Cinthia Chen 陳繪潔

AMW Mabou Mines

Anna May Wong, The Actress Who Died a Thousand Deaths

Mabou Mines SUITE/Space 2018-19

Directed and Written by Cinthia Chen

“... elucidating and deeply moving... the integration of live cinema theater is one of the most organic uses of film technology I’ve ever seen on stage”
— Abigail Weil, The Theater Times

It is 1938. Hollywood star Anna May Wong has just returned to the U.S. after a discouraging tour in China. Drinking herself into a stupor, Wong’s dreams transport her back to her time on the film set of "Daughter of the Dragon," grappling with the constrictions placed upon her because of her race and sex. There, memories entwine with imagination, as she relives moments with key figures in her life. This ‘live cinema theater’ dreamscape is an exploration of the tensions of making it big as a Chinatown girl amidst a world not made to accommodate her.

Read the full THE Theater Times article ‘CHINA, LIBERIA, AMERICA: A SUITE OF WOMEN’S STORIES’ here

Produced by Alex Cadena and Eli Lloyd
Written and Directed by Cinthia Chen
Film Designer & Director of Photography by Ben Haven Taylor
Theater footage courtesy of Shiori Saito

Cast: Elizabeth Sun, Rebecca Wei Hsieh, Matt Ting, Randall Trang, John Racioppo, Nellie Blue, Michael Anderson

Design and Crew: Stage Manager, Margaret Gleberman; Sound Designer, Sasha Hawkins; Lighting Designer, Cha See; Assistant Lighting Designer, Amelia Cain; Scenic and Props Designer, Claire DeLiso; Costume Designer, Sophia Choi; Film Designer & Camera Operator, Sanae Ohno; Camera Operator, Danielle Bryant; Camera Operator, Stephen Szmed; Wig Designer, Matthew Armentrout