Drama Alum Named Artistic Director of Asian-American Theater Company
The theater company 2g (Second Generation) had produced only two plays by Carla Ching ’05 when she was asked by artistic director Lloyd Suh ’01 to consider joining the company and shaking things up a bit. Suh was making the transition to the position of executive director and thought Ching would be a novel replacement. I explained to Lloyd that I’d never been involved on the curatorial or administrative side,, says Ching. He said he liked that, that I would be coming in with fresh eyes and a sense of community. I couldn’t say no, because the company had been so good to me and because I saw a chance to do something a little out of the box.,
Ching’s impressive râ©sumâ© includes work with the pan-Asian performance group Peeling, a company that did everything, writing, acting, directing, producing, facilitating workshops, building costumes and props. She credits that experience, along with living and working in the Asian-American theatrical community, with preparing her for her new responsibilities. It has helped me to understand our needs and become acquainted with the wonderful artists who are out there.,
Founded in 1997 by Welly Yang and led by Suh from 2005 to 2010, 2g is currently headed by Ching and President Gladys Chen and has become one of the country’s most important incubators of Asian-American theatrical talent. The company develops plays by a new generation of Asian-American dramatists and provides career opportunities for young actors while reaching out to more diverse audiences.
Last April, Ching brought together 36 artists, writers, directors, actors, singer-songwriters, clowns, composers, musical theater performers, improv performers, puppet makers and puppeteers, to create a two-week event called 13: Instant Vaudeville. I built teams on an instinct of who might play nicely together and who might make great connections for future work,, she explains. That spawned wonderful creative relationships and developed a wonderful sense of artistic camaraderie. That is the nature of the kind of place I’m trying to build, a place to play, experiment with new forms, work with other artists, and make something truly new and inspired.,
For more information on 2g, visit www.2g.org.