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Trying to Find Chinatown and Bondage
Trying to Find Chinatown and Bondage
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Author: David Henry Hwang Publisher: Dramatists Play Service (cover may change) Format: Softcover # of Pages: 47 Pub. Date: 1996 Edition: Acting ISBN-10: 0822215527 ISBN-13: 9780822215523
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About
the Play:
Trying to Find Chinatown and Bondage contains two one-act
dramas by David Henry Hwang. An Asian street musician and a
Caucasian man who claims Asian-American heritage meet by chance in
New York City in Trying to Find Chinatown – an exploration
of racial identity and appearance. An encounter in an S&M parlour
between a man and woman in full bodysuits sets the scene for Bondage,
where their role play examines racial stereotypes and sexual myths.
Trying to Find Chinatown deals
with issues of racial identity by pitting an Asian street musician
against a Caucasian man who claims Asian American heritage. Lost on
his way to Chinatown, Benjamin asks Ronnie for directions. Ronnie,
playing his violin on the street for money, is offended that just
because he looks Asian he automatically knows where Chinatown is.
Caucasian looking, Benjamin was adopted by an Asian-American family
at birth. He revels in his heritage and is looking for the house
where his father was born. Ronnie, on the other hand, throws himself
into all things American and finds it hard to sympathize with
Benjamin who, when he finds his father's house, is filled with a
special elation. (Premiered in 1996 at the Actors Theatre of
Louisville; Cast: 2 male)
Bondage: In a Los Angeles
S&M parlour, a dominatrix and her client are clad head-to-toe in
leather costumes that conceal their faces and ethnicities. These
elaborate disguises allow them to play out fantasies based on racial
stereotypes and sexual mythologies: She pretends to be an
African-American woman to his white, liberal man; he transforms into
an Asian-American and she into a blond WASP, etc. Exchanging biting
social observations with stinging humour, they progress through their
power games to expose the arbitrariness of racially minded thinking.
All the while, however, they are haunted by an awareness that in
spite of their efforts, they may be moving towards the most
terrifying reality of all – a true intimacy that transcends the
bounds of race. (Premiered
in 1992 at the Actors
Theatre of Louisville; Cast: 1 female, 1 male)
What people say:
"…the author of M. Butterfly
proves to be a wry observer of contemporary mores and racial
stereotypes." — The New York Times
"Bondage is an
intriguing piece of writing by one of the most intelligent and
original…voices in the American theater." — Detroit
News
"[Bondage
is] an exploration of race, love and politics in the
weirdest possible contortions." — Northwest Asian
Weekly
About the Playwright:
David Henry Hwang is a Chinese American playwright,
librettist, and screenwriter, described by The New York Times
as "a true original" and by TIME magazine as
"the first important dramatist of American public life since
Arthur Miller." Throughout his career, he has explored the
complexities of forging Eastern and Western cultures in a
contemporary America. His extraordinary body of work, over the past
30 years, has been marked by a deep desire to reaffirm the common
humanity in all of us. He is best known as the author of M.
Butterfly, which won the 1988 Tony, Drama Desk, John Gassner, and
Outer Critics Circle Awards, and was also a finalist for the 1989
Pulitzer Prize. In 2012, he won the $200,000 US Steinberg
Distinguished Playwright Award, the richest theatre prize in the U.S.
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