Vietgone

 Pork Filled Productions and SIS Productions, in association with the Theatre Off Jackson, present Vietgone by Qui Nguyen, directed by Mimi Katano, music direction by YUELAN, August 9th to 24th, at the Theatre Off Jackson (409 7th Ave. S. in Seattle).

It’s 1975, after the fall of Saigon. Two young survivors (who may or may not be the playwright’s parents) meet in Arkansas. Will this strange land of burritos, bikers, hippies and pot allow them to fall in love? Flipping stereotypes and remixing history, Vietgone cooks up a sexy, funny romp (with live music!) that’s a secret origin story for playwright Qui Nguyen (author of Raya and the Last Dragon)!

“There’s new interest in the Vietnamese story in America,” says PFP Executive Director Roger Tang. “There’s Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer just on HBO and local artist Susan Lieu ‘s memoir The Manicurist’s Daughter this year. Vietgone kicked off this trend as the first work of art to examine the first generation of Vietnamese coming to this country.

“Moreover, Qui has been a guiding light for Pork Filled, starting from his Vampire Cowboy days (where he won an Obie). He’s mixed humor and genres like horror, sf, and fantasy; his artistic sensibility permeates all our work. PFP was the first to present his work in the Northwest-it’s natural for us to produce Vietgone.”

“The rom-com aspect of Vietgone is one that SIS Productions’ audiences will delight in. Our shows center Asian American relationships shared with a sense of humor to inspire people of all races to see Asian Americans through a human, rather than stereotypical lens,” explains Kathy Hsieh, Co-Executive Producer for SIS Productions. “When most people think of the Vietnam War or immigrants and refugees, it’s pretty grim and trauma filled. Vietgone playfully flips this, encouraging us to relook at our parents and first-generation refugees through new eyes. They are hip, hot and human. The play inspires us to see our parents for who they really are, rather than through the stereotypes America has created of them.”

The cast features Wendy Chinn, Joshua Erme, Megan Huynh, Van Lang Pham, and Hank Tian with Adele Lim and Kathy Hsieh as understudies.

The creative team includes Omar Faust (stage manager), Grecia Leal Pardo (production manager), Robin Macartney (sets), Nick O’Leary (projections), Tianxing Yan (costumes), Jessamyn Bateman-Iino (props), Kassey Castro (sound), Annie Liu (lights), Jasmine Lomax (fight and intimacy), Roger Tang (producer), Kathy Hsieh (producer), Kendall Uyeji (producer), Josh Valdez (producer), David Le (producer) and Alyda Sorm (producer)

Vietgone plays Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, with matinees on Sundays at 2pm. There is a special matinee Saturday August 17th at 2pm and an Industry Night, Monday, August 19th at 7:30 pm. Also, there is a Relaxed Sensory Performance, August 18th at 2 pm. The show is rated PG-14 for sexual situations, swearing, redneck racism, nightmares of war, and badass kung fu fighting.

Tickets start at $10 and are available at https://pork-filled.ticketleap.com/vietgone. Tickets for the relaxed sensory performance are at https://pork-filled.ticketleap.com/vietgone-relaxed. PFP is a member of Teen Tix. For more info, email tix@porkfilled.com or go to www.porkfilled.com.

SIS Productions is a production company that strives to create, develop and produce quality works that involve Asian American women, their themes, and Asian American issues. SIS Productions encourages opportunities and support for Asian American women to be involved in all aspects of the production of artistic endeavors. SIS Productions is supported by 4Culture, ArtsWA and Melvin Inouye.

The oldest Asian American theatre group in the Pacific Northwest, Pork Filled Productions centers Asian American artists to imagine fantastical, inclusive and FUN universes. Through genres of science fiction, noir, fantasy, steampunk and more, we envision bright universes informed by diverse experiences and perspectives, with larger-than-life characters, where everyone’s story can be told. PFP is supported by 4Culture, ArtsFund, ArtsWA, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.

Pork Filled Productions is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike, the 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that provides independent arts groups in Washington with the services, resources and opportunities they need to forge their own paths to sustainable success.

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