Photos: Leviathan Lab’s TWELFTH NIGHT, 11/4-11/19

New York, November 4, 2011 -- Leviathan Lab, a newly-established professional creative studio that's helping Asian American artists in advancing their careers in theater and film, recently met with some members of the press and presented excerpts from its inaugural production of William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, which opens tonight and will run until Saturday, November 19 at Arclight Theatre (152 West 71st Street).

Under the direction of Nelson Eusebio III (assistant director, All's Well That Ends Well, The Public Theater/NYSF's Shakespeare in the Park 2011), Leviathan Lab's Twelfth Night transports the seaside city of Illyria to Hong Kong in the 1960s, where the alluring scent of romance pervades the atmosphere.  Viola, the play's young protagonist, sets a series of events that create a tangled knot of mistaken identities, bewildering desires, and practical jokes that only time and fortune can untie.

Tina Chilip (Flipzoids, Joy Luck Club) as Viola and OBIE Award-winning actor Jojo Gonzalez (The Romance of Magno Rubio) as Feste the clown lead an All Asian American cast in this yet another reimagining of Shakespeare's play.

"We (Asian American actors) don't get a lot of opportunities to do Shakespeare plays. I haven't done it since grad. school, and I had a lot of Shakespeare trainings in school. But since I graduated, the opportunities are not there. We're very grateful to Leviathan Lab for giving us the opportunity to exercise these muscles -- It's an actor's medium; we love doing this," Chilip told BroadwayWorld.com

Along with Chilip and Gonzalez, the production features Kurt Uy as Orsino, Eileen Rivera as Olivia, Andrew Eisenman as Malvolio, John Roque as Sir Toby Belch, Marcus Ho as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Karen Tsen Lee  and Ka-Ling Cheung as Maria (alternating weeks), Chris Doi as Sebastian, Roger Yeh as Fabian, and Eugene Oh as Antonio.

For tickets, visit www.leviathanlab.com.  Ticket prices: $18 general admission, $15 students and seniors, with special prices for groups of 10 or more.

Photos by Oliver Oliveros