Ma-Yi Theater and Second Generation Productions to Present Three Play Readings at Theatre Row

Ma-Yi Theater Company, in partnership with Second Generation Productions, will present a series of three development workshops that will conclude with public presentations May 22-24, 2024 at Theatre Row (410 W 42nd St) in Theatre Two. These events are free, however, online reservations are required, details below. Donations are also encouraged with all proceeds benefiting Heart of Dinner.

In David Zheng's Kidnapping Jane Doe, two friends from the Bronx mistakenly kidnap their congresswoman while trying to save their home. Directed by Raelle Myrick Hodges, this presentation will take place at 3pm on May 22, 2024. The cast includes Julia Brothers, Robert Lee Leng, Equiano Mosieri, Angela Reynoso, Denzel Rodriguez, Allen Tedder, and Antonio Michael Woodard. 

In Sung Rno's meta dark comedy Boxer Rebellion, two filmmakers find themselves in Los Angeles after winning a short film contest. Trapped in a K-town hotel, they are desperate to pitch their story to a mythical director. Then a mysterious woman arrives—can she open doors or is she a spirit of historical vengeance? Directed by Andrew Pang, this presentation will take place at 7:30pm on May 23, 2024. The cast includes Paul Juhn, K.K. Moggie, Alfredo Narciso, David Shih, and Sarah Shin.

Entrenched in an elite sumo training facility in Tokyo, six men practice, eat, love, play, and ultimately fight. Step into the sacred world of Sumo wrestling with Lisa Sanaye Dring's mesmerizing new drama, SUMO. Directed by Ralph B. Peña, this presentation will take place at 3pm and 7pm on May 24, 2024. The cast includes Sergio Mauritz Ang, Chris Grace, Brian Lee Huynh, David Lee Huynh, Paul Juhn, Jasmine Sharma, David Shih, Scott Keiji Takeda, Paco Tolson, and Daisuke Tsuji.

Please visit www.ma-yitheatre.org for more information.

Reservation Details

May 22 at 3pm

Kidnapping Jane Doe by David Zheng
https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/kidnapping-jane-doe/

May 23 at 7:30pm
Boxer Rebellion by Sung Rno
https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/boxer-rebellion/

May 24 at 3pm and 7pm
SUMO by Lisa Sanaye Dring

https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/sumo/

About the Artists

Lisa Sanaye Dring is a writer from Hilo, Hawaii and Reno, Nevada. She is currently the Tow Foundation Writer-in-Residence with Ma-Yi. They have worked with Meow Wolf and were honored as a recipient of the 2020/21 PLAY LA Stage Raw/Humanitas Prize. She has been a finalist for the Relentless Award, Seven Devils, a 2x finalist (one honorable mention) for the BAPF and a 2x finalist for the O'Neill. Lisa has been awarded fellowships at MacDowell, Blue Mountain Center and Yaddo, and received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Interactive Programming for a piece she co-wrote and co-directed called Welcome to the Blumhouse Live.

Raelle Myrick Hodges is currently directing the Philadelphia premiere of Suzanne-Lori Park's' Father Comes Home from the Wars: Part 1, 2 & 3 at Quintesscence Theater Group. She has directed for Magic Theatre ( SF), Indians Repertory Theatre, & Under the Radar ( NY) among others. This fall, she will direct the world premiere of SUMP'N with Wings and unproduced work from 1926, presented by The Mint (NY).

Andrew Pang's Directing credits include The Dumb Waiter and A Dream Play for the National Asian American Theater Company as well as his 4 short films, Works of Art (Winner Best Short – San Diego Asian Film Festival), three minutes, Swing (Winner YOMYOMF) and Shadow. In addition, he has worked in New York as an actor for almost 30 years as well as being involved in many Film/Television projects over the last 15 years as an Editor/Assistant Editor.

Ralph B. Peña is an Obie Award-winning theater-maker based in New York City. Recent directing credits include The Far Country (Yale Repertory), the world premiere of Lisa Sanaye Dring's SUMO (La Jolla Playhouse/Ma-Yi), Lloyd Suh's The Chinese Lady (Ma-Yi/The Public Theater, Indiana Rep, Long Wharf Theater, Barrington Stage | Drama Desk, Lortel, NY Outer Critics, Berkshire Theater Critics, CT Critics Circle Nominations), Michael Lew's Tiger Style! at South Coast Repertory, and Daniel K. Isaac's ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME for Ma-Yi Theater Company where he is currently Producing Artistic Director. For Ma-Yi he has also directed the world premieres of Hansol Jung's Among The Dead, Michael Lew's microcrisis, Lloyd Suh's The Wong Kids (Off Broadway Alliance Best Children's Play) and Children of Vonderly. He wrote and directed the short film Vancouver (Cannes World Film Festival, L.A. Indie Festival, NY International Film Award for Best Short and Best Director, 2023 UNIMA Citation of Excellence), and the documentary Twenty Years of Asian American Playwriting for PBS / ALL ARTS. Ralph has served as Ma-Yi Theater Company's Producing Artistic Director since 1996, and is one of its founding members.

Sung Rno's plays include wAve (Ma-Yi, Yellow Earth), Yi Sang Counts to Thirteen (Seoul Theater Festival, NYC Fringe), Cleveland Raining (Pan Asian Rep, East West Players), Gravity Falls From Trees (AATC), Drizzle and Other Stories (Ma-Yi workshop), Happy (2ST commission), musical Galois (2G, Joe's Pub, Ice Factory workshop, with composer Aaron Jones), Strindberg's Dream Play (adaptation, NAATCO) and Sophocles in Staten Island (co-created with Michi Barall & Ron Domingo; Ma-Yi Studios). His work is published in Version 3.0 (TCG), 7 Contemporary Plays from the Korean Diaspora (Duke), Savage Stage (Ma-Yi press), and But Still, Like Air, I'll Rise (Temple). As NEA/TCG fellow with Ma-Yi Theater, he founded the Ma-Yi Writers' Lab. Other honors: NYC Fringe Best Play award, Whitfield Cook Prize, Van Lier Fellowship, Helen Merrill Playwriting Fellowship, and O'Neill NPC finalist for Boxer Rebellion. As writer/producer, winner of Interpretations short film contest for Swing (dir. Andrew Pang) and 64 Hour Film Shootout for Crumple (dir. CS Lee). Recently story editor for Butterfly, currently in production with Daniel Dae Kim's 3AD, Boom! studios and Amazon. BA, Harvard; MFA, Brown; New Dramatists Alumnus.

David Zheng is a Chinese American playwright and visual artist from The Bronx. His work has been developed at The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, MCC Theater, The Labyrinth Theater Company, Cherry Lane Theater Company, The Lark, and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. He is a 2021 Bronx Cultural Vision Fund awardee, former NYTW 2050 Fellow, 2020 Eugene O'Neill National Playwright's Conference recipient, 2018-2019 member of The Public Theater Emerging Writers' Group, and a 2018 Van Lier New Voices Playwriting Fellow at The Lark. Films: YOU GO GIRL! (Sundance Official Selection 2022). David has developed original work with Sony Pictures. David is a member of Ma-Yi writers Lab.

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