An Asian American Play About Asian American Writing
It comforted me to see a play where all the Asian American characters spoke perfect English and behaved without any trace of immigrant scars. The topic of the play was writing. And though such a topic under a less-skilled playwright might have come off as self-indulgent, Carla Chings new full-length play [TBA] handles it exceptionally.
A hermetic Korean American writer (played by Lloyd Suh) who never leaves his East Village apartment finds newfound success when his pieces get into New Yorker and Atlantic Monthly. His brother and ex-girlfriend each come back to challenge him, saying he stole their stories and experiences. We see intersecting complexities in the story-making process. What happens when a story that moves people, that garners acclaim, isnt real, or isnt a story that belongs to the writer? Silas, the writer, cant help but tell a story differently each time, changing major events and facts, but still sees the concoctions as his truths. The people who love him question his ability to discern reality, and he realizes he does have his own stories to tell, but that the good ones are the ones he doesnt want to share.
Every time dad told that story, people would buy him a beer, Silas tells his Chicano brother whose family had adopted him. No ones ever bought me a beer for my stories.
You want to know why people bought him a beer? his brother tells him. Its because he gave something of himself to tell it.
Identity is of course addressed, but without the usual clichés or heavy-handedness. Silass literary agent tells him that publishers demand a photo of him so that readers know hes Asian American, which his name and writing never make obvious. The agent purports that without the picture, readers would be oblivious to the romantic rejection that Asian American men face expressed in his stories.
All the actors were superb, as was the staging. Each character was brought to life with specificity and a naturalness not often found on the stage. Produced by the Asian-American theater company [Second Generation], TBA makes its world premiere at the [Milagro Theater](http://www.lafactorianyc.com/theater-details.asp?theaterrecid=5) as part of a series of eleven plays called Eleven, celebrating the companys 11th anniversary.
Opening night: March 13. Playing through April 5 at CSVs Milagro Theater, 107 Suffolk Street, $18