I Interview Playwrights Part 316: Eugenie Chan

Eugenie Chan

Hometown: San Francisco

Current Town: San Francisco

Q:  Tell me about your show at Cutting Ball.

A:  They're two one acts -- Two takes on the Classical tale of Ariadne, Theseus, and the Minotaur -- a love triangle of sorts. In Diadem, young Ariadne revels in love's first blush after running away with Theseus, the hero who has killed the man-eating Minotaur, her brother. In Bone to Pick, Ariadne, now reconfigured as Ria the Waitress, awaits her soldier boy in a diner at the end of a war-torn world, after millenia of abandonment. About love, war, betrayal and one woman's complicity in her country's demise.

Q:  What else are you working on?

A:  Madame Ho, a play inspired by the life of my great grandmother (and her mother) -- a single mother and brothel madam in turn of the century SF. Her mother was the first of our family to immigrate to the States in the 1850s.

Q:  Tell me, if you will, a story from your childhood that explains who you are as a writer or as a person.

A:  Well, I wrote a play in the 5th grade about Hermes and his brother Apollo. My best friend played older brother Apollo; I was baby Hermes in diapers; our buddies were cows, and we made our teacher be the rear end of one of the cows. She graciously complied. My 6 foot tall best friend threw me around a lot -- I was a shrimp. It was a hit! Okay, I like myths of all kinds, history, and work that exceeds naturalism.

Q:  If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?

A:  Cheaper cheaper tickets.

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A:  David Henry Hwang. Shakespeare. Caryl Churchill. Ntozake Shange. Lorca. The Kabuki play Benten Kozo by Kawatake Mokuami about a noble thief.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A:  Theater that is song, dance, story, poetry -- that can't be pigeonholed into a type.

Drama/Performance that pulls no punches.

Q:  What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?

A:  Keep on keeping on. Write to Desire.

Q:  Plugs, please:

A:  Oy, here you go...

Bone to Pick / Diadem
by Eugenie Chan
directed by Rob Melrose
at Cutting Ball Theatre
San Francisco
January 14 - February 13, 2011 415-419-3584 http://www.cuttingball.com

Two takes on the Classical tale of Ariadne, Theseus, and the Minotaur -- a love triangle of sorts. In Diadem, young Ariadne revels in love's first blush after running away with Theseus, the hero who has killed the man-eating Minotaur, her brother. In Bone to Pick, Ariadne, now reconfigured as Ria the Waitress, awaits her soldier boy in a diner at the end of a war-torn world, after millenia of abandonment. About love, war, betrayal and one woman's complicity in her country's demise.


Courtside
Music by Jack Perla. Libretto by Eugenie Chan.
Houston Grande Opera
East + West Stories
Chinese Community Center
9800 Town Park
Houston
February 5, 2011 and TBA
http://www.hgoco.org/songofhouston/eastwest/

Three generations of Chinese Americans must find ways to reconcile the expectations between the dining room table and the basketball court, in order to live with pride in modern America, while maintaining tradition. Courtside follows Jason Ching, a hot-shot, high school basketball player who fights back when taunted on the court.

WORKSHOPS at the RISK IS THIS... The Cutting Ball New Experimental Plays Festival --
Tontlawald
By Eugenie Chan
Directed by Paige Rogers
May 13-14, 2011
http://www.cuttingball.com

Based on an ancient Estonian tale about a dark forest and an abused girl who hides there, TONTLAWALD weaves movement, a cappella singing, and storytelling together into a gorgeous spectacle for the eyes and ears. TONTLAWALD is slated to receive its fully staged World Premiere as part of the company’s 2011-2012 season.

Madame Ho
By Eugenie Chan
Directed by Rob Melrose
May 27-28, 2011
http://www.cuttingball.com


MADAME HO tells the story of a formidable woman in the Wild West, a real-life 19th century brothel hostess, single mother, Chinese immigrant, great-great grandmother, and ghost.