MediaRites’ Theatre Diaspora presents
A Language of Their Own
by Award-Winning Playwright Chay Yew
at Portland Center Stage , Sept. 10 at 7:30pm
and Portland Actors Conservatory, Sept. 18 at 2pm
With funding support by a grant from The Equity Foundation,
Chay Yew’s A Language of Their Own focuses on Oscar and Ming who had been together for four years. They break up after Oscar is diagnosed with AIDS, however, neither is able to let the other go completely. Both begin relationships with new boyfriends and find navigating these relationships just as complicated as when they were together – like learning and creating the nuances of a new language.
NOTE: The play contains strong sexual language and situations so parental discretion for minors is advised.
Theatre Diaspora will perform two staged readings of A Language of Their Own, directed by Andrew Klaus-Vineyard, co-artistic director at defunkt theatre) with associate director Samson Syharath, atPortland Center Stage (128 NW 11th Avenue, Portland) on Saturday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m. and atPortland Actors Conservatory,(1436 SW Montgomery St., Portland) on Sunday, September 18 at 2:00 p.m.Tickets are $10 for general seating and $5 for Oregon Trail cardholders, students and AIDS Walk participants (provide registration). Tickets are available for purchase now at PCS.org for the Sept 10th show and at www.brownpapertickets.com/ for the Sept 18th show.
The Portland production is produced by Wynee Hu with co-producers Samson Syharath and Alex Haslett, all producing ensemble members of Theatre Diaspora. The cast is comprised of local actors: Jess Ford, Ming Young, Samson Syharath, and Ken Tang. Paige Rogers is the stage manager for this production.
About Playwright Chay Yew
Chay Yew, playwright and artistic director of Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, is a recipient of the Obie and DramaLogue Awards for Direction. His productions have been cited by the Los Angeles Times and New York Times as one of the “Ten Best Productions of the Year;” Seattle Times and Strangers’ Best Achievement in Theatre; and was named Best Director by Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He has directed world premieres by playwrights Jose Rivera, Naomi Iizuka, Kia Corthron, Julia Cho, David Adjmi and Jessica Goldberg, and performance artists Rha Goddess, Universes, Alec Mapa, Sandra Tsing Loh and Brian Freeman.
Yew is the recipient of the London Fringe Award for Best Playwright and Best Play, George and Elisabeth Marton Playwriting Award, GLAAD Media Award, Asian Pacific Gays and Friends’ Community Visibility Award, Made in America Award, AEA/SAG/AFTRA 2004 Diversity Honor, and Robert Chesley Award; he has received grants from the McKnight Foundation, Rockefeller MAP Fund and the TCG/Pew National Residency Program.
Yew is also an accomplished and widely respected playwright, and his plays are published in two titles, The Hyphenated American Plays and Porcelain and A Language of Their Own, by Grove Press; the latter was nominated for a Lamda Literary Award. He is presently editing a new anthology Version 3.0: Contemporary Asian American Plays for TCG Publications. An alumnus of New Dramatists, he has held residencies at Mu Lan Theatre Company, Northwest Asian American Theatre Company and East West Players.any and East West Players.
About Director Andrew Klaus-Vineyard
Andrew Klaus-Vineyard is co-artistic director at defunkt theatre, as well as an internationally exhibited multimedia artist and musician. Recent works include commissioned visual art for the Tate Museum in London and directing the acclaimed West Coast premiere of Stephen Spotswood’s In The Forest, She Grew Fangs as well as the world premiere of The Udmurts by David Zellnik. He studied contemporary art and practice at Savannah College of Art and Design and holds a degree in Cultural Studies and Time-Based Art from Portland State University. Klaus-Vineyard will next be directing Hir by Taylor Mac at defunkt theatre and releasing a book of photography in early 2017. Visitwww.timeoutfilms.com for more works.
