HOME / 2025-26 SEASON / HMONG FUTURES

season art by Aleksandra Gurneau/KNOCK, inc.; far Left & top right courtesy of Cameron Yang, Hmong American Farmers Assoc., respectively

AN INTERGENERATIONAL STORY OF HEALING

Hmong Futures: The Future of Us is an intergenerational story asking what it takes for a family to move from surviving to thriving. Anchoring the play are its protagonists, three Hmong American women, and it examines the conversations, daily rituals, and little moments that help us heal. To create this world premiere, playwright Katie Ka Vang held community engagement events and discussions in 2025, during the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian people in Minnesota.

“As a first-generation Hmong American, my worldview was largely shaped by my refugee parents' lived experiences related to political persecution, traumatic experiences, displacement, and poverty, and I hope my work is a vessel for myself and my community to co-create ideas that point toward liberation and transformation,” says Katie.

Hmong Times: “Katie Ka Vang’s new play holds 50 years of hope”

GENERAL INFORMATION

DATES

Apr 11 - May 3, 2026 (previews Apr 9 & 10)

Masks will be required at all Sunday matinees, and large print playbills and sensory kits will be available at each performance. Performances with talkbacks, open captions, audio description, and ASL interpretations will be announced later.

PRICE

We strive to voice the stories of the Asian American community, and in order to bring performances to those communities whose stories they tell, we are committed to making them as accessible as possible. PAY AS YOU ARE pricing asks those who routinely pay market value for theater tickets to choose to pay that amount; it is the actual fair market value of the ticket. If an audience member needs to pay less, they can choose to pay less—as little as $15 per ticket.

Seating is general admission.

VENUE INFO

Hmong Futures will take place will take place at Gremlin Theatre, located at Annex Building, 550 Vandalia St, St Paul, MN 55114. For directions or parking information, visit Gremlin Theatre’s website.

Meet the Cast

Understudies: Diego Symouksavanh (Aben), Dorothy Vang (Maly/Fhoua)

MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT

KATIE KA VANG (she/her) is a Hmong American playwright, screenwriter, and storyteller. Her work explores the complexity of cultures & communities, diaspora, dis-ease, and transformation. Her work includes Six Pack, Again the musical, Fertile Grounds, WTF, and Hmong Bollywood. Her work has been developed and presented at East West Players, Mixed Blood Theatre, Wonderlust Productions, Red Eye Theater, Pangea World Theater, Pillsbury House Theatre, Theater Mu, the Jungle Theater, Leviathan Lab, Bushwick Starr, Brown University, the Royal Court Theatre, the Walker Art Center, Civic Ensemble, Out North Art House, and more. She has received fellowships from the Center for Cultural Power, the McKnight Foundation, the Playwrights' Center, the Jerome Foundation, NET, Knight Foundation, NPN, MRAC, MSAB, Coalition of Asian American Leaders, and others. Katie was also a member of East West Players 21-23 Playwright's Group. MFA in playwriting: Brown University. | katiekavang.com

Meet the Director

REENA DUTT (she/her) is dedicated to new and reimagined texts that catapult polarizing conversations through unexpected stories of the underheard. Reena recently directed the development reading of Geetha Reddy’s new play, The Employee Dharma Handbook at Theatreworks Silicon Valley. She has worked on productions and new play development across the country at theatres including Artists Repertory (OR), Amphibian Stage (TX), Constellation Stage (IN), WAM/Central Square (MA), and the Public (NY). Her Broadway debut was The Collaboration, starring Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope, working as assistant director to Kwame Kwei-Armah. Theatre fellowships: LA Performance Practice, Drama League NY directing fellow, LCT Directors Lab. | reenadutt.com

Special thanks to the Jerome Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and Minnesota Historical Society for supporting Hmong Futures: The Future of Us.

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