Press

“Perverse, provocative and very funny. . .” —The Village Voice

ASIAN AMERICAN THEATER COMPANY and CROWDED FIRE THEATER COMPANY Present the West Coast Premiere of
YOUNG JEAN LEE’s

SONGS OF THE DRAGONS FLYING TO HEAVEN

March 26-April 16, 2011

December 15, 2010 – Asian American Theater Company (AATC) and Crowded Fire Theater are thrilled to announce their upcoming co-production of Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven written by renowned playwright provocateur Young Jean Lee and directed by Marissa Wolf, Artistic Director of Crowded Fire Theater.

The West Coast premiere of Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven opens March 26, 2011, and runs for three weeks, through April 16, 2011 at the Thick House, 1695 18th Street, San Francisco.

About the Play

A satirical play by the scathingly funny, award-winning Young Jean Lee, Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven takes the audience on a shockingly funny dissection of race. Obliterating conventions of Asian stereotypes through its violent and explosive theatricality, Songs follows four Korean women on a wild journey—sometimes hilarious, often times squirm-inducing. A Tarantino-esque collage of dance, monologues, scenes, and violence hilariously flood the stage where nothing is sacred, but everything is incisive and intelligent. New York Magazine calls Songs “the strongest indication that the avant-garde isn’t dead, and has never been funnier,” while Time Out New York hails Lee as “one of the best experimental playwrights in America.”

Crowded Fire Artistic Director Marissa Wolf says, “Young Jean Lee is a fierce writer! Her plays are wild, beautiful events that completely belie traditional notions of theater. Songs is a visceral, smart, sexy play that takes the audience by the shoulders and shakes us awake with eviscerating humor and honesty. I’m thrilled to be partnering with AATC as we bring this outrageous piece to both of our audiences.”

AATC Artistic Director Duy Nguyen adds, “I have to thank Mina Morita of Berkeley Rep (and an AATC company director as well) for introducing us to this very funny, very shocking, very stylish play. What Young Jean Lee is doing with her work, and specifically with Songs, instantly transcends the usual race-talk and shines an incisive light on the Asian American female. I look forward to the dialogue with our audiences following this show.”

Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven cast members include Katie Chan, Lily Tung Crystal*, Cindy Im, Alexis Papedo, Josh Schell, and Mimu Tsujimura. (*Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association.)

About the Collaboration

Earlier this year Crowded Fire’s Artistic Director, Marissa Wolf, sat down for coffee with Alan S. Quismorio, a former Crowded Fire resident artist and, at the time, AATC’s Co-Artistic Director. What began as time to catch up resulted in an innovative artistic collaboration. “We were discussing what each company had in mind for future projects and discovered a mutual passion for Young Jean Lee’s work,” says Ms. Wolf. “Although Lee has a cult-like following in the New York City downtown theater scene, her work has never been produced in the Bay Area. Both companies were hot for the opportunity to premiere her work out here.”

The idea to present Songs as a co-production grew directly from that conversation. “We saw this as a unique opportunity for two of San Francisco’s more established, but smaller, theaters to come together and share our organizations’ strengths and resources,” says Ms. Wolf. Current AATC Artistic Director Duy Nguyen agrees: “the synergy between our two companies is proving to be both artistically and culturally inspiring. Both companies bring a history of high production values, and a long-standing commitment to championing the voice of contemporary playwrights, but we each approach our work in slightly different ways. We’re learning a lot from one another. I think it makes us each stronger and that will be reflected in what we see in Songs on-stage.”

About the Playwright and the Director

Young Jean Lee (Playwright). Obie-award winning Young Jean Lee has been named by American Theatre Magazine as “one of the 25 artists who will shape the American theater over the next 25 years.” She has directed her plays at Soho Rep (Lear; The Appeal), The Kitchen (The Shipment), The Public Theater (Church), P.S. 122 (Church; Pullman, WA), HERE Arts Center (Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven), and the Ontological-Hysteric Theater (Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals). She has worked with Radiohole and the National Theater of the United States of America. She is a member of New Dramatists and 13P, has done residencies at Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, the Ucross Foundation, and Hedgebrook, and has an MFA from Mac Wellman’s playwriting program at Brooklyn College.

Marissa Wolf (Director). Wolf’s recent directing credits include The Secretaries, by The Five Lesbian Brothers; DRIP, by Christina Anderson; Gone, by Charles Mee (Crowded Fire); the Bay Area Premiere of Thom Pain (based on nothing) by Will Eno (Cutting Ball Theater); Truce by Marilee Talkington (Vanguardian Productions); and her experimental adaptations both of Gertrude Stein’s long poem, Lifting Belly and Marguerite Duras’ story, The Malady of Death (FoolsFURY Theater). Marissa previously held the Bret C. Harte Directing Internship at Berkeley Repertory Theatre for two years, where she assisted renowned directors, including Tony Taccone, Les Waters, Lisa Peterson, Annie Dorsen, Frank Galati, and Mary Zimmerman. Marissa has her degree in drama from Vassar College, and received additional training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

About the Companies

The mission of the Asian American Theater Company is to connect people to Asian American cultures through theater. AATC was established in 1973 to develop and present original works of theater about Asian Americans. AATC remains committed to producing groundbreaking, entertaining and innovative art. We are not only a production company that presents main stage plays, but also a workshop where Asian American writers, actors and directors can explore who we are as a people and a community, and in so doing, bring us closer together. AATC is part of the Thick House Presenting Program.

Now embarking on its 14th season, Crowded Fire Theater has become well recognized for adventurous, innovative new work that addresses the diverse political and social concerns of our audiences. In 2005, The SF Bay Guardian awarded Crowded Fire the Goldie Award for Theater; Rob Avila wrote, “One way Crowded Fire has gained success is by establishing a well-deserved reputation for challenging modern work as aesthetically rich as it is politically and socially provocative.” In addition to producing two to three main stage plays each season, CFT offers development opportunities through The Matchbox: Commissioning and Developing New Works, a program for new plays.

See the Video Trailer for Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven and buy tickets to the show soon at www.asianamericantheater.org.