Over the past decade, more immigrants have migrated to the United States from Asia than from any other region in the world, making Asians the country’s fastest-growing immigrant population. In celebration of the Immigrant Heritage Month, American Dream Redux and Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) co-present Crossing Borders, a play-reading series dedicated to showcasing the works of Asian immigrant playwrights in New York City.

Crossing Borders showcases the work of three Asian immigrant playwrights, Dipika Guha, Stefani Kuo, and Zhu Yi, whose work explores the shared yet complex immigrant experiences through theater. The plays are directed by Seonjae Kim, Ryan Dobrin, and Nicholas Polonio.

This event is free and open to the public. RSVP required. We’ll send the Zoom meeting link to all registered attendees.

ABOUT THIS PLAY

Crossing Borders presents China Dreams, or the Conservation of Parity written by Stefani Kuo and directed by Nicholas Polonio. The play explores the life and work of physicist Wu Chien-Shiung, who was the only Chinese woman that helped create the atomic bomb in America.

STEFANI KUO

Stefani Kuo is a native of Hong Kong and a member of writers groups Interstate 73 with Page 73 and Speakers Corner with Gingold Theatrical Group. She has been a finalist for the National Playwrights Conference, Jerome Fellowship at Lanesboro Arts Centre, Jerome Fellowship at Playwrights’ Center, Van Lier New Voices Fellowship at the Lark, Normal Ave’s NAPseries, and the Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation’s Playwrights Program.

NICHOLAS POLONIO

Nicholas Polonio is a Filipino-sourced, American-born, Chinese-bred theater director based in Brooklyn, New York. He has adapted and directed works including Late Fame: A History Play, A Phoenix Too Frequent, We are Wombats!, and The 100 Most Beautiful Names of Todd. As an independent assistant director, he has worked on and off-Broadway, regionally and internationally, for directors including Robert O’Hara, Tatiana Mallarino, and Bill Buckhurst.

LEVIATHAN LAB

Founded in 2009, Leviathan Lab is an award-winning not-for-profit creative studio whose mission is the advancement of Asian and Asian American (A/AA) performing artists and their work. Through the speaking of A/AA artists’ words, and the presentation of A/AA bodies, presence, and gestures on stage and film, Leviathan works to open spaces that promote social justice, bridge communities, and assert the power of art to change the world. We function as a lab where early-career and established A/AA artists can be courageous, experiment, and thrive as they create works that captivate the audiences we serve.

ASIAN AMERICAN ARTS ALLIANCE (A4)

A4 is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring greater representation, equity, and opportunities for Asian American artists and cultural organizations through resource sharing, promotion, and community building. Since 1983, A4 has sought to unify, promote, and represent the artistic and cultural producers of one of New York City’s fastest-growing populations. We are a diverse alliance of artists, organizations, and arts supporters who believe that working together as a pan-ethnic, multidisciplinary community is essential to nurturing the development of artists and arts groups. A4 serves as a thoughtful convener of the Asian American cultural workforce around issues of race, identity, and artmaking and provides a critical voice for this community. We are the only service organization in the country dedicated to the professional development of Asian American artists in all disciplines.

AMERICAN DREAM REDUX

American Dream Redux is an innovative event series dedicated to celebrating and showcasing the works of Asian immigrant artists, in reflection of America’s history as a country of immigrants. The series pays homage to the contributions of Asian immigrants in America’s communities and vibrant diversity while encouraging greater cross-cultural understanding and community-building.