Paula Vogel’s Bard at the Gate offers a simple glance at plays
that are ground-breaking: plays that were too ambitious, too
quirky, and too smart to be contained. Bard at the Gate directly
responds to the lack of representation of diverse voices within the
American theatrical canon. This uniquely curated virtual reading
series is designed to become a widely accessible platform for
powerful, overlooked plays by BIPOC, women, LGBTQ, and
disabled artists.
Suh’s new work is set in 1967 Berkeley where grad student Frank
Chan and his activist girlfriend Kathy Ching are staging a
revolution against the backdrop of the War in Vietnam and the
Civil Rights Movement. What results is a trip through the history of
Asians in America – from the ancestral railways to the legacy of
Charlie Chan stereotypes – ending in an orientalist minstrel show,
and murder. Charles Francis Chan, Jr… is directed by Ralph B. Peña,
featuring Jeff Biehl, Karoline, Mia Katigbak, Peter Kim, Eric
Sharp, and Jeena Yi.
Want to join virtually? Register at
https://bit.ly/bardregion3.
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In partnership with McCarter Theatre Center, Bard at the Gate continues to curate and deliver virtual readings of powerful plays editing by Jared Mezzocchi and the team at ViDCo, over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. Play selection is curated by Paula Vogel, Nicole A. Watson and the Bard at the Gate Advisory Council, comprised of top leaders in the theater industry from across the country.
Lloyd Suh, is the author of The Far Country, currently playing at Atlantic Theater Company, and The Heart Sellers, which will premiere at Milwaukee Rep in February. Other plays include The Chinese Lady (recently produced with Ma-Yi at the Public Theater), Bina’s Six Apples (produced this season at Alliance Theatre and Children’s Theatre Company), Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go!, Franklinland, American Hwangap, and more. His work has been produced at theaters across the country including Ensemble Studio Theatre, NAATCO, Magic Theatre, Denver Center, Artists Rep, Interact, Timeline, the Guthrie with Theater Mu, ArtsEmerson, Long Wharf, and more, and internationally at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and with PCPA at the Guerilla Theatre in Seoul, Korea. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, the Horton Foote Prize, and the Helen Merrill Award. He served from 2005-2010 as the Artistic Director of Second Generation and Co-Director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, and from 2011-2020 as Director of Artistic Programs at The Lark. He was elected in 2016 to the Dramatists Guild Council.