Seeking Project Manager for HMONG FUTURES
HMONG FUTURES
by KATIE KA VANG
directed by LILY TUNG CRYSTAL
photo courtesy the Hmong American Farmers Association
Theater Mu seeks a project manager to work directly with Katie Ka Vang, playwright and Joyce Award recipient, as she conducts research and interviews within the Hmong community in the development of her new play, Hmong Futures.
Stipend: $20/hour for up to 200 hours (or $4,000 total)
How to apply: Submit a cover letter and work resumé to info@theatermu.org and label your subject heading “HMONG FUTURES Project Manager application” and your name. We will review applications on a rolling basis as the project manager could start as early as mid-October.
If you have any questions, please contact info@theatermu.org.
BACKGROUND
In the summer of 2024, Katie Ka Vang and Theater Mu were announced as one of five recipient pairs of the 2024 Joyce Award, receiving a landmark grant of $100,000 to support their new commission, Hmong Futures. This theater project will be produced in Mu’s 2025/26 season in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Hmong resettlement, a celebration of Hmong American culture in Minnesota, and a way to dream with the community about what a thriving future looks like.
Commissioned by Theater Mu, the largest Asian American theater company in the Midwest, the project will be developed through deep engagement with Hmong community members, including interviews, story circles, workshop readings, family-style dinners, and facilitated conversations. One of the topics of exploration will include agriculture in Hmong life (including Vang’s own experience with her mother as a farmer) and its role as a way of practicing culture. Vang’s project aims to spotlight the experiences of the Hmong community in the Twin Cities—home to the largest Hmong American population in the United States in a major metropolitan area—while providing a forum for Hmong people to imagine a collective future of well-being and abundance, beyond survival.
“Through grassroots work and working in the nonprofit cultural arts sector, I saw the power of art as a way to navigate systems, and use storytelling to shift narratives and shape a new reality,” Katie says. “I write in hopes of transformation for me and my Hmong American and Asian American people, and do this by summoning up courage to look at the things we do to ourselves and each other so we can change.”
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Project Manager will report directly to Katie Ka and Katie Bradley, the interim artistic director of Theater Mu.
Work in collaboration with Katie Ka to develop and maintain work plans, and ensure tasks are being completed.
Be the point of contact for community engagement.
Create and organize project materials (brochure for Hmong Futures, etc).
Schedule, coordinate, and organize meetings.
Work with community partners to gather participants for story circle and family dinners.
Find and book spaces for story circles and family dinners (if applicable).
Attend and take notes during story circles, family dinners, and individual interviews conducted by Katie Ka.
Attend and take notes during meetings between Katie Ka and the Hmong Futures advisory committee.
Work in collaboration with team to provide hospitality (e.g., food and drinks) for meetings and story circles.
In collaboration with Katie Ka, book artists for activities during family dinners.
Attend bi-weekly check ins with Katie Ka and the artistic director of Theater Mu.
May have to lift 40 lb during set up/take down for community events.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Background or understanding of the arts.
Background, understanding, and connection to the Hmong community.
Project management and/or event producing experience.
Collaborative in nature.
A believer of the arts as a tool for social change and community building.
A practicing artist themselves.
Adaptable and flexible in nature.
Familiar with Canva (or other graphic creation platforms) and Google suite.
Able to attend all in person events and meetings.
Ability to take initiative, and work independently