THE DNA TRAIL: A GENEALOGY OF SHORT PLAYS ABOUT ANCESTRY, IDENTITY AND UTTER CONFUSION Plays Pierce Hall at The Historic Chicago Temple Building 3/10/2010-4/4

Theatre and science become creative companions for the world premiere production of The DNA Trail: A Genealogy of Short Plays about Ancestry, Identity and Utter Confusion, commissioned by Silk Road Theatre Project and produced in association with Goodman Theatre. Conceived by Jamil Khoury, Artistic Director of Silk Road Theatre Project and directed by Steve Scott of Goodman Theatre, The DNA Trail is a ground-breaking compilation of highly personal, identity-defying short plays by acclaimed writers Philip Kan Gotanda, Velina Hasu Houston, David Henry Hwang, Jamil Khoury, Shishir Kurup, Lina Patel, and Elizabeth Wong. The DNA Trail runs March 2 - April 4, 2010, in Pierce Hall at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St, Chicago. Press opening is Sunday, March 7, 2010, at 3:00 pm. Development support for The DNA Trail is provided by: The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund; the MAP Fund: a program of Creative Capital, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation; and the National Endowment for the Arts. Production support provided by: Sara Lee Foundation; Chicago Community Trust; and the National Endowment for the Arts.

"In this age of shifting boundaries and fluctuating identities, science and art have more to say to each other than perhaps meets the eye," said Jamil Khoury, who conceived this project as a new way of addressing ethnic categories. "The DNA Trail explores the narrow confines of American identity politics and established race narratives-what resulted is a creative, theatrical approach to addressing our national obsession with hyphens, ethnic categories, and checking the appropriate boxes. I am thrilled that these distinguished writers take this journey with me to challenge the meanings we ascribe to heritage with the aid of modern genetics."

For The DNA Trail, Silk Road Theatre Project commissioned seven diverse, contemporary playwrights to take a genealogical DNA test-a highly contested, sometimes controversial field of scientific inquiry-and revisit their assumptions about identity politics and the perennial "who am I" question. Starting with a swab of saliva from the cheek (genealogical DNA tests were administered through Family Tree DNA, www.familytreedna.com), the test results inspired this perception-defying collection of short plays in which playwrights' self, family, community, and ethnicity are all up for grabs.

The cast for The DNA Trail includes Cora Vander Broek, Jennifer Shin, Melissa Kong, Fawzia Mirza, Khurram Mozaffar, Anthony Peeples, and Clayton Stamper. The Design Team includes Rebecca A. Barrett (Scenic & Lighting), Lee Keenan (Scenic & Lighting), Amy Gabbert (Costumes), Mikhail Fiksel (Sound) and Jesse Gaffney (Props). The stage manager is Michelle Dane. Script development and production dramaturgy provided by Tanya Palmer (Literary Manager, Goodman Theatre) and Neena Arndt (Literary Associate, Goodman Theatre).

ABOUT THE PLAYS AND PLAYWRIGHTS

CHILD IS FATHER TO MAN by Philip Kan Gotanda
While his father lays dying, a son reflects. Emotionally distanced from his father and yet inextricably tethered to him, the son rediscovers what it means to be a child, a parent, and a man. This poetic, expansive piece explores both the intimacy and remoteness of family.

Philip Gan Gotanda has been a major influence in the broadening of our definition of theater in America. Through his plays and advocacy, he has been instrumental in bringing stories of Asians in the United States to mainstream American theater as well as to Europe and Asia. Gotanda wrote the text and directed the production of Maestro Kent Nagano's Manzanar: An American Story, an original symphonic work with narration. His newest work, After the War, premiered at The American Conservatory Theatre. A Japanese translation of his play, Sisters Matsumoto, opened in Tokyo with the Mingei Geikidan Company. Ballad of Yachiyo was presented at the Gate Theater in London in co-production with the National Theater. He is a recipient of a Guggenheim and was recently selected as a delegate of the Japanese American Leadership Delegation to Japan as part of a Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs sponsored cultural exchange. Gotanda holds a law degree from Hastings College of Law, studied pottery in Japan with the late Hiroshi Seto and resides in Berkeley, California with his actress-producer wife, Diane Takei.

MOTHER ROAD by Velina Hasu Houston
A woman - Perpetua - ventures into the Mojave Desert to find another woman - Eva - with whom she shares a mother, the grief of loss, and perhaps even other things. Perpetua believes that blood ties are binding, while to Eva genetics mean very little. This intimate yet vast play explores the delicate, sometimes fragile dimensions of which family are made.

Velina Hasu Houston's internationally acclaimed career includes commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club, LA Opera, Asia Society, Lila Wallace-Readers Digest Foundation, Mark Taper Forum, Hawai'i Foundation on Culture & Arts, Jewish Women's Theatre Project, Mixed Blood Theatre, and others. She is Professor, Director of Dramatic Writing, Associate Dean, and Resident Playwright at the School of Theatre, University of Southern California. She is a Commissioner for the Department of State's Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, a member of the U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America, west; the Dramatists Guild, and the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights. She was Research Advisor for Tokyo-based Studies on Modernization of Classic Greek Theatre and Myth in Contemporary British, Irish, and American Poetic Drama and Theatre.

A VERY DNA REUNION by David Henry Hwang
Bob is annoyed with his parents, who keep bugging him to get a job. Luckily, Bob has finally found his real family: a DNA test shows that he comes from the same haplogroup as Cleopatra and Genghis Khan! Bob's illustrious ancestors pay him a visit and assure him that his lineage makes him worthy of royal treatment. But how will Bob handle his pesky parents? This hilarious family reunion gleefully skewers the imprecise science of DNA testing.

David Henry Hwang's work includes the plays M. Butterfly, Golden Child, Yellow Face, and FOB; the Broadway musicals Timothy Rice and Elton John's Aida (co-author), the revised Flower Drum Song, and Disney's Tarzan; and the operas The Voyage (music by Philip Glass), Ainadamar (music by Osvaldo Golijo and winner of two 2007 Grammy Awards), The Silver River (music by Bright Sheng), and The Fly (music by Howard Shore). He is a Tony Award winner (and three-time Tony Award nominee), a three-time Obie Award winner, and a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

WASP: White Arab Slovak Pole by Jamil Khoury
What does a person named Jamil look like? Swarthy? Mustached? African American? What if your name is Jamil, and you're none of the above? And what if your origins are Arab and Slavic? Where then do you fall within the slippery slope of whiteness? Cultural confusion and comedy come together in this playfully provocative piece that takes a hard look at how we identify ourselves and how others perceive us.

Jamil Khoury and his life partner Malik Gillani founded Silk Road Theatre Project in 2002. Khoury conceived of and commissioned The DNA Trail and is honored to be part of such a celebrated group of playwrights. His creative work focuses largely on Middle Eastern themes and questions of Diaspora. He is particularly interested in the intersections of culture, national identity, sexuality, and class. In fall of 2009, Khoury conceived of and curated the highly successful Silk Road Cabaret: Broadway Sings the Silk Road, marking SRTP's first foray into cabaret. Khoury's play Precious Stones won the 2003 After Dark Award for Outstanding New Work and has been performed in ten cities across the U.S. Precious Stones will be filmed as a cineplay in summer of 2010. His play Fitna was performed at University Theatre of The University of Chicago and his play Azizati was performed at Café Voltaire.

BOLT FROM THE BLUE by Shishir Kurup
For Rishi, whose family is scattered across the globe, conversations with loved ones take place over cell phones and the internet. They exist as snatches of disembodied voices and email messages that allow the illusion of intimacy and of staying in close touch. But when his young cousin Hari sends a message of despair from across the ocean, Rishi comes face to face with the crippling limitations of communicating over long distances as he attempts to release the unspoken truths that haunt his family.

Shishir Kurup is a member of the nationally renowned Cornerstone Theater Company. His Merchant on Venice, which deals with Hindu/Muslim tensions, has won the California Arts Council grant, Kennedy Center award, and TCG Extended Collaborations grant, and premiered at Silk Road Theatre Project to rave reviews and an extended run. Shishir is a Princess Grace Fellow and one of only six artists nationwide to receive the Audrey Skirball Kenis T.I.M.E. grant for his body of work. His feature film Sharif Don't Like It deals with the loss of Habeas Corpus, is near completion. Shishir has extensive film and television credits, including Lost, Sleeper Cell, Alias, NYPD Blue, and Monk, and recurring roles on Surface and Heroes. His most profound and instructive creation, however, is his daughter Tala.

THAT COULD BE YOU by Lina Patel
Meet Addy, Teddy, Cyndy and Gene. Are they products of their environments? Or are they products of their genes? If we switched roles with the person sitting next to us, would we be the same person or would our new environment change who we are? This comically provocative piece examines and subverts our expectations about genetics, parenthood, and identity.

Lina Patel is a writer/actor. Lina's first play, Sankalpan (Desire), is set in the volatile period of pre-Partition Bengal, and was a semi-finalist for the Sundance Theatre Institute. A Sherwood Award finalist, Lina was invited by Center Theatre Group to develop a new play, The Ragged Claws, in their nine month writer's retreat. Other projects include The Disappearance of Luck, for which Lina is currently working on a screenplay adaptation of the play, and two new plays, Understanding Eugenia and Dionollo. As a critically acclaimed stage and television actor, Lina has performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Taper, Pasadena Playhouse, the Globe Theaters and has guest starred on 24, CSI, Numb3ers and Medium.

FINDING YOUR INNER ZULU by Elizabeth Wong
Cricket, an assassin on the b-ball court, has just led the high school team to sweet victory, and pro recruiters saw every moment of the record-shattering game. But little sister Emma finds Cricket in the locker room, deep in a post-game funk. Just when life seems like a slam dunk, what's bringing Cricket down? Emma finds out, then whips up an ingenious solution to Cricket's problem. In this fantastical journey, the siblings learn how their distant past affects their present-day identities.

Elizabeth Wong is a recent recipient of the Tanne Foundation Award for artistic achievement. Her award winning plays include Letters to a Student Revolutionary, Dating & Mating in Modern Times, China Doll, and Kimchee & Chitlins. Her work has been produced by the Denver Center Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Omaha Magic Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, among others. She has received commissions from The Kennedy Center for a libretto of Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince; from Honolulu Theatre for Youth for an original musical The Magical Bird; and from Silk Road Theatre Project for Dragon Sky, a live-action videogame. She was a writer for Margaret Cho's sitcom All-American Girl and a guest columnist for The Los Angeles Times. Elizabeth Wong is an alumna of NYU'S Tisch School of the Arts. She is also a member of PEN and Writer's Guild of America, west. Dramatic Publishing Company and Playscripts Inc. publishes her work. Currently, she is writing a play about FDR and his Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, the woman behind the creation of social security.

Previews of The DNA Project are March 2 - 6, 2010. The press opening is Sunday, March 7 at 3:00 pm. The production runs through April 4, 2010. Curtain times are Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 8:00 pm; Saturdays at 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 4:00 pm (Sunday, March 7 at 3:00pm). Tickets are $24.00 - $34.00. 20% discounts for groups of ten or more. Tickets are available at the Silk Road Theatre Project box office, 77 W. Washington St; by phone, (312) 857-1234; and online, www.srtp.org.

Discounted parking is available for $6 at System Parking, just 3 blocks from the theatre, at 230 W. Washington St.

Silk Road Theatre Project showcases playwrights of Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean backgrounds, whose works address themes relevant to the peoples of the Silk Road and their Diaspora communities. Through the mediums of theatre, video, education, and advocacy, we aim to deepen and expand representation in American culture. 

Location: Pierce Hall at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St. (lower level) Chicago.
Tickets: $24 preview performances; $34 regular performances.

Box Office: The box office is located at 77 W. Washington St. (lower level), Chicago
Please visit http://www.srtp.org/ or call 312-857-1234 to purchase tickets.

To post a comment, you must register and login.