Interact Theatre Company Picks 2nd Playwright For THE PHILLY CYCLE!

InterAct is in the process of commissioning three plays to be written about and with Philadelphia communities that are under-represented on local (and national) stages. The second commission will focus on the city's community of Southeast Asians, specifically those displaced by the wars in Southeast Asia.

ABOUT Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay:

Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay is a Lao American poet and playwright. CNN's “United Shades of America” host W. Kamau Bell called her work “revolutionary.” She is the author of the children's book When Everything Was Everything (Full Circle Publishing 2018) and is best known for her Kung Fu Zombies play cycle. Her work has been presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Theater Mu, Walking Shadow Theatre Company, and elsewhere.

She's currently a grantee of the MN State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, as well as fellowships from the Bush Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Jerome Foundation, and the Center for Cultural Power this year. She's a recent writer in residence at Hedgebrook and Djerassi by invitation of the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network. www.refugenius.net

ABOUT The Philly Cycle:

Through a five-year grant award from the William Penn Foundation, InterAct will commission, develop and produce three plays that center communities that are under-represented on local (and national) stages.

The four primary goals of The Philly Cycle are to generate plays about Philadelphia, to expand the narratives about Philadelphia, both within and outside the City, to engage and develop new audiences for theatre, and to promulgate a new and easily replicable model for theatres to engage diverse communities in cities across the country.

The process for each play will involve research and immersion within the community, extensive play development, and extensive community engagement around the final production.

To post a comment, you must register and login.