Drama program, he trains at HB Studio and draws from the traditions of Uta Hagen, Shakespeare, and Chekhov, grounding his work in precision, emotional truth, and psychological depth. Zhou's work moves between complex perspectives, tracing the contradictions that make us human.

SAMUEL YANG he/him (Lover 1) is currently studying at NYU's Tisch school of the arts at the New Studio on Broadway. He recently performed in Delta Youth Theatre's the Music Man and Oliver! No matter where he is performing, he will always know Shanghai to be home, and is forever grateful to his family and community.

SEAN SHU he/him (Lover 2) is a junior at NYU Tisch studying Performance Studies, with dual minors in Producing and Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology. A Shanghai-born theater maker working across performance, directing, producing, and acting, Sean brings both onstage and behind-the-scenes experience to his work. Acting credits include The Addams Family (Gomez), The SpongeBob Musical (Patrick), and DNA (Phil). Production and creative credits span projects in Shanghai and New York, from state-scale theater productions to NYUCSSA GALA 2025 and 2026.

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