Raw Readings
The Raw Readings series presents first drafts of new plays written in East West Players’ Playwrights Group.
Playwrights Group is a monthly play workshop led by EWP Playwright Associate Alice Tuan. The Playwrights Group has a mix of both emerging and mid-career madly robust playwrights.
The third incarnation of the group (PG3) had its first meeting in September 2021. The group, which met monthly on Zoom and hale from all over, consists of Katie Ka Vang (St. Paul, MN), Eugenie Chan (San Francisco, CA), Alison Minami (Los Angeles, CA), Zaza Muchemwa (Harare, Zimbabwe), and Zola Dee (Citizen of the World). Each play includes at least one character who is Asian or of Asian descent.
Virtual Readings
October 14 – October 15, 2023
Free tickets to each reading available below.
Plays
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A Westerly Wind follows two sisters in a small African town, with swatches from their childhoods and current lives. When things get tough, they retreat to their secret location, where broken objects are abandoned. This space shifts, as the sisters do, living with the disappearance of their father, a political voice of dissent.
The evolving version of A Westerly Wind is set in a Christian-Mission-dominated part of Southern Zimbabwe, turned into a land resettlement area, now rapidly changing into a Mining Town.
Performed Live on Zoom, October 14, 3PM PST
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In The Haiti Play, A young Haitian American woman complains to her Korean American friend about her problematic, long-distance relationship with her French boyfriend. She meets a hot Cambodian fellow and they share some effervescent whirlwind energies, possibly comparing notes about the French hold on Haiti and Cambodia.
The Haiti Play is SUPER RAW. What you will see was written over 48 hours during the first weekend of this past February of 2023. It is an unfinished play in progress, all the better to see its raw fire.
Performed Live on Zoom, October 14, 3PM PST
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Voir Dire is a multi-racial citizen play, starting in a waiting room where a spectrum of Los Angeles folks are being vetted for a case surrounding a slain Asian-American woman. The lively chats between strangers who would not usually cross paths show that dialogue and citizens sharing their values and worldviews are crucial for a working democracy.
Performed Live on Zoom, October 14, 7PM PST
Saturday, October 14
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Fast Forward Motions finds working-class Hmong-American ladies in Minnesota practicing and competing in their ferocious Volleyball League. We first meet them as they are untangling a volleyball net, prepping for a game, each gal making time from their busy exhausted lives to play.
Volleyball is popular among the Hmong community as it was introduced by Americans as an activity in refugee camps.
Performed Live on Zoom, October 15, 3PM PST
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In Memoriam takes place in a lively cemetery, where Asians have their own section. A freshly deceased elderly woman is expecting to join her husband, but he seems to be “away.” She strikes up a friendship with a fellow who seems to know what’s up with her husband, but is hesitant to disclose (and maybe a bit besotted with her).
In Memoriam is a Spirits’ expanding view of our realm, as they transition out of the strange constructs that humans limit themselves with.
Performed Live on Zoom, October 15, 7PM PST
Sunday, October 15
RSVP Links
A Westerly Wind
The Haiti Play
Voir Dire
Fast Forward Motions
In Memoriam
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