Événement

Chang(e)

Chang(e) is a theatrical rumination of the Philly based performance artist and activist Kathy Change who was on a mission to save the world. As a final "act" of protest, she self-immolated on the campus of UPenn on October 22nd, 1996. Chang(e) captures the spirit of a passionate and marginalized woman, battling her own cultural and psychological demons and the community that both enveloped and dismissed her.

"The activist, like the artist, is not a balm for society, placating our guilt and saying, "It's all ok." Their role is to make us uncomfortable, push us out of our comfort zone, which Kathy did--beautifully, gracefully, and disturbingly. She envisioned a more beautiful world, a more positive world, and exposed some gnarly truths about who we are today. Her call to peace, in all its disturbing prescience, lives on through Soomi's work."Quiara Alegria Hudes, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright for "Water By the Spoonful"

This 90-minute original devised theater work created by performer, Soomi Kim and director, Suzi Takahashi, will feature re-enactments of the writings and performances of Change, set by Bryce Cutler, lighting by Lucrecia Briceno, costumes by Machine Dazzle, production manager Leta Tremblay and an original score by Adam Rogers. Cast includes: Ben Skalski, Marisa Clementi, Amy Field, Leonardo Durant, Luke Strandquist and Kiyoko Kashiwagi (plus special guest contributors via video). A collaboration between Kim and Takahashi, Chang(e) is also the third installment of a trilogy of work inspired by Asian American visionaries.

Soomi Kim has held numerous Artist in Residencies: HERE Arts Center (HARP), Hemispheric Institute (Politics in Performance) and Mabou Mines (new dance theater duet titled "Testing Testing"). She was an artist in residence at the Asian Arts Initiative in 2011 and 2012. "Chang(e)" is a NPN Creation Fund grantee. Her work has been presented at HERE Arts Center, Culture Project, T he Living T heatre, AAWW, Mulberry Street T heater and the Asian Arts Initiative. Kim has been featured in KoreaAm Journal, T he Korea Times, nytheatre.com, Tsing Tao paper, Epoch Times, Kung Fu magazine, Village Voice and Asiance magazine.

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Chang(e) is a featured selection from the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists, presented at the 2014 National Asian American Theater Festival and Conference in partnership with Asian Arts Initiative and Interact Theatre Company with support from the Ford Foundation and National Performance Network.