The Second City Announces Recipients of The Inaugural Victor Wong Fellowship For AAPI Voices In Comedy 

Legendary Chicago comedy institution The Second City is thrilled to announce the inaugural recipients for the 2023 Victor Wong Fellowship for Asian American Pacific Islander Voices in Comedy. Named after The Second City's first Asian American performer and funded by Peng Zhao, CEO of Citadel Securities, and his wife, Cherry Chen, the fellowship will support the professional training and development of a cohort of actors and music directors.

"A program like this is incredibly important for empowering the Asian American community, not only through a comedic lens but in providing more opportunities to share our stories & culture," said The Second City's Showcase Director and Program Creative Lead, Jonald Reyes.

After receiving and reviewing over 100 submissions, the following recipients were selected to begin training with The Second City this February:

Acting Track Recipients

● Ali Khan (he/him)

● Christina Hilliard (she/her)

● Courtney Sullivan Wu (she/her)

● Harrison Hapin (he/him)

● Heather Mari (she/her)

● Huy Nguyen (he/him)

● Jef Chi (he/him)

● Luke Moghimi Connell (he/him)

● Natasha Mirza (she/her)

● Nick Joe (he/him)

● Tanvi Kumar (she/her)

Music Director Track Recipients

● Joshua Chan (he/him)

● Katherine Elise Plier (she/they)

● Maya Tanaka Allwardt (she/her)

● Yuxin Lu (they/them)

"We could not be more thrilled with the caliber and diversity of talent and perspectives represented in our inaugural Victor Wong Fellowship cohort. We can't wait to see what they create together," said The Second City's Managing Artistic Director, Julie Dumais Osborne.

Following the tuition-free program, the fellowship will conclude with a showcase event on a Second City stage in Chicago. The culminating run of public performances is scheduled for May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2023.

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