Theater Mu presents FAST COMPANY by Carla Ching, directed by Brian Balcom
CAST
BLUE
H
FRANCIS
MABEL
Ming Montgomery
Eric ‘Pogi’ Sumangil *
Brian Kim *
Jeannie Lander
PRODUCTION TEAM
DIRECTOR
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
STAGE MANAGER
SCENIC DESIGNER
SCENIC APPRENTICE
COSTUME DESIGNER
LIGHTING DESIGNER
ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER
SOUND DESIGNER
PROPERTIES DESIGNER
PROJECTION DESIGNER
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
MAGIC CONSULTANT
Brian Balcom
Audrey Park
Lisa Smith *
Joel Sass
Kenji Shoemaker
Ash Kaun
Karin Olson
Tony Stoeri
Montana Johnson
Abbee Warmboe
Miko Simmons
Trevor Muller-Hegel
Tyler Erickson
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States
SYNOPSIS
Mable is the greatest grifter that ever lived and taught her children to be the best con artists around. When her daughter Blue plans the con of the decade, will they get in on the action together or will one of them walk away with it all? It’s a show of smoke and mirrors, but underneath all the grifting and game theory is a provoking story about redemption, perseverance, destiny, and teamwork.
RUN TIME
90 minutes. No intermission.
CONTENT WARNING
Strong language. Stylized violence.
SPECIAL THANKS
Katie & Ryan Valek
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
When people ask how I feel about moving from San Francisco to the Twin Cities, I often respond, “It’s all the things - wonderful, sad, bittersweet, exciting, serendipitous, welcoming, challenging, euphoric, and always, always deeply felt.”
It’s the complexity of life that brings us to good theater. With our 28th season and its theme, THE WORLD IS OURS TO BUILD, we at Mu eschew old clichés and let our Asian American characters live in the totality of who they are - multifaceted, funny, and flawed - in a world that often tries to unfairly limit and define them.
In Carla Ching’s Fast Company, we meet your typical Asian American family... only they’re con artists. For the Kwans, much of life is smoke and mirrors, yet they each try to rise above both family and societal expectations to stay true to themselves and each other. Entrenched in a very American genre, this comedy heist allows its anti-heroes to be exactly who they are - smart and vulnerable, fun and dangerous.
“I’m expanding the limits of what you think is possible. Helping you see that limits aren’t limits at all,” says Francis, the family magician. And it’s through the magic of theater that we are showing you a new way of looking at the people and stories around you, though we all know it’s been the truth all along.
— LILY TUNG CRYSTAL
FROM THE DIRECTOR
A thousand years ago my parents let me stay up and watch The Great Muppet Caper. In bed that night, my imagination ran wild. I dreamed that my ‘identical twin’ and I, along with a gang of my grade-school friends, conned our way into the Minnesota Children’s Museum late at night to steal my favorite piece - the conservation of angular momentum demonstrator.
The dream repeated many times over the next month; sometimes we had to hide from the police, sometimes we got caught and subsequently saved by Miss Piggy, but most of the time we pulled it off and read about our success on the front page of the Star Tribune.
I was drawn to Fast Company for so many reasons: the strong female leads, its underdog narrative, the comically dysfunctional-yet-relatable family dynamics, and its incredible sense of adventure. This play is part of an exciting generation of stories from Asian American writers who portray us as heroes, lovers, and villains with real depth and substance and complexity.
But mostly, it let me dream again about pulling off the perfect heist and how much of an amazing con-artist-slash-jewel-thief I probably could have been if I had just stayed away from theater…
— BRIAN BALCOM
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
CARLA CHING is a native Angeleno who made her home in NYC for 16 years. She started off writing and performing autobiographical work with pan-Asian performance collective Peeling, which she still considers her first theater training. Her plays include Nomad Motel (NNPN Rolling World Premiere at City Theatre Company, Horizon Theatre Company and Unicorn Theatre Company; NY Premiere at Atlantic Theater Company), Fast Company (World and NY Premieres at South Coast Rep and Ensemble Studio respectively), and The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up (Co-World Premiere at Artists at Play, Theater Mu). Her work has been developed or produced at Aurora Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, CTG Writers’ Workshop, Huntington Theatre Company, Lark Play Development Center, Lyric Stage, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, The O’Neill, and The Women’s Project Lab, among others. Former artistic director of the Asian American theater company, 2g. Her new play Revenge Porn is a Toulmin Commission from The Atlantic Theater Company. Proud founding member of The Kilroys and member of New Dramatists. On television, Carla has written on Graceland, Fear the Walking Dead, I Love Dick, The First, Preacher, and the forthcoming Home Before Dark for Apple. She’s currently developing a new show with 3AD at AMC. carlaching.com @carlaching
COMPANY BIOS
MING MONTGOMERY, Blue
This is Ming’s second production with Mu, but her first acting on stage. THEATER MU: Immigrant Journey Project. THEATER: Illusion Theater: Touch; Lawrence University: Love and Information, She Ventures and He Wins, Much Ado About Nothing; TASU Theatre Company: Violet. She has also been the Director of Southwest Community Education Summer Shows. EDUCATION: Lawrence Univeristy, Gaiety School for Acting in Dublin Ireland.
ERIC ‘POGI’ SUMANGIL, H
Eric is thrilled to be back onstage with Mu. He recently returned from playing Nathaniel Hawthorne in TigerLion Arts’ national tour of Nature. THEATER MU: Flower Drum Song, tot, Twelfth Night, Little Shop of Horrors, The Romance of Magno Rubio. THEATER: La Jolla Playhouse: The Seven, Salsalandia!; Park Square Theatre: Baskerville, Macbeth, The Realistic Joneses; Jungle Theater: The Oldest Boy; Ten Thousand Things: Park & Lake; Chanhassen Dinner Theatre: Altar Boyz, West Side Story, HAiR; Children’s Theatre Company: Disney’s Mulan, The Monkey King. UPCOMING: Theater Elision: (Book & Lyrics) Five Minutes in A Flight of Short Musicals. @WilyFilipino. EricPogiSumangil.com
BRIAN KIM, Francis
THEATER MU: The Korean Drama Addict’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity, Flower Drum Song (2009). THEATER: Park Square Theatre: Aubergine; Full Circle Theatre: Caught; San Diego Rep: Aubergine; Olney Theatre Center: Labour of Love; Pan Asian Rep: The Emperor’s Nightingale; New York Theatre Workshop: Dinner with Georgette; National Asian Artists Project: Carousel, Gold Mountain; Ordway Center: Joseph… Dreamcoat; Old Log: Charlotte’s Web; Theatre Latté Da: Half the Sky; Chanhassen Dinner Theatre: Les Miserables, 42nd Street, The Producers. FILM/TV: The Struggle, The Beach House, We Be Nurses, Pokémon: Sun and Moon. HONORS: 2018 Best Actor and Director for The Struggle at Asian American Film Lab. UPCOMING: Theater Latté Da: 12 Angry Men. brian-kim.com
JEANNIE LANDER, Mable
THEATER MU: Purple Cloud, Into the Woods, Yellow Fever, Kung Fu Zombies vs. Cannibals. THEATER: Chain Reaction Theatre Project: Seven; Fringe Festival: Serious Hedgehog (Scotus), Walking Shadow Theater Company: 36 Views; 5th Season Entertainment: Barefoot in the Park; Cherry Lane Theater: Fading to Grey; Bedlam: Chicken Little, Robot Love, Tangle; nimbus: American Noise. FILM: lucidity, Disco Nap.
BRIAN BALCOM, Director
Brian is a disabled, Asian American director working in Chicago and Minneapolis. DIRECTING: Gremlin Theatre: Samuel J and K, Ideation, Don’t Dress For Dinner, An Absolute Turkey, Fool For Love; Artistry Theater: Tinker to Evers to Chance; Urban Samurai Theater: Slasher; Walking Shadow Theater Company: See You Next Tuesday, Some Girl(s), Mr Marmalade; The New Theatre Group: The Folly of Crowds, The Debate Over Courtney O’Connell, Compound/Complex/A Standing Long Jump, American Sexy, Killer Smile, How To Cheat. TRAINING: BFA in directing, Carnegie-Mellon University; MFA in directing, The Theatre School at DePaul University. UPCOMING: Gremlin Theatre, American Stage in Florida, Theater Wit in Chicago. brianbalcom.com
AUDREY PARK, Assistant Director
THEATER MU: You For Me For You, Purple Cloud, Twelfth Night, Middle Brother. THEATER: Ten Thousand Things: Pericles, Electra; Penumbra Theatre: For Colored Girls. Audrey has also worked with Pillsbury House Theatre, Frank Theatre, History Theatre, San Diego Rep, Yellow Tree Theatre, and Park Square Theatre. As a teaching artist, she facilitates workshops with Theater Mu and Penumbra.
LISA SMITH, Stage Manager
THEATER MU: A Little Night Music, Kung Fu Zombies vs. Cannibals, Yellow Fever, Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors, Yellowface, Flower Drum Song, and many more. THEATER: History Theatre: Dirty Business, Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story, Dance Til You Drop; Ordway Center: Annie, In The Heights, West Side Story, Pirates of Penzance, Songbook Series; Guthrie Theater: Choir Boy; Theater Latté Da: C, Into the Woods, NEXT, All is Calm, Our Town, Company, Spring Awakening, Old Wicked Songs; As well as productions with Old Log Theater, Frank Theatre, Producing House, Trademark Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, MN Orchestra, Collide Theatrical, TU Dance, and Mu Daiko.
JOEL SASS, Scenic Designer
Joel has been a longtime fan of Mu, and this will be his Theater Mu creative debut! THEATER: History Theatre: Gloria: A Life, Dirty; Open Eye Theater: (director/designer) The Beldenville Troll; Girl Friday/Park Square Theatre: (director/designer) The Skin of Our Teeth. HONORS: Multiple Ivey awards, McKnight Theater Artist Fellowship, Alan Schneider Director Award (TCG). TRAINING: BA emphasis in Directing & Design, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. UPCOMING: Open Eye Theatre: (director/designer) The Red Shoes; History Theatre: Runestone! joelsass.com
ASH KAUN, Costume Designer
Fast Company is Ash’s Theater Mu design debut! THEATER (Designer): Yellow Tree Theatre: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Cry It Out; Sheep Theater: George; Shakespearean Youth Theatre: The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Fringe Festival: Operation: Immigration; (Asst. Designer): Jungle Theater: Small Mouth Sounds, The Wolves; Theater Latté Da: To Let Go and Fall; Penumbra Theatre: This Bitter Earth. TRAINING: BA Augsburg University.
KARIN OLSON, Lighting Designer
THEATER MU: Hot Asian Doctor Husband, The Korean Drama Addict’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity, Two Mile Hollow, You For Me For You, Kung Fu Zombies vs. Cannibals. THEATER: Mu/Penumbra: The Brothers Paranormal; Jungle Theater: Small Mouth Sounds, The Wolves; Ordway Center: West Side Story; Trinity Rep: A Christmas Carol, Fuente Ovejuna; Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Count of Monte Cristo; Mixed Blood Theatre: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Colossal; Twin Cities Ballet: Pink Floyd’s The Wall the Ballet; Trademark Theater: The Hollow. UPCOMING: Park Square Theatre: Pride and Prejudice; Children’s Theatre Company: Spamtown; TaikoArts Midwest: HERbeat at Ordway Center; Cleveland Play House: Antigone. KarinOlsonLighting.com
MONTANA JOHNSON, Sound Designer
Montana has worked as a freelance designer and technician in the Twin Cities for 16 years. THEATER MU: Asiamnesia, Sia(b). THEATER: Guthrie Theater: Juno and the Paycock, Skiing on Broken Glass, Embers; Yellow Tree Theatre: Cry it out, Grace, Next to Normal; Mixed Blood Theatre: Barbecue, An Octoroon, Passing Strange; Jungle Theater: You Can’t Take it With You. She also teaches Sound Design and Audio Technology at The University of Minnesota. TRAINING: MFA, Cal Arts. UPCOMING: Park Square Theatre: Holmes and Watson. montanajohnsondesign.com
ABBEE WARMBOE, Properties Designer
THEATER MU: Hot Asian Doctor Husband, Two Mile Hollow. THEATER: Mu/Penumbra: The Brothers Paranormal; Theater Latté Da: Chicago; Penumbra Theatre: Pipeline; Old Log Theater: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder; Mixed Blood Theatre: The Song of Summer; History Theatre: Gloria: A Life; Ordway Center: Smokey Joe’s Café; Mill City Summer Opera: Cosi Fan Tutte. HONORS: Drama Desk Award for “unique theatrical experience” for All Is Calm at the Sheen Center, 2018 MN Theater Awards Honoree for Exceptional Design, 2017 Ivey Award for Production Design for Six Degrees of Separation.
MIKO SIMMONS, Projection Designer
Miko is an award-winning multimedia artist who has been innovating in the convergence of film and theater for over 15 years. THEATER: History Theatre: Gloria: A Life, Dirty Business; New Dawn: Crowns; Old Log: Ghost Musical, Jack and Beanstalk; Guthrie Theater: Macondo, Caviar on Credit, Postcards from Earth, Confluence, Bring Love to my Doorstep; Park Square Theatre: Snow Queen; Mixed Blood Theatre: House of the Spirits; Ordway Center: Salome, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast; MN Opera; TU Dance. INTERNATIONAL: Count of Monte Cristo, Wizard of Oz. MUSEUMS: MIA Gala Chinese Gate Installation, Dr. King Memorial, National Mall Washington D.C.
Fast Company is made possible, in part, thanks to the following season sponsors.
Special shoutout to these season partners
Theater Mu is proud to stand beside New Native Theatre, Pangea World Theater, Penumbra Theatre, and Teatro del Pueblo as a member of the Twin Cities Theatres of Color Coalition. The coalition formed to build knowledge, capacity, and take action around the challenges and opportunities of diversification in the American theater.
THEATER MU STAFF
Lily Tung Crystal, Artistic Director
Shannon Fitzgerald, Managing Director
Tiffany Xiong, Development Director
Kevin Duong, Marketing & Communications Director
Audrey Park, Project Manager
Emiko Hinds, Arts Administration Fellow
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chris Barron
Jacey Choy
Shannon Fitzgerald, ex-officio
Candice Hern
Curtis Klotz
Gloria Kumagai
Nam Provost
Reginaldo Reyes
Nonoko Sato
Jon F. Jee Schill
Lily Tung Crystal, ex-officio
MU CHAMPION CIRCLE
Mary Anne Ebert & Paul Stembler
Martin & Brown Foundation
Les & Karen Suzukamo
Wymond Wong & Julie Wesley