SCENES FROM THE MU TANG CLAN - PROGRAM

We’ve been bragging about our Mu Tang Clan cohort a lot this year. Each playwright came into the inaugural program with an accomplished portfolio, and through semi-monthly meetings, they have pushed each other, supported each other, and made space for Asian American work. Now, six months after their first meeting, they’re ready to show us what they’ve been working on.

On Jan 14, 7 p.m. CST, join us on Facebook for our free, live virtual readings (you do not need a Facebook account to watch). Afterward, stick around for a Mu-tini Hour with the playwrights, hosted by Artistic Director Lily Tung Crystal.

In the meantime, scroll through the program or jump to the playwrights, directors, actors, and production team. Their bios will appear when you hover over their photos, and at the end, you can see the full casting list by play.

The Mu Tang Clan was made possible through a generous grant from the Science Museum of Minnesota’s 2021 Race Exhibition Mini Grants, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and a partnership with the Playwrights’ Center.

* Denotes a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

PLAYWRIGHTS

Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay (she/her) is an award-winning Lao American poet, playwright, public artist, and cultural producer. She’s a recipient of a Sally Award for Initiative from the Ordway Center for Performing Arts which “recognizes bold new steps and strategic leadership undertaken by an individual … in creating projects or artistic programs never before seen in Minnesota that will have a significant impact on strengthening Minnesota’s artistic/cultural community.” She’s the author of the children’s book When Everything Was Everything and is best known for her award-winning play Kung Fu Zombies Vs. Cannibals. She's currently the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Playwright-in-Residence at Theater Mu, a McKnight Foundation Fellow in Community Engaged Practice Art, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow in Playwriting, a Minnesota State Arts Board and Forecast Public Art grantee, and serves as a member at large on the City of Saint Paul Cultural STAR Board. @refugenius

Marlina Gonzalez (she/her) is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, director, producer, and curator of Filipino heritage. A recipient of the Joyce Award for Theater, she wrote/co-directed Isla Tuliro (2018), a play commissioned and co-produced by Pangea World Theater and Teatro del Pueblo. She is a 2021/22 recipient of Springboard for the Arts’s creative engagement fellowship, MRAC’s Arts Impact for Individuals grants, Twin Cities Media Alliance’s Our Space Is Spoken For fellowship. She is co-producing Kuwentuhan, a bilingual podcast supported by the Coalition of Asian American Leaders and Filipinx for Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice in Minnesota. Marlina is working as a story-gatherer/mini-documentary producer for MinnesotaHumanities Center’s exhibit, entitled We Are Water. She is currently the community engagement specialist with American Public Media Group/MPR. She teaches introduction to Pan Asian theater at Augsburg University. Starting January 2022, she is teaching a new interactive course on Black and Asian solidarity and community with the University of Minnesota's Asian American studies.

Keiko Green (she/her) is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and performer, originally from Marietta, Georgia. Her plays have been developed and/or produced by the O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference, the Playwrights Realm, the New Harmony Project, ACT Theatre, the Kennedy Center, National New Play Network, and the Seattle Repertory Theatre, among others. She is a Core Company member at ACT Theatre in Seattle, as well as a member of Theater Mu’s inaugural Mu Tang Clan new play incubator. Honors include: the Gregory Award for Outstanding New Play; finalist status for the Neukom Literary Arts Playwriting Award, the Blue Ink Playwriting Award, the Leah Ryan Fund, and the Seven Devils Playwrights Festival. She is currently under commission from ACT Theatre (Seattle) and the Old Globe Theater (San Diego). As an actor, Keiko has worked at the Denver Center for Performing Arts, ACT Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, and Seattle Repertory Theatre, among others. She received her BFA from New York University’s Experimental Theatre Wing and is currently in her third and final year at UC San Diego’s MFA Playwriting Program. She is represented by the Gersh Agency and Anonymous Content. keikogreen.com

Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay

Marlina Gonzalez

Keiko Green

Kathryn Haddad (she/her) is a writer, teacher, speaker, and community organizer whose work explores contemporary Southwest Asian/North African (SWANA) experiences. Kathryn is a 2004-05 recipient of the Archibald Bush Leadership Fellowship. She has received three Playwrights’ Center Many Voices Fellowships as well as several artist awards from the Minnesota State Arts Board. She was the 2018 Kay Sexton Award honoree for her work with the SWANA Community, and received a 2019-20 Jerome Fellowship in playwriting. Her plays and creative nonfiction have appeared in throughout the United States, with her last full production being Zafira and the Resistance at the Guthrie’s Dowling Studio in 2019. Her play Zafira the Olive Oil Warrior appears in the anthology Contemporary Plays by Women of Color, edited by Roberta Uno, in 2018, and her work has been mentioned in several compilations of important contributions to the SWANA community. Kathryn has worked extensively with Pangea World Theater as a founder, artist, commissioned playwright, and collaborator. She cofounded Mizna where she served as artistic and executive director for 12 years. She is the current artistic and executive director of New Arab American Theater Works where several of her plays have been produced over the last 10 years.

Kathryn Haddad

Alex Lin (she/her) is just a girl from Jersey. As an ex-STEM kid, her work is powered by a drive to bridge the gap between the science and entertainment industries. Her plays have been developed with Women’s Theatre Festival, the Rude Mechanicals, Central Square Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, University of Idaho, Magic Theatre, Spooky Action, the COOP, Alleyway Theatre, and Pace University. As a head writer for A24 Film/GrandArmy’s frontline space media agency, Supercluster, she has had the privilege of collaborating with NASA, SpaceX, Boeing, Netflix, Apple TV, and other entities to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and the popular culture that it influences. She’s also a producer for the Supercluster series, REAL ASTRONAUT / PLAY ASTRONAUT, bringing real life and silver screen space explorers together in conversation. Honors: Ashland New Plays Festival Pass the Pen Nominee (2020 & 2021), Lanford Wilson American New Play Festival Semifinalist (2021), Screencraft Semifinalist (2020), Elizabeth George Commission Recipient at South Coast Rep (2022). Rep: Sam Barickman at ICM Partners.

Alex Lin

Liqing Xu (they/she) is a playwright and filmmaker from Davis, California, and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Liqing is passionate about uncovering the intersection of power and identity. Their Yellow Trilogy includes Yellow Fever (premiered internationally in Shanghai, China to sold-out audiences), Yellow Dream$ (Zarkower Award for Playwriting, PWC Core Apprentice Finalist), and Yellow Mirrors. In their former life, they were a creative executive for DreamWorks China, where they developed the animated movies Abominable and Over the Moon. Other honors include the Kyoto Filmmakers Lab and the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Scholarship for female directors. They received their BFA in Film and Television from NYU Tisch, and are a graduate of Hunter College’s MFA playwriting program. Instagram @soozxu | New Play Exchange. Rep: Scott Halle at Gramercy Park Entertainment.

Liqing Xu

DIRECTORS

Katie Bradley (she/her) is an actor based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has appeared in several theaters throughout the country including the Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Wallis Annenberg Center in Los Angeles. She has also performed in numerous productions at Theater Mu. On the other side of the table, Katie has been an assistant director at the Guthrie Theater (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) and Theater Mu (peerless), and she has directed a variety of play workshops and readings throughout the Twin Cities.

Katie Bradley

Lily Tung Crystal (she/her) is the artistic director of Theater Mu. After taking the helm of Theater Mu in 2019, Lily directed Jiehae Park’s peerless. Soon after, she initiated the creation of virtual events throughout the pandemic shutdown, such as the TwentyPho Hour PlayFest, Mu-tini Hour, and Mu’s live mainstage film-theater production of Susan Soon He Stanton’s Today Is My Birthday, which she directed. Outside of Theater Mu, Lily’s directing work includes David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish and his revival of Flower Drum Song at Palo Alto Players, and the world premiere of Leah Nanako Winkler’s Two Mile Hollow at Ferocious Lotus. For all three shows, she was named a Theatre Bay Area Award finalist for outstanding direction. As an actor, Lily has performed at theaters across the country, including Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, Cal Shakes, Crowded Fire, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, New World Stages, Portland Center Stage, SF Playhouse, and Syracuse Stage. Lily is a 2016 YBCA 100 honoree, named by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as a “creative pioneer making the provocations that will shape the future of culture.” theatermu.org | lilytungcrystal.com

Lily Tung Crystal*

ACTORS

Mireille AlAhmar is a polyglot mother of four kids. Her professional background includes sales, business and theater. She has enjoyed performing roles in plays by Abe Burrows to Joe Swerling. Her most recent role was Joyce Hanson in Zafira and the Resistance at the Guthrie Theater through Arab American theater. She is a proud former student of the Guthrie Theater. She enjoys boating, dancing, and volunteering.

Clew (they/he) is a theatre maker currently based in Providence, Rhode Island, while pursuing their MFA in acting at Brown. He is passionate about new works, creative disruptions, and noodle shops. Clew is beyond excited to continue building relationships and ensemble with Theater Mu and Asian American communities/artists.

Cole Crystal (he/him) is a sixth grader from San Francisco, California, who now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has done modeling work with Toca Boca, Gap, Old Navy, and Party City, and has appeared as an actor in Trojan Women at Multi Ethnic Theater in the Bay Area, the TwentyPho Hour Playfest here at Theater Mu, and Covid Confessions at Fischr Media. His main passion is visual art and design. He loves to create artwork, photography, and videography. He hosted, directed, and edited a news program at his elementary school that became popular among many students and staff. This year he was once again chosen to be on the show, as an anchor.

Mireille AlAhmar

Clew

Cole Crystal

Francesca Fernandez McKenzie (she/her) is an actor from the SF Bay Area based in NYC. NYC: Kenny’s Tavern (59E59), Gloria: A Life (Daryl Roth Theater), Sorry Not Sorry (Ant Fest at ARS NOVA), Love Medea (Center at Park West). Regional: Two Rivers Theater, CalShakes, Magic Theater, Cleveland Playhouse, Milwaukee Rep, Southern Rep, Theater Mu. TV/Film: Blue Bloods, The Hardest Part, Mooshrooms, and The Locker Room Series, and PBS’ Great Performances recording of the play Gloria: A Life. She is participating as a Stonehenge NYC Still Standing Artist resident. francescafm.com | @cheskamckenzie

Francesca Fernandez McKenzie*

Alex Galick (he/him) is excited to be working with Mu again. Past productions include Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Twelfth Night, and Purple Cloud. He has worked with local Twin Cities companies at the Guthrie, Stillwater Zephyr, and Park Square, as well with regional companies such as Swine Palace in Baton Rouge, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival.  You can also see him in upcoming indie features Hair-Trigger and Accidental Family. A Macalester College graduate, Alex is also a graduate of Louisiana State University's MFA acting program.

Alex Galick*

Emiko Hinds (they/them) is an artist and actor living in Brooklyn, New York. Personally, they are settling nicely into a new city, exploring a lot, and making new friends. Artistically, they are currently focused on writing and are excited for brand spanking new projects in the new year! Instagram: @emilou.co

Emiko Hinds

Lamar Jefferson (he/him) has been an actor in the Guthrie Theater’s West Side Story (Action), We Are Proud to Present (Actor 4/Another Black Man), and Romeo and Juliet (Benvolio); Casa Mañana’s Tuck Everlasting (Man in the Yellow Suit); Theater Latté Da’s Five Points (Willie “Master Juba” Lane); Penumbra Theatre’s Girl Shakes Loose (Barry/Pastor); First Stage’s James and the Giant Peach the Musical (Earthworm) and Shrek (Donkey); and Skylight Music Theatre’s Violet (Flick).

Lamar Jefferson*

Song Kim (he/him) grew up in Portland, Oregon, and has worked in different capacities with various companies in the Twin Cities and elsewhere. He has performed with Nimbus, Theater Mu, and he has most recently appeared in Full Circle Theatre Company's Empathy Project at Park Square Theatre.

Song Kim

Brian Kim McCormick (he/him) is a Minnesotan through and through but now calls LA his base of operations. He is the founder of the award-winning Misfit Dog Productions, a creative incubator for marginalized voices. Theatrical credits include Chimerica (Quantum Theatre); You're A Good Man Charlie Brown (South Coast Rep); Caught (Full Circle Theater); Aubergine (San Diego Rep); Labour of Love (Olney Theatre); Dinner with Georgette (NYTW); The Emperor's Nightingale (Pan Asian Rep); Gold Mountain (NAAP/Prospect Theater); Les Miserables, The Producers, 42nd Street, Joseph ... Dreamcoat (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres); Interstate (Mixed Blood Theatre); Flower Drum Song, Fast Company, and The Korean Drama Addict's Guide to Losing Your Virginity (Theater Mu). As a voiceover artist, he can be heard on a variety of media including Pokémon, EDF: Iron Rain, Modern Combat Versus, Naughty Nuts, Parcast, Gundam Seed, Mazinger Z: Infinity, and Squid Game. Follow @asian_with_a_camera on IG.

Brian Kim McCormick*

Su-Yoon Ko (she/her) is excited to be back with the Mu crew! A few of her past shows include the TwentyPho Hour Playfest 2021, Middle Brother, and Twelfth Night with Mu; Failure: A Love Story at the Minnesota Fringe Festival; and The Vagina Monologues in Seoul, Korea. Thanks to Mouks, Katie, the cast, crew, and everyone at Mu!

Su-Yoon Ko

Jawdy (he/him) is a child of Palestinian immigrants. He has been active in the Arab American and Muslim American communities for many years where he volunteers with and supports Palestinian Human Rights Organizations. He has appeared in several New Arab American Theater Works productions, including Road To City of Apples by Kathryn Haddad and Turbulence by William Nour. He also had the lead role in the Pangea World Theater production of Ismail Khalidi’s Sabra Falling, and has appeared in several staged readings for Pangea World Theater’s Alternate Visions program. He currently serves as the president of the board of directors for New Arab American Theater Works. He has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

Jawdy Obeid

Mary Ann Prado (she/her), a first-generation Filipina immigrant, came to the United States in 1984. With an undergraduate degree in international relations, she is a mother to two teen boys, mentor to many, an advocate for homeless youth and families, a Taglish (Tagalog/English) seasonal spoken word artist, and a deeply and lovingly "Pinay" rooted in her native culture. In her last play with Mu, she played a dual role of Lola and Mother Superior for tot (2016). She has participated in many cultural plays with the Filipino American community, including Rizal Day. She played the role of Diwa in a staged reading of Isla Tuliro (2015), and a production play at the Southern Theater (2018) with Pangea World Theater. She has hosted many Asia Pacific and Latin America Youth Fests in Portland, Oregon, that provided a platform for young people to showcase artistic talents for promoting peace and justice and gang prevention. Super duper excited to be back with Marlina and Mu!

Mary Ann Prado

Janet Scanlon (she/they) is delighted to be returning to Theater Mu. She recently graduated from the University of Minnesota in human physiology and is grateful to participate (safely) in theatre during COVID. Acting is truly her passion and her way of honoring herself and all others involved.

Janet Scanlon

Jad Smith (he/him) is a Palestinian American sixth grader who lives in Minneapolis with his parents, brother, and dog Cici.

Jad Smith

Zo Tipp (they/he) is a Jewish-Japanese-American actor/singer. TV: Dickinson. Film: Top and Bottom, Sideways Smile, Dissonance, Apocalyptic Artist's Ensemble's Midsummer Night's Dream (Puck). NY theater: Bundle of Sticks (INTAR), Gallathea (Red Bull), Play On! (CSF/OSF, as Laertes and Mercutio/Prince/Paris...), Pride Plays Festival (Rattlestick), Incident at Hidden Temple (Pan Asian Rep). Concert: Queering the Stage (Ring of Keys, Birdland); Songs for Our City (Times Square). zotipp.com | IG @zotipp

Zo Tipp*

Dexieng (Day-Sing) Yang (she/her) is a Hmong American actress and teaching artist in the Twin Cities that graduated from Augsburg University, majoring in theatre with concentrations in playwriting, dramaturgy, and directing. Dexieng has worked with Theater Mu in The Korean Drama Addict’s Guide To Losing Your Virginity, The Last Firefly, and she has been an active participant in Theater Mu’s Training Institute. Her other works include Neighbors at History Theatre and Shul at Six Points Theater. She is currently a company member of Breaking Ice with Pillsbury House Theatre.

Dexieng Yang

Wa Yang (he/him) was born and raised in Minnesota and has been involved in theater, film, and television. Although he has taken a “long break” from the arts to focus on his nursing career, the acting bug has never left. His most recent project includes a web series titled Hmong Organization. Other credits can be found on IMDB or, if you are really interested, just ask him.

Wa Yang

PRODUCTION

Jane Peña (she/her) wears many hats as Theater Mu's office manager and literary associate. She comes from a background in literary management and dramaturgy, having completed a string of literary internships and freelance script supervisory jobs with the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, the Playwrights' Center, Goodman Theater, Cedar Summerstock Theater, and more. You can find Jane in most Mu production lobbies and live chats as the house manager, helping you with your tickets as the box office representative, and as the friendly voice on the other end of the Mu front desk phone line. She is also thrilled to be on the literary committee along with Artistic Director Lily Tung Crystal and Artistic Associate Annie Jin Wang. In that capacity, Jane takes great pride in nurturing and expanding Mu’s community of writers.

Jane Peña
stage manager

Joshua Dyrud (he/him) is a multidisciplinary technician and engineer who builds on decades of work with live audio to naturally expand into lighting and video. Add in an enthusiasm for custom computers and technology, and you get a mixture of experience and skills to suit any event or production studio. He has worked with many organizations including Intermedia Arts, the Loft, Release MN8, CAAM Chinese Dance Theater, and Theater Mu. He thrives in productions while collaborating with musicians, youth organizations, filmmakers, and more. All of these experiences make him an expert in finding solutions for audio-visual hurdles on any scale. Minnesota born and raised by his refugee mother from Vietnam and father of Norwegian heritage, he explores stories of varied communities. Whenever not buried in a computer screen or operating a boom, Joshua is either behind a “DM Screen” to game with friends or road tripping on his motorcycle.

Joshua Dyrud
streaming producer

Joseph Vang (he/him) is a Hmong American actor whose works often focus on POC representation and storytelling through the lens of social justice and the human condition. Vang earned his bachelor of arts in theatre arts with an emphasis on performance creation from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 2018. He has performed at many professional institutions with credits that include the Guthrie (Cyrano De Bergerac, A Christmas Carol), Theater Mu and Park Square Theater (the co-production Flower Drum Song), Lyrics Arts (Anything Goes), University of Minnesota Theatre Arts & Dance (Threepenny Opera, Lady in the Dark), Youth Performance Company (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Mean the Musical), and Minnesota Fringe (Hedge Witches, Shrubs a Bush Musical). Training: BA in performance creation from the University of Minnesota Theatre Arts; Mu Training Institute.

Joseph Vang
stage direction reader

CAST LIST BY PLAY

A LITTLE MURDER IN MEKONG
Playwright: Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay
Director: Katie Bradley
Cast: Su-Yoon Ko (Aunt Luna), Lily Tung Crystal* (First Wife), Dexieng Yang (Detective Vang), Wa Yang (Xai)

ORYZA
Playwright and Language & Music Consultant: Marlina Gonzalez
Director: Lily Tung Crystal
Cast: Francesca Fernandez McKenzie* (Oryza), Alex Galick* (Production Assistant), Mary Ann Prado (Pilar)

THE DEMON OF WAKAYAMA
Playwright: Keiko Green
Director: Lily Tung Crystal*
Cast: Song Kim (Jiro), Brian Kim McCormick* (Masahiro), Dexieng Yang (Kisa)

ONE CHRISTMAS EVE
Playwright: Kathryn Haddad
Director: Lily Tung Crystal*
Cast: Mireille AlAhmar (Noha), Jawdy Obeid (Yusuf), Jad Smith (Jameel)

LAST HUNTER
Playwright: Alex Lin
Director: Katie Bradley
Cast: Cole Crystal (Little Boy), Lamar Jefferson* (Reggie), Janet Scanlon (Elisa), Lily Tung Crystal* (Sally, the Time Machine)

SKINLESS
Playwright: Liqing Xu
Director: Lily Tung Crystal*
Cast: Clew (Em), Alex Galick* (Mogwai), Emiko Hinds (Desiree), Zo Tipp* (Celeste)