Author Archives: Jonathan

After two months at the Atlantic Acting School, Uncle Vanya has opened and closed this weekend! It was a beautiful production and a pleasure to be a part of.

I’m extremely excited to announce that I’ll be the Production Stage Manager for the off Broadway run of Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, directed by Michael Urie, at the Soho Playhouse! The show will run from November 12 until January 2.

Stand by for more!

It’s been a while! Summer was filled with some great work including The Crossing Borders Festival at Two River Theater Company and a week long retreat upstate at the American Culture Lab for Assembled Identity, a new work being developed at the HERE Arts Center in the city.

Currently, I’m over at the Atlantic Acting School stage managing their production of Uncle Vanya, directed by Anya Saffir. Nearly a year ago, the first show I stage managed in New York City was Uncle Vanya at Columbia University, so it’ll be like a full circle coming into the end of my first year living in New York.

Stand by for more.

June has been the month of new play development, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled!

Collaborating with Rising Circle Theater Collective was a pure joy. The workshop production of Have Sari. Will Travel! by Deepa Purohit was an amazing experience. From full rewrites daily to the incredibly talented team to working towards honoring the story of Sri Lankan jazz singer Yolande Bavan (who was in it playing herself!) made the process one to remember.

Adding into the fact that our team was predominately artists of color and women of color, was nothing but remarkable. It is something that shouldn’t be as rare as it is in the theater industry.

I’ve also dabbled in the world of producing with 2g (Second Generation) as I helped line produce their reading of Leah Nanako Winkler’s God Said This. A beautiful play that features characters from her earlier play Kentucky. Even with a 2:30pm reading on a Monday, we got a really strong turn out and responsive audience. This is definitely a play to keep your eye on.

Next up for July is the new musical Generation Me written by Julie Soto, Will Finan, and Ryan Warren! It’ll be presented in the New York Musical Festival. With a full musical, festival set up, and a cast of teenagers–I’ll be busy on deck as Assistant Stage Manager.

Stand by for more.

April was packed with work, travel, and familiar faces. First up was Youth America Grand Prix’s Finals in New York City. Over a 1,000 kids from across the globe arrived to compete in the Grand Prix. It was a non-stop busy week but I can check off working at the Lincoln Center now.

Straight after that, I was off to Denver for another run of 57 Chevy by Cris Franco. It’s been amazing to work on a show that’s taken me to four different cities and get to know truly dedicated theatre makers at community based teatros. We’ll see where else 57 Chevy will go and hopefully I can still join in for the ride.

And since I was so close to home, I took a mini detour back to sunny California to see friends and family. It was reinvigorating to reconnect with my LA theatre community at the East West Player’s Gala. Everything that’s coming up for everyone is exciting and I couldn’t be more proud to be apart of such a fearless and talented group. Thanks again to Artists at Play for the invite!

Other highlights include catching an invited dress of Rajiv Joseph’s Archduke at the Taper, seeing people I didn’t even expect to run into, and in-n-out (of course).

Next up is volunteering at the Drama League Awards then starting rehearsals with Rising Circle Theater collective on a new play development workshop!

Stand by for more.

 

It’s March Already?

Since January, I’ve finished up on The Weekend Will End which premiered in the New York Winterfest. Following that I was fortunate to spend a week with Lauren Yee for a new play workshop at the Playwrights Realm. I was able to reconnect with her and Josh Brody after doing a workshop of Cambodian Rock Band at South Coast Repertory last fall. It was fun to be in the room together again and to help Lauren craft her latest story.

At the same time as the workshop, I was able to help out during tech. week for Linda with Manhattan Theatre Club. I got to do my favorite thing in the world–line notes! Ok, it’s one of my least favorite things to do as a stage manager but it was a good experience that let me observe MTC and their team. It was a really great experience and I hope to be able to work with MTC more in the future.

Soon after that, I left for a weekend in Toronto! After two cancelled flights (thanks snowstorm Niko) I was able to drive up with staff from the Youth America Grand Prix and make it just in time to stage manage their semi-finals. YAGP is a youth competition for ages 10-18 in classical and contemporary dance. It’s one of the largest across the country and around the world. With over 300 students I had my hands full but it was amazing to have such focused and well trained students to manage. The event went off with out a hitch and taught me a lot about what I’m able to do.

The Video Games had its second performance of its extension at The Elektra Theater. It was lovely to come back to the show for a performance and reconnect with the team. The show has grown so much and the new cast members have really integrated into the chaos of it all. Sadly, I’ll be away from it for the next two performances but I know it’ll keep doing well.

Currently, I’m in tech. rehearsals for Spill at Ensemble Studio Theatre. I’ll be operating their sound and projection boards. It’s been an interesting experience and should be a thought provoking show.

After this it’s another adventure with YAGP for NYC finals and flying off to Denver for the first set of 2017 performances for 57 Chevy!

Stand-by for more.

2016 was rough for the general public. We lost numerous icons and uncertainty is in the air. But, through all the absurdity, I personally found the year to be one of monumental change. Not only for me but for many around me. New jobs, moves, and chasing after what’s important to us.

I learned most about what family and community means. My friends and family help to continually give me the bravery to keep pushing towards my goals. I truly found my community of theatre artists through Artists at Play and CAATA. A ferocious, awe-inspiring community that I’m proud to be a part of. One that has helped made my transition to New York City seamless.

The end of the year marked the beginning of my time in the city with projects with Pan Asian Rep, my first off-Broadway production, subbing ASM tracks, collaborating at Columbia University, and more on the horizon.

December is flying by and turning out to be a busy month (on top of the holidays)!

It’s with great excitement that The Video Games has been officially extended until August 2017. It’ll continue to perform at The Elektra Theatre every third Saturday each month. With each show being different every time, it’ll be nice to see scenes and monologues that we didn’t get to do during 2016!

Last Monday was the National Asian Artists Project‘s Discover New Musical performance. Four new musicals were presented and the audience was blown away by the variety of shows and performances. You Gave Me a Sheep by Emily Chui and Laruen Taslitz, gave a surprising twist to the fairy tale troupe of prince meets princess, get married, and “live happily ever after.” Examinations of long distance relationships and the realities of love resonated with the audience. It was a blast to stage manage and see it develop.

Currently, I’m in rehearsal for an independently produced new play, The Weekend Will End by Larry Phillips. It’ll be presented through the New York Theatre Festival’s Winterfest. Directed by Hondo Weiss-Richmond, the cast includes Tiffany May McRae, Larry Phillips, Meghan Miller, Derek Long, and Kevin Delano.

The play follows a brother and sister who haven’t spoken in nearly three years. So when Katie appears unannounced in Jake’s living room one Friday afternoon, he’s caught off guard. Their own insecurities, mistakes, and problems reveal themselves as their lives suddenly intersect.

Performances for The Weekend Will End are January 17 at 6:15pm, January 21 at 8:30pm, and January 22 at 1:00pm at the Hudson Guild Theatre. Tickets are available online.

Stand by for more.

It’s been three weeks since I arrived and there’s already a few updates to be had on past, present, and upcoming projects.

First off, thank you to Pan Asian Repertory Theatre and director Jeff Liu for bringing me on board to the workshop reading of The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas. The cast included Brian Coats, Danielle Greaves, Josephine Huang, Ching Valdes, Tony Vo, and Roy Vongtama. A horror, thriller, comedy, and drama all wrapped into one engrossing play. It was a great first project in the city!

Since then, I’ve been stage managing Columbia MFA directing grad, Nana Dakin’s, Uncle Vanya which goes up next weekend (Nov. 11-13).

My next project will be through the National Asian Artists Project (NAAP). Their DISCOVER: New Musicals series will feature excerpts from four new musicals which provide opportunities and roles to Asian American artists both on and off the stage. Auditions will be held next week on November 8 for both AEA and non-AEA performers.

And that’s the update for now!

Stand by for more.