Tuesday, June 26, 6:30pm Readings + Discussion
Segal Theatre | 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016

The evening will feature excerpted readings from The Possible Memoirs of a Traitor by Li-Ying Chien (directed by Knud Adams) and Solo Date by Pao-Chang Tsai (directed and performed by Tsai; dramaturgy by Soriya Chum). Followed by a panel discussion with the playwrights Li-Ying Chien and Pao-Chang Tsai, director Knud Adams, dramaturg Soriya Chum, James Wilson (Professor of Theatre, The Graduate Center), Yu-Yun Hsieh (Comparative Literature scholar, The Graduate Center), and Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li(Director). Moderated by Frank Hentschker.

Through their plays and stage works Chien and Tsai have reinvigorated the Taiwanese theatre-scape. Blending new media, real-life event, and various performative techniques, their highly political and engaged works give voice to an emerging cultural movement in Taiwan. As established queer artists, their creative processes and cultural productions also shed light on the struggles and achievements of the LGBTQ community in Taiwan and Asia today.

Based on a comprehensive field study of the LGBTQ movement, HIV/AIDS medical treatment, and family and religious issues in Taiwanese society, Li-Ying Chien’s The Possible Memoirs of a Traitor (2017) uncovers stories from a Taipei gay shelter in the 90’s. Pao-Chang Tsai’s Solo Date (2016) takes place in the 2030’s. Using traditional Taiwanese ritual and AI technology, a man reaches back in time in search of his deceased lover. But after hacking the lover’s computer and reading their messages, new truths come to light.

Co-curated by Yu Chien Liu (Martin E. Segal Theatre Center) and Chi-Ping Yen (Taipei Cultural Center in New York), with support from Ministry of Culture, Taiwan and Taipei Cultural Center in New York.