It was a given that Theater Mu’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Playwright-in-Residence Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay would write one of the episodes of THE REMIX. What was surprising, perhaps, was the heavy topic of episode No. 3—after Hollywood’s first Asian heartthrob and the history of music in the Philippines, covering the inhumanity of turning Asians into sideshows is a little dark. 

Using humor and popular media to spark interest in Asian history is why THE REMIX exists, though. As Duangphouxay Vongsay says, “I'm so glad that the vibe, the tone, and the aesthetic of THE REMIX are in a way that’s really accessible to everyday people to watch, and it doesn’t feel academic.”

Whether or not you’ve already watched Duangphouxay Vongsay’s episode, “Asian Curiosities,” read ahead to learn how she tackled the troubling topic, engaged in self care, and let humor pave the way. 

How did you get involved with THE REMIX?

Initially, when Audrey [Park, former Mu programs manager] was creating this, her idea was to hire one playwright to write the four videos. And I was like, if we want to expand and work with multiple people and create more financial and creative opportunities,  … what do you think of this idea where we commission four playwrights and they write on a topic they’re super interested in?

Did your topic change at all from your initial idea?

I was initially just focused on the Thai Siamese brothers [Chang and Eng Bunker] because Thai, Lao, we’re very similar. And then I remembered Afong Moy because we also read The Chinese Lady by Lloyd Suh as part of one of the MTI training sessions that I participated in. And then I remembered when I was having a conversation with one of my friends, a Filipina woman—Marlina Gonzalez [one of the Mu Tang Clan members]—and she talked about the Igorot people, and I remembered her talking about how they were part of this world’s fair—very exploitive, very predatory.

Something about Chang and Eng that people don’t talk about is the fact that they had enslaved people working on their farms. People brush that aside and brush that under the rug, but they were participating in White supremacy. It’s ridiculous because Thai people, Lao people, so many of us come from people who have been enslaved to the king. So there’s that history for us, too, and for Chang and Eng to do that was just really upsetting for me.

Did you worry about how you were going to present Eng and Chang?

No, it was like, I’m going to tell it plainly. This is what happened. I’m not going to try to say it was because they had to do that because they didn’t have to do that. I didn’t know what their reasons were. All I knew is that they participated in that. And it’s like, just leave it to the viewers to assess it on their own.

How much did you have to think about self-care while working on this?

I used the same process that I use when I do my own creative projects. For my theater work, I do a lot of interviews with survivors, former refugees, people who went through hard sh*t, to inform my plays. I always have to step away and pause, sometimes for really long periods—weeks, sometimes—just to settle my heart, and then I go back to it.

That's what I did with this, too. Afong Moy was so young, and I can’t imagine… No articles ever talked about her having possibly been assaulted, and a part of me feels that could have happened to her being so young, disempowered and away from family. She had nobody to advocate for her. So I was trying to imagine what could have happened to these people.

Was it tough for you to include humor into the script?

No, because that's sort of my aesthetic. I believe that humor helps people navigate f–ed up sh*t. Their guards are down to take in the information and want to engage in the topic.

Why do you think programs like THE REMIX are needed?

I think people don't know about Asian American history or about Asians in the country. … Some places don’t have resources; some places are not culturally diverse; some places you walk into a public area, and nobody looks different from you. And some people are complacent in that way, and some people are like, “I don’t like that, and I want to learn about the world.”

In general, Lily [Tung Crystal, Mu artistic director] and I talked earlier about how we have Asian Americans who throw ourselves under the bus and decenter ourselves because we don’t want to take up space. … Even when Fong Lee was shot by the police: He’s Hmong. He’s not part of the conversation when we talked about police brutality against our communities. 

And I think people don’t think bad shit has happened to Asian people, and it’s because we don’t have ethnic studies that are required. It’s not part of our curriculum, and that’s a problem. And it’s not a part of our popular culture, which is a problem. Even when we do get to be part of popular culture, there are still people within our group that criticize that, right? And it’s like… this is not our one chance. We can have multiple stories to tell. We need to break out of the scarcity mindset and operate from a spirit of abundance.

This interview was edited for style, length, and clarity.