Since the pandemic shut all the theaters down, it has been hard to know what to expect or even hope for in the American theater. Without knowing when we can gather again and under what circumstances, it is hard to imagine continuing a career in theater. But yesterday, on Bastille Day, I seemed to hit a theatrical jackpot unexpectedly by having “Rage Play” named to the Kilroys List 2020 and winning a Special Citation from the Obie Awards with the Asian American Performers Action Coalition for our advocacy work. Both are tremendous honors that I hardly thought possible and certainly not during a global pandemic!
The Kilroys decided to honor all plays written by female, trans, and non-binary playwrights whose first or second productions were cancelled by the virus. Thus “Rage Play” made the list. It is bittersweet to be recognized for being cancelled, but the honor gives me hope that the play will have a life after the virus subsides.
At a time of racial upheavals in most industries including ours, the Obie Awards honored the work of AAPAC which has been documenting the hiring practices of Broadway and Off-Broadway for close to 10 years. The work of compiling these statistics as well as putting together forums to address racial inequities has been grueling at times, and this recognition has really lifted that work up.
I’m so grateful for both of these honors and take them as signs not to give up on the theater just yet. There are so many artists who are just getting going, myself included, and none of us want to stop.
