Ping Chong and Company

09/12/2024

Apply to join PCC's 2024-25 cohort of TAs & Teaching Assistants! TAs in our cohort will receive paid training in PCC's personal and community storytelling curriculum, which offers tools for dialogue, connection, and creative self-expression. Typically, TAs facilitate 1-3 residencies in elementary, middle, and high schools during the winter & spring months. Given school needs this year, bilingual & multilingual TAs are especially encouraged to apply.

Application deadline is October 15. If this sounds like a great fit for you or for anyone you know, apply here or the link on!

https://www.pingchong.org/about/careers

09/10/2024

As a multi-disciplinary artist, Ping Chong worked across theater, dance, and visual art, amongst other forms. Ping's work is being included as part of Legacies: Asian American Art Movements in New York City (1969-2001), an expansive survey of rarely-seen artwork and archival material by artists that constitute and exceed the “Asian American,” label. Presenting over 90 artists and collectives, Legacies is the first institutional survey exhibition focusing on artists of Asian descent based in New York City.

This exhibit includes a print image and original brochure from Ping’s 1992 visual arts installation, "A Facility for the Channeling and Containment of Undesirable Elements" at Artists Space, which became the foundation of our ongoing Undesirable Elements series.

Legacies opens September 11, with a reception from 5:00-7:00 p.m at 80WSE, 80 Washington Square East. No registration is required. The exhibition will be on view through December 20th, 2024: https://80wse.org/exhibitions/legacies-asian-american-art-movements

Photo by one of the exhibiting artists, Hanh Thi Pham, Self Portrait/Hairy/Pipe, 1985

09/04/2024

Congratulations to Para Equestrian Athlete Jody Schloss (https://paralympic.ca/athlete/jody-schloss/) on competing in her third Paralympics, where she is representing Canada in the individual and team equestrian competitions. This year, she is competing in Para dressage in Paris aboard a Dutch appaloosa gelding named El Colorado, competing beginning on September 3.

In 2015, Jody was part of our groundbreaking UE production, PUSH!, created with Tangled Art + Disability, showcasing Canadian Parasport athletes as part of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games arts and culture festival. PUSH! weaved together a history of Parasport competition, personal histories, and disability rights, and Jody was instrumental in the production's success. We are cheering Jody on from afar at PCC and wishing her the absolute best throughout the competition.

Photo Credit: Kevin Sparrow

09/03/2024

Our second production with PCC Artistic Leader Nile Harris's 'minor b', 2024, performed as part of Open Call at The Shed presented in association with Ping Chong and Company, August 9 – 10, 2024.

Written and Directed by Nile Harris
Co-Direction: Dyer Rhoads
Cast: Jim Fletcher, Nile Harris, Tony Jenkins, Ley (sis), Jonah Rollins
Scenic Design: Marie de Testa
Sound Design: Kwami Winfield

Photo: Ahad Subzwari. Courtesy The Shed.

08/28/2024

From the desk of SARA ZATZ, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR + ARTIST LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER:

This month, I had the honor of traveling to Osaka, Japan to participate in “Breakthrough Journey Dance Camp", hosted by BiG-i ( , ) International Communication Center for Persons with Disabilities. Along with PCC teaching artists Asuka Morinaga Derfler and Christopher Imbrosciano (), I had the opportunity to lead a workshop on PCC arts education and community engagement practices, and observe 3 days of dance, theater, and movement workshops with artists from Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Hong Kong. The Dance Camp workshops were intergenerational and designed to be fully inclusive and accessible to all people, of all abilities. The history of Undesirable Elements was woven throughout, as Christopher was also a cast member in Inside/Out...voices from the disability community, BiG-i commissioned and produced the 2019 production "Difficult Lives", and we were joined by Hiromi Sakamoto, original Undesirable Elements cast member, co-creator of 2 UE productions (including Difficult Lives) and longtime friend and colleague of PCC, who is a professor, artist, and facilitator based in Osaka. Our trip culminated with sightseeing around Osaka with the participating artists. Our friends at BiG-i were incredibly kind and generous hosts, inviting truly meaningful cross-cultural communication and exchange through the arts.

Photos:
1. The poster for Breakthrough Journey Dance Camp
2. With Christopher, Asuka, and Hiromi (photo credit )
3. Q+A reflection and laughter with workshop participants (photo credit )
4. Workshop group, BiG-i staff, and artist facilitators from Breakthrough Journey Dance Camp ()
5. Sightseeing in Osaka
6. Osaka Castle (photo sarazed_nyc)

08/28/2024

08/21/2024

This August, we are spotlighting our incredible and long-term TA, Chaesong Kim, who has taught 13 residencies with PCC! Chaesong has worn many hats throughout her time with us and is skilled in forming deep connections with our students to help them unearth the storytellers within themselves. Swipe through to learn more about how Chaesong has built (and continues to foster) brave community spaces in our residencies!

PCC's Teaching Artist Spotlight is a monthly series profiling our teaching artists who have been integral in shaping our annual public school residencies. Our TAs' abilities to champion and develop students’ confidence, empathy, and performance building skills has enabled PCC residencies to become spaces of joy and belonging!

08/20/2024

From the desk of TALVIN WILKS, ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER:

"Snakehips in Our DNA" was well received at Jacob's Pillow and ended with a wonderful Artist Talk with the brilliant Melanie George. It was great to see the exhibit within a different presentational footprint than The Apollo premiere. And great to share the week with the premiere of Camille A. Brown's I AM. A great collaboration all around and a wonderful way to wind down the summer.

- where we regularly share reflections ​of the PCC Artistic Leaders’ artistic process and work. The series will highlight creative processes, ongoing PCC projects, future visioning, and artistic collaborations that are being spearheaded and fostered by each of our five Artistic Leaders.

08/12/2024

Last week, PCC ALT Members, staff, and collaborating artists, including Kirya Traber and Chaesong Kim, gathered to explore the past of Undesirable Elements (UE) and envision an expansive future for this foundational PCC program. Over three days, we dove into the program's past and its ongoing evolution, imagined new approaches to form, partnership, and engagement practices, actively grappled with framing language, and embraced the possibilities of Undesirable Elements as a generative model within the larger aesthetic, work, and vision of PCC as a place that can hold space for bold artistic practices.

To learn more about our Undesirable Elements program, visit: https://www.pingchong.org/featured/undesirable-elements

07/30/2024

🌞🌷From the desk of SARA ZATZ, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR + ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER 🌷🌞

Even while on vacation in Ireland, Ping Chong and Company is on my mind. I traveled from Dublin to Achill Island, thinking and reading about Lafcadio Hearn, the Greek-Irish writer, journalist, translator, and teacher. Hearn was born in Greece, abandoned by his Irish Father, and raised partly in Dublin by his Irish relatives. He later immigrated to the United States, where he began his career as a journalist in Cincinatti and New Orleans, and eventually moved to Japan, where he became a naturalized citizen, adopting the name Yakumo Koizumi. In 1904, Hearn published Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, a collection of Japanese ghost stories, which became the inspiration for Ping Chong’s puppet theater productions, Kwaidan (1998) and Obon (2000).

Photo 1: Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland
Photo 2: Reading The Sweetest Fruits, by Monique Truong , a multi-perspective novel in which three women associated with Lafacadio Hearn, his mother Rosa, his first wife Alethea, and his second wife Setsu, each tell their own stories in their own contexts.
Photo 3: Currently on exhibition in Sligo, Ireland: Kwaidan—Encounters with Lafcadio Hearn, an exhibition of prints by 20 Japanese and 20 Irish-based artists’ visual interpretations of Kwaidan. (I hope to see this exhibit in person when it travels to the US!) .exhibition
Photo 4: Image from Ping Chong’s Kwaidan, the story of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi (or Hoichi the Earless)
Photo 5: Image from Ping Chong’s Kwaidan, The Story of Jikininki

07/25/2024

This July, we are featuring another returning TA, Rita Liu, who has been teaching 7th graders at PS102Q. Rita delves into how building empathy among ESL students as a former ESL student herself has been at the core of her teaching practice with PCC. Swipe through to learn more about how Rita is building our students' confidence!

PCC's Teaching Artist Spotlight is a monthly series profiling our teaching artists who have been integral in shaping our annual public school residencies. Our TAs' abilities to champion and develop students’ confidence, empathy, and performance building skills has enabled PCC residencies to become spaces of joy and belonging!

07/16/2024

From the desk of TALVIN WILKS, ARTIST LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER:

"As part of my extended practice as a collaborative dramaturg for dance, I recently celebrated the world premiere of S**T!...The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar at Bard SummerScape, a multi-year development effort conceived, directed and choreographed by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar in collaboration with the Urban Bush Women Company and an original jazz score by the legendary Craig Harris. I have been a collaborator with Craig and Jawole for many years along with many different artistic partners including Sekou Sundiata, Carl Hancock Rux, Laurie Carlos and Marlies Yearby to name a few. This short list of artists was recently celebrated as part of the first Theatrical Jazz Conference hosted by my home Theatre Arts and Dance Department at the University of Minnesota. So, June has been a fascinating and intriguing confluence of history, artistry, legacy and celebration. I add this work to the cauldron of our artistic conversations at PCC mainly because of the structural elements, the visual beauty and the visionary aesthetics that speak to my ongoing work as a collaborative artist. Similar to my process with Ping Chong, my ongoing work with these artists over many years has built an artistic shorthand and vocabulary that is immediate and revelatory." Next up, S**T will be presented at the American Dance Festival on July 18th and is scheduled to have its New York City debut at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in February 2025 as part of Urban Bush Women’s 40th Anniversary Season."
Info: https://fishercenter.bard.edu/events/scat/

Photos by Maria Baranova

07/08/2024

★ ★ From the desk of MEI ANN TEO, ARTIST LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER ★ ★

Happy summer to all. Here are some good moments from the past few weeks.

PRIDE Weekend: (1)DYKE March with and ; (2)Last stop for D***s at Washington Square Park

(3)Zaza at the tippy tip of a castle in Yonkers. At the O’Neill’s National Musical Theatre Conference where I’m directing a workshop of Kevin Wong’s Soft Magical Tofu Boys with the brilliance of and

(4) at his “pinning” – historical 60th season in the pub where every program is pinned

(5)The truly insanely talented cast – El Beh, , , , Samuel Li Weintraub, .mc,

(6)With , at the drag show/divebar

(7)The sky

07/03/2024

A big congratulations to all of our participants for completing PCC's Creative Aging Program which concluded in June! Swipe through to see photos from the final performance at the IPRHE Elmhurst Older Adult Center. 💕🫶🏼

Our Creative Aging program offers elders the opportunity to deepen social connections, develop new skills, and make meaning out of shared stories and life experiences through a supported documentary theater and storytelling creative process. This powerful and poignant experience is rooted in the company’s ‘Undesirable Elements' methodologies, inviting participants to reflect on their personal and community histories leading to the rehearsal and performance of a theater piece based on their true stories.

This program is part of the SU-CASA initiative, supported, in part, by Public Funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Thank you to Council Member Shekar Krishnan, for your support of this program.

07/02/2024

We would like to extend our immense gratitude for every one who joined us in our end of fiscal year call for support. We are energized and humbled by our communities' commitment to our continuance and growth 💖

06/27/2024

: From the desk of SARA ZATZ, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR + ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER

The last 2 months have brought me to Washington DC for The Gathering at the Laboratory for Global Politics and Performance and to Chicago for the TCG Conference . These gatherings were full of joyful reunions, deep conversations, meaningful new connections, and complicated conversation around hope, empathy, future-building, and the art eco-system we are living and making in. I returned from these full of gratitude and feeling nourished by the people and the work, the brave spaces, and the ways in which theater artists are holding each other, and also challenging ourselves to think bigger, be disruptive, and build a better future together.

Photos:
1: Laughing into the work at the Gathering, through a lens of Care [photo ]
2. A Tarot reading shared by .skiles. Asian American Tarot Deck created by The Asian American Literary Review.
3. Co-facilitating a breakout session on evolving shared leadership models, Pass the Torch(es): Navigating Transitions to Expanded Leadership Structures, with PCC Artistic Leader Mei Ann Teo .meiann, and dear friends and colleagues Megan Wanlass and Sunder Ganglani of Cornerstone Theater
4.Conference highlight: a conversation with leadership of Albany Park Theater Project, and tour of their immersive environment for Port of Entry. . Port of Entry, performed by APTP's youth ensemble, invites you to step inside the real-life stories of immigrants and refugees from all parts of the world living side by side in a single apartment building in one of the country’s most diverse immigrant communities: Chicago’s Albany Park.
5. Seen at the book table! 's Undesirable Elements book, sitting in good company with many incredible theater artists.

06/26/2024

Last night, PCC staff members went out to see PRESENCIA by Michelle J. “Micha” Rodriguez presented by Bushwick Starr and ¡OYE! Group. And directed by our PCC Artistic Leader, Mei Ann Teo ❤️

PRESENCIA reshapes the Moses story for women of color grappling with the hazards and challenges of leadership and is narrated with Bible-fan-fiction vibes, varying degrees of reverence and satire, and a vibrant anthemic musical score rooted in jazz/R&B.

There is still time to catch PRESENCIA which is running till June 29. To purchase tickets, visit: https://ci.ovationtix.com/34289/production/1202193

06/25/2024

Thank you to all who have donated so far! We invite you to join our community of supporters to help us reach our fundraising goals for Fiscal Year 2024.

Your ongoing support sustains our work and creates a home where artists can reimagine, reinvent, and thrive. To make a tax-deductible gift, visit: https://pingchong.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/pingchong/donation.jsp

06/20/2024

This year marked our first year of programming under our new Artistic Leadership Team, Nile Harris, Jane Jung, Talvin Wilks, Mei Ann Teo, and Sara Zatz. We are making radical, joyful, and necessary work, and reimagining the models and structures that can support it.

We are raising $10,000 to reach our fundraising goals before the fiscal year ends on June 30th. Please consider supporting our future programs with a tax-deductible gift prior to June 30th.

To make a donation, visit: https://pingchong.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/pingchong/donation.jsp

06/18/2024

This June, we are featuring Hassiem Muhammad, who joined our cohort of PCC TAs this spring, teaching a middle school residency in Manhattan. Swipe through to learn more about how Hassiem is paying it forward to the next generation of middle schoolers and his dedication to uplifting students who might otherwise not have much exposure to the performing arts world.

PCC's Teaching Artist Spotlight is a monthly series profiling our teaching artists who have been integral in shaping our annual public school residencies. Our TAs' abilities to champion and develop students’ confidence, empathy, and performance building skills has enabled PCC residencies to become spaces of joy and belonging!

06/13/2024

From the desk of MEI ANN TEO, ARTIST LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER

I’ve been working on a brand new music theatre piece, Presencia by Michelle “Micha” Rodríguez at . She returns to this as a cornerstone of the work: “liberation at the smallest scale”. I’m finding, as the show’s dramaturg says, just how much our mundane lives are holy.

1. Haircut and dramaturgy happening simultaneously, because - new work!

2. Zooming in on dress rehearsal day because I was exposed to Covid and wanted to isolate. Because we are still in this.

3.This cast is filled with the most extraordinary talent and inspires me everyday.

4. The incredible choreographers and .j.mm who are the most excellent humans.

5. Wrote this poem on Micha’s fridge.

6. Photo by the amazing Music Director of my lunch spot during rehearsals in Dumbo. Come just to hear her masterful keys…

7. Show poster at the Connelly Theatre.

06/11/2024

This month PCC teaching artists completed residencies with students in grades 3-9 at 8 NYC schools! Each residency culminated with a collaboratively generated performance, representing PCC's documentary theater practices.

Congrats to all the students and teaching artists, and thanks to our partner schools!

05/30/2024

From the desk of SARA ZATZ, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR + ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER:

This Spring, I have been thinking about the past and future of Undesirable Elements and how to build and sustain this essential PCC platform for community engagement for our next chapter. We have been in deep conversations in and amongst the ALT and our community partners about the future of UE, and in workshop and gathering spaces, like LaGuardia Community College, Girls For Gender Equity, our Spring Event, and planning for upcoming summer visioning sessions. Throughout, we are reflecting on what it means to build community, invite partnership, and create artistic spaces of deep connection, listening, and care.

1. Workshop led by Sara Zatz and Sabeen Shalwani at LaGuardia Community College as part of the Rough Draft Festival, 📸 Ryan Prado
2. [what do you think of photo] Workshop Activity at LaGuardia Community College as part of the Rough Draft Festival, 📸 Sara Zatz
3. “Say it with Your Chest”: Storytelling For Change Workshop led by Kirya Traber and Sara Zatz for Girls for Gender Equity , 📸 Sara Zatz
4. The original 1992 production of Undesirable Elements, published in Japanese, 📸 Sara Zatz
5. A bowl of Salt from a UE production at the PCC office, 📸 Sara Zatz

- where we regularly share reflections from of the PCC Artistic Leaders’ artistic process and work. The series will highlight creative processes, ongoing PCC projects, future visioning, and artistic collaborations that are being spearheaded and fostered by each of our five Artistic Leaders.

05/22/2024

Up next in our monthly TA Spotlight Series is the delightful Kenneth Keng who is teaching 7th graders at PS 102 in Queens. Swipe through to learn more about how Kenneth's passion for arts education inspired him to extend the same sense of cultural enrichment to our Secret Histories residency students.

PCC's Teaching Artist Spotlight is a monthly series profiling our teaching artists who have been integral in shaping our annual public school residencies. Our TAs' abilities to champion and develop students’ confidence, empathy, and performance building skills has enabled PCC residencies to become spaces of joy and belonging!

05/16/2024

Join PCC on May 20 at 5:20pm for an in-person screening of 'Chinoiserie Redux' taking place at the Segal Theatre, 365 5th Ave, NY! The film is directed by Artistic Director Emeritus Ping Chong and is part of lineup at The Segal Center Film Festival on Theatre and Performance (FTP), an annual event showcasing films drawn from the world of theatre and performance.

'Chinoiserie Redux' is an hour-long digital film, inspired by Ping Chong Chong’s earlier theatrical work, Chinoiserie, part of a series known as The East/West Quartet. Like the original work, Chinoiserie Redux connects the present day and the personal with an historical past still being felt today. The film’s narrative weaves personal reflections, music and song, with historical strands, such as the o***m war, the building of the railroads across the USA, the murder of Vincent Chin, and the mythical birth of tea, among other things.

The film is also available virtually for 3 weeks beginning May 16th. For the in-person screening, RSVP is encouraged as seating is first come, first serve: https://www.thesegalcenter.org/event-details/segal-film-festival-2024-day-4-of-in-person-screenings-2024-05-20-14-00

05/13/2024

Last chance to get tickets for SPRING EVENT: A COMMUNION, happening tomorrow at 7pm, at Judson Memorial Church! Ticket sales end at 3pm tomorrow and there will be a limited number of tickets available at the door by cash only. Some words from Emcee :

"Emcee means master of ceremonies. I am no master. But this is a ceremony. When thinking about our Spring Event it felt important for you all to hear from us, the artists and leaders at PCC directly about our creative dreams and visions for the company moving ahead. I’m excited to serve as our host for the evening guiding us through a relay style conversation with my colleagues around our various company projects and musings with a flare of embodiment and humor. Creatively, I identify as a clown and an improviser so it feels apt to bring that dramaturgical impulse into our discussion of organizational praxis. The space for our event has been thoughtfully designed by Devanté Milton, with stewardship of our Event Producer, Paris Alexander. It has been a great joy to bring our friends into the fold at PCC, building on our values of collaborating in and with the community."

To purchase your tickets, visit: https://pccspringevent.eventbrite.com

05/09/2024

Have you gotten your tickets to SPRING EVENT yet? Mei Ann Teo will guide attendees through a Zen meal practice at next week’s SPRING EVENT: A COMMUNION with food provided by Vanessa Cantave of Yum Yum. Here is an excerpt of Mei Ann in conversation with Vanessa. Purchase your tickets here: https://pccspringevent.eventbrite.com

Mei Ann: Why do you cook?
Vanessa: I always cooked, it’s the thing that um… I just literally have always cooked.
When I was a little girl my mom- we would go to the library and she could always find me in the section with cookbooks- sitting on the floor- with cookbooks all around me…
I was obsessed with cooking shows- I’m older- I’m 46- so back in the day it was just PBS it was like Julia and Martin Yan and that was pretty much it
And I would watch every single episode of those shows!
I would pretend I was on my own show doing little things
I just enjoy every part of it and always have for as long as I can remember
I just think it’s the thing that’s supposed to be my thing
I love it.

05/08/2024

Our SPRING EVENT is just under one week away! The evening will feature Artistic Leader, Mei Ann Teo, who will guide us through a Zen meal practice that invites us into a collective meditation, and is the seed of a new work that Mei Ann is creating.

A word from Mei Ann: How do we move from consumption to communion? This is a question I’ve been thinking about for the past few years - in the way we nourish ourselves, seek satiation, and participate in art making and offering. The Zen practice of Oroyoki (trans: just enough), is a cornerstone of a new work I’m making here at PCC. It is a choreographed silent meal towards no waste and excess, where we ask and receive what is “just enough.” For our Spring Event, we are adapting the meal practice for our gathering - to invite you to practice with us in moving from consumption to communion, and to simply contemplate the source and origin of the food. Taking part in this ritual will be the PCC ecosystem of incredible humans who serve the PCC purpose and are a vital part of our community: board members, artistic leadership team, staff, teaching artists, artists.

Get your tickets today: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spring-event-a-communion-tickets-876072224607

05/07/2024

From the desk of TALVIN WILKS, ARTIST LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER:

During the month of April, I launched the world premiere of Snakehips in Our DNA: From Renaissance to Permanence at the Apollo Stages at the Victoria. This multi-media installation was made in collaboration with new media artist LaJune McMillian with an original score by Dominique Luis and sound design by Kwamina “Binnie” Biney of DreamWolf Projects. The exhibit utilizes motion capture animation and features interview footage of dancers including Mickey Davidson, Drew Dollaz, Bernard Dove, Roobi Gaskins, Rocka Jamez, Chanon Judson, Michela Marino Lerman, and Maleek Washington, as they respond to the soul and spirit of the legendary Harlem Renaissance-era dancer, Earl ‘Snakehips’ Tucker. It was a thrilling end to my Harlem Renaissance Centennial Commission by The Apollo, and for a week shared space with the legendary Dianne McIntyre during the New York Premiere of her work, In the Same Tongue. A true honor! The event was produced by SOZO, co-produced by Jacob’s Pillow and will also travel there July 31-August 4, 2024: www.jacobspillow.org/events/snakehips-in-our-dna/

- where we regularly share reflections from of the PCC Artistic Leaders’ artistic process and work. The series will highlight creative processes, ongoing PCC projects, future visioning, and artistic collaborations that are being spearheaded and fostered by each of our five Artistic Leaders.

A VIDEO EXHIBITION BY TALVIN WILKS AND LAJUNÉ MCMILLIAN A Dance & Technology Event Snakehips in our DNA is a free, open-gallery experience where visitors...

05/02/2024

PCC Artistic Leader, , emcee for the SPRING EVENT tells us in his own words –support PCC! Come to our SPRING EVENT at Judson Memorial Church on May 14.
Purchase tickets at pingchong.org/news/spring-event