Critics Rave about ESSPY!

I don’t like to read reviews while a show is running. While I respect the role of the critic in the theatrical ecosystem, I think that there is a delicate alchemy created in the rehearsal room that needs to be protected during a run. As an actor, I find it difficult not to get in my head about what outside people say, and as a writer, I receive enough notes without adding a stranger into the mix. So I shut out the noise and focus on the play that the team created together.

But after the run is over, curiosity gets the better of me, and I read them all! I’m happy to report that the critical response to “ESSPY” at NJ Rep was quite good. BroadwayWorld declared that the play was a “Must-See Incisive Comic-Drama.” Sherri Rase of Q On Stage writes that I have “captured the perfect trio - perfectly realized in our fourth wall bubble that accurately depicts our imperfect world.” And Allen Neuner of Out in NJ offers that the play has “plenty of comic moments, yet like the best comedies, it has moments of serious emotional content as well.” Mr. Neuner also appreciated that it was not a love story which was for me very purposeful. Jay Lustig of NJArts.net also had kind words about the scope and impact of the play.

I’m grateful for the positive reviews and more grateful still for the audiences that came to watch the show. The majority of the shows sold out, and audiences responded warmly every night. I hope this play will have a life beyond the World Premiere!

Strong Press for ESSPY

I’m tremendously proud of the production of “ESSPY” currently running at New Jersey Rep. Deftly directed by Peter J. Kuo, the cast absolutely shines in my play about the intersection of art and science. As the titular Standardized Patient, the “esspy,” Lipica Shah anchors the show in humor and compassion. Tim Liu playing the medical student whose educational trajectory is tracked by the play shares the character’s growth in the most subtle and yet powerful way. And bringing down the house as the tough teacher with a heart of gold is Ching Valdes-Arana who can wither her fellow actors with a look. This cast has incredible chemistry and performs the show with such joy. I am so incredibly grateful to have had the chance to work with this talented group of artists.

I also want to shout out the design team which truly translated the ideas in my head into physical reality. The incredibly detailed set was designed by Jessica Parks. Patricia Doherty’s costume design made all the actors look good even after a 30 second quick-change. Nick Simone’s sound design grounded the show firmly in the time period as well as offering the audience some joy. Many audience members wanted the “soundtrack” after the show! Jill Nagle lit the stage beautifully. Finally, the show has been kept in tip-top shape by our fearless stage manager, Kristin Pfeiffer with the help of ASM, Rachael Malloy and stagehand, Ian Duhart.

I was interviewed in several publications about the show and my work. BroadwayWorld and Theatermania both published excellent articles, and my friend and colleague Ken Jones dedicated a post on his playwriting blog to my production. I’m so grateful for the wonderful press that the play has received.

ESSPY runs until March 17th at NJ Rep!

Next up: New Production!

I don't know what it is about the cold and snowy days of winter, but they seem to be the best time for my plays to be produced. Perhaps being born in Buffalo makes me a "winter-only" writer since every World Premiere of mine has occurred in January or February. This year marks my fourth winter premiere as my play "Esspy" debuts at the New Jersey Repertory Company next month.

"Esspy" chronicles the journey of a medical student, his professor, and an actor who works as a standardized patient at his medical school, embodying various symptoms for him to diagnose throughout his training. At its heart, the play examines whether empathy can be taught. I wrote this play several years ago and had all but given up on any hope of it being produced, so this production is very special to me. Also, I'm reuniting with Peter J. Kuo who directed my first professional production of "Washer/Dryer" back in 2015 and working with two actors whom I not only admire as artists but whom I love as people, Ching Valdes-Aran and Lipica Shah.  Rounding out the cast is an actor who is new to me but wonderful as well, Tim Liu.  What a delightful team!

"Esspy" runs from February 22nd until March 17th at NJ Rep in Long Branch, NJ. Tickets can be purchased here.  NJ Transit services Long Branch by train. The play is shorter than the train ride but significantly more dramatic!

Rehearsals Begin for Christmas Show

This week I started rehearsals for “The Christmas Tree Farm” at Mile Square Theater in Hoboken, NJ. There are many reasons for me to rejoice in this new production.. One, this will be the third play I’ve acted in within a calendar year which makes me pretty happy. Two, I’m reuniting with my dear friend and collaborator, Adam Szymkowicz. I feel so grateful to have acted in three world premieres of his plays, and I am honored to be an actor her trusts to interpret his work. And three, I’m returning to MST which has become a bit of an artistic home for me in the past few years as both an actor and a writer. I last worked on their digital production of “It’s a Wonderful Life” in 2020, and I have also had multiple short plays produced by them both on Zoom and during their annual 7th Inning Stretch fundraiser. All these factors make this play a most excellent way to end the year. “The Christmas Tree Farm” runs from November 30th until December 23rd, and tickets can be purchased here.

"Sense & Sensibility" on the Cape!

I’m just back from two weeks on Cape Cod where I played Fanny Dashwood and Lucy Steele in Kate Hamill’s “Sense & Sensibility” at the Cape Playhouse. Cape Cod is an absolute delight, and I had a wonderful time chewing the scenery with this imaginative and collaborative cast. Our process was wild as we had two weeks to put the whole show together under the direction of Jessica Holt. In spite of the time crunch, we created a beautiful show together on Alexander Woodward’s gorgeous set that made use of the theater’s natural beauty and history and with the help of Jennifer Paar’s excellently researched and detailed costumes.

Audiences loved the modern take on a timeless classic. One reviewer noted “Rounding out the cast of characters are Fanny (Nandita Shenoy), Sir John Middleton (Christopher Tramantana), and Mrs. Jennings (Britte Steele), three performers who you can’t take your eyes off as they steal scenes left and right.” (Melissa de la Vega, Cape Cod Chronicle).

Fourteen performances and three lobster rolls later, I am home.

Wrapping Up at the Hermitage

I’m very happy to be updating my website from the beautiful and historic Hermitage Artists Retreat on Manasota Key, FL. I was named a Hermitage Fellow last year and was awarded four weeks to take as I wished over 2022 and 2023. After spending the winter in Michigan, I thought two weeks on the beach would be perfect, and it is!

I’ve been able to work on multiple projects here, including a short play for the “7th Inning Stretch” Benefit at Hoboken’s Mile Square Theater. I’ve also been able to take some slow walks on the beach and look at the stars at night. In these moments, I have felt my mind relax and expand, and while I have not been struck with immediate inspiration, I think that some seeds for new work have been planted. Offering artists a quiet place to work and think has an immeasurable value, and I am so grateful for this opportunity.

Raves for "The Future Is Female..."

I’m very happy to share that the run of “The Future Is Female…” at the Flint Repertory Theatre was a success! We closed the show on Sunday with a sold out house and a standing ovation and a cast and crew that wished we could have played another week.

New plays are a challenge to produce, especially from a writer without name recognition. While I was absolutely thrilled to have one of my plays produced after the pandemic, I was a bit nervous about how it would fare in a place where I didn’t know anyone. The first three productions of “Washer/Dryer” happened in cities where I had a lot of friends and connections. But I didn’t know anyone in Flint outside the theater staff, and I wasn’t sure that anyone would come to see a comedy about reproductive rights. Thankfully, audiences came, and I learned that my plays don’t need my friends to survive!

Though I don’t read reviews during the run of any play I am working on, I did look ours up on the flight home from Flint and was pleased to see a really positive response. BroadwayWorld, Encore Michigan, and Flint Stages all gave the show a thumbs up! I also had the opportunity to be interviewed by the Michigan NPR affiliate which was the best interview I have ever done! You can check out my interview at minute 12:45 of the February 1st episode of Stateside.

Working in Flint was an amazing experience. The community embraced the play and all of us as artists which was a truly humbling experience. I’m grateful that I had a chance to have another play come to life and hope this will pave the way for other productions!

World Premiere Coming Soon!

I’ve been remiss in updating this website! The past six months have involved putting a lot of pokers in the fire, and I’m happy to have some progress to report at last.

My play “The Future is Female…” will receive its World Premiere at the Flint Rep this winter after being part of its New Works series last spring. Kathryn Walsh, who directed the spring reading, will lead an entirely female-identifying creative team and cast. I’m thrilled that my play has found such a supportive and enthusiastic home. Rehearsals begin January 5th, and the play will run from February 3rd until February 19th.

Set in the not-too-distant future, the play explores the lives of four women attending a female empowerment retreat and how they each long for freedom in the world that seeks to hold them back. But as they delve into the retreat they discover that freedom can mean very different things to different people.

This play has had a lot of development over the pandemic, and I am so grateful that it will get a chance to live as a full production this winter. I wrote the play in 2018 as a way to address my fears about the future under the last administration, and many of those fears have come true. But the events of the last six months have suggested to me that there is always hope. I think this dark comedy suggests the same!

Tony! Tony! Tony!

On June 6th, the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) was officially honored with a 2022 Special Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater. It was a momentous occasion and a really special night for all 11 members of AAPAC’s Steering Committee who have been compiling the hiring statistics on and Off-Broadway for the past decade. Our Visibility Report has been cited by many news outlets including American Theater and the New York Times. This recognition is especially meaningful to us as our organization was born from a lack of visibility in our industry. To see our acceptance speech, click here.

Exciting News!

I’m thrilled to announce that the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) is being honored this year with Tony recognition for Excellence in Theater. We are truly overwhelmed and delighted by this honor. We are grateful that the work of 11 years, including out annual Visibility Report, our multiple public forums and campaigns, and most recently our efforts with the Indie Theater Fund, The American Theatre Wing, and the Dramatists Guild Foundation to create an AAPI Transportation Fund, have been recognized for their impact on the theater community. We know this work is but one step in the journey towards a more equitable theater, but with this honor, we hope it is a big step!

For more information, please click here.

Retreating in the Sun!

Last summer, I received a mysterious email informing me that I had been named a 2021 Hermitage Fellow which entitled me to 4 weeks of time at a beautiful artists retreat just outside Sarasota, FL. I was intrigued by somewhat skeptical since I had not applied for any such opportunity. To my delight, the email was real, and currently I am in the middle of my first two-week stint at the Hermitage Artists Retreat, enjoying some time away from the city and allowing my brain to relax after two fairly stressful years. It has been a joy to have time and space to unwind and decompress. I’m working on a new play as well as revisions of existing pieces and allowing myself to be open to inspiration should any strike!

Sadly, I have to leave here a few days early - but for a very good reason! Next weekend, my play “The Future Is Female…” will be read as part of the New Works Festival at the Flint Repertory Theatre in Flint, MI. I’m thrilled to hear this play in front of a live audience after quite a bit of development on Zoom. The reading is on May 1st at 7pm and free to the public.

I’m excited to have stuff brewing in 2022!

A Little More Costume Drama

Say hello to Dorothy, my character on “Dickinson” this season! Actually, the character’s name was “Woman” but because there were also characters named “Woman 1” and “Woman 2” in this episode, the costume department started referring to us as Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche. I told them that I was more of a Sophia, but in this case, Dorothy seemed right. In any case, I had a blast in my hoop skirt shooting Episode 5 of Season 3 on Apple+ “Dickinson.” The show is an irreverent and literary take on the poet’s early life, complete with thematic analysis of a different poem for each episode. I was delighted to be part of this smart and subversive show and especially to wear this beautiful costume. It took a good hour with a dresser to get into it, but I thought the end result was totally worth it!

I spent a lot of time in the 19th Century last year between this show and “Persuasion.” I look forward to what period 2022 offers me!

Short Play about to Stream

Thrilled to be a part of this festival in support of my fellow Asian American creatives. My short play “Hindi” is part of the festival, directed with care by Nelson Eusebio. Eileen Rivera and Sanjiv Jhaveri are wonderful actors who have brought so much depth to this piece that I wrote 7 years ago in response to a natural disaster in the Philippines. I won’t lie - they made me cry with every take. They are also dear friends of mine, and it was wonderful to get a chance to work on a project with such dear and trusted collaborators.

Tickets for the event are $15, and the show will be live-streamed on October 9th at 6pm PST/9pm EST. It will also be available for on demand streaming until October 24th. Tickets can be purchased here.

Proceeds will go to CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment). Also, all the artists have been paid for their participation in the program.

A Return to In Person Theater

After a long 16 months, I am so grateful to be returning to the stage in the World Premier of “Persuasion” with Bedlam at the Connelly Theater Off-Broadway. Even in the best of times, I would be happy to be working in New York on material that I adore, but after the theatrical hibernation of the pandemic, it feels nothing short of miraculous to be rehearsing with other people again. This adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel was written by Sarah Rose Kearns and directed by Eric Tucker. The show will run from September 11th till October 31st. More information and tickets can be found here.

In addition to acting in a costume drama, I’m excited to be playing multiple roles in this production including my first time gender bending! I will portray the vapid Elizabeth Elliot, Anne’s elder sister; the agreeable Mrs. Croft, one half of the happiest couple in Jane Austen; and the deeply feeling Captain Benwick, one of Anne’s potential suitors. Rehearsals are off to a great start, and I truly look forward to performing on stage again!

Baby Camp to be Featured in the Finstrom Festival

I am delighted to announce that my play “Baby Camp” has will be part of the first annual Finstrom Festival at Zoetic Stage in Miami, FL. This play has been the little play that could throughout the pandemic, and I’m thrilled to have another opportunity to share it with a new audience.

The play will be read on June 25th at 7pm and can be viewed on the Zoetic Facebook page.

“Baby Camp” was also one of 56 plays that made it to the Finalist round of the O’Neill New Play Conference. Though it was ultimately not chosen for one of four slots to workshop, I’m thrilled that the play made it so far in the process. Over 1200 plays were submitted.

Hope you will be able to join me on the 25th!

Sweet Reviews for "Love, Repeat!"

“Love, Repeat,” the independent movie I’m in which released late last year, has been getting some lovely reviews. I’m so pleased to see the movie getting attention as I know how many people moved heaven and earth to make it. For my first feature film, it’s also been nice to get a few shout outs as well!

“James’ friends, Chad (Marcus Ho) and Lavanya (Nandita Shenoy), provide a lot of comic relief as the pair have great on-screen chemistry, even when they’re falling out and getting divorced. Shenoy is wonderfully quirky and captures the role well; Ho is bold and witty.”
- Indy Reviews

“Marcus Ho as Chad and Nandita Shenoy as Lavanya are James’s chic and wildly dramatic friends as they amusingly swing from passionate to cynical at times in the very same scene.”
- The Sleepless Critic

“…but it’s his friend Chad (Marcus Ho) and Chad’s sometimes-estranged wife Lavayna (Nandita Shenoy) that go for the big laughs with their dramatic, swooning marriage. Yes, Love, Repeat is grounded in reality but that doesn’t mean you need to take every single scene seriously.”
- It Was Like Magic

As you might guess, my scene partner Marcus Ho and I bring the com in this rom com!

“Love, Repeat” is available on iTunes and Amazon Prime.

Some Valentine's Cheer

My next digital short play “Dating in the Time of Corona” is part of a Valentine’s-themed evening at Ars Nova this Friday February 12th. This month’s events are being curated by the talented and lovely Rona Siddiqui, one of Ars Nova’s “Vision Residents” for 2021. “A Very MENASA Valentine’s” features four writers of MENASA (Middle Eastern/North African/South Asian) descent - Ryan Haddad, Vishaal Reddy, Ida Esmaeili, and me! The event is directed by Danny Sharron (who is a wonderful collaborator and a total joy) and hosted by mixologist and entertainer, Sherz Aletaha. The show will run an hour, and you will learn how to make a Persian-themed cocktail while enjoying some fun takes on everyone’s favorite holiday!

Click here for $10 tickets.

"Love, Repeat" Released on Amazon and iTunes

I’m thrilled to report that “Love, Repeat,” an independent film that I shot before the pandemic has released to Amazon Prime and iTunes. It’s the first film in which I have a significant role, and I think it’s perfect winter fare. It’s also a love letter to New York City and all its magnificence in pre-pandemic times.

I had a wonderful time playing opposite my dear and dashing friend, Marcus Ho. I was also delighted to work with so many talented New York actors like Leenya Rideout, Vivia Font, and Ryan Haddad.

To stream please go to iTunes or Amazon!

Baby Camp Reading at Stanford

I’m so pleased that my play “Baby Camp” has been selected as one of three plays in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley New Works Next Generation reading series at Stanford University. This play set in a dystopian near—future follows four women of a certain age at a female empowerment retreat in California where they discover that empowerment can mean different things to different people. I’ve had the good fortune to develop this play throughout the pandemic, and it’s a joy to hear a new group of artists’ approach to the play.

The reading will be held on November 17th at 7pm PST. Tickets to the reading are free, but reservations are required.

https://www.theatreworks.org/newworks/nextgen/