Readings
12 Chairs
2024, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, National Playwrights Conference
Former nobleman Ippolit Mateyevich Vorobyaninov’s dreary life in the early Soviet Union is about to change forever when he discovers his spiteful mother-in-law hid the family jewels in one of their dining room chairs before the Revolution. Together with a dashing con artist, Vorobyaninov must embark on an epic quest across Russia to recover the lost riches. Based on the 1928 novel by Ilya Ilf & Evgeny Petrov, 12 Chairs is an epic adventure satire exploring glory, greed, and a country desperate for the advancement of the collective good. It is a commentary on the Soviet Union and nothing else. Yeah, nothing else. You can’t prove otherwise, you haven’t even seen it. Wow, maybe you should see the play before contradicting us, you ever think about that? Wow. There’s always one. Do better.
As part of a one-month workshop with the O’Neill, the play received a week-long workshop, culminating in public readings on July 4th and 6th 2024.
Written By: Jesse Jae Hoon
Directed By: Charlotte Murray
Dramaturgy By: Charles Haugland
Featuring: Amanda Centeno, Angel Lin, Arielle Gonzalez, Shawn Jain, Ben Langhorst, Frankie Placidi
Stage Management: Chandalae Nyswonger
Photos by Emma Brown + the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.
I’ve Got A Sinking Feeling In The Pit Of My Stomach
The Tank, 2022
The Great War is over. The Kaiser has abdicated. Chaos rules in 1920 Berlin. Greta and Christa spend their days on opposite sides of the boxing ring and their nights cuddling in a disheveled little apartment. But they will soon find themselves on opposite sides of a building coup d'etat in this tragic romantic thriller about loyalty, courage, and the fight to stay alive.
Written By: Jesse Jae Hoon
Directed By: Charlotte Murray
Featuring: Francesca Placidi, Maya Carter, Daniel Harray, A.J. Ditty, Josiah Jay
Somebody Is Looking Back At Me
Developmental Zoom Reading, Ma-Yi Theater Company, 2021
In a rapidly developing Chinatown, bestselling novelist Olivia is settling into her new luxury penthouse blocks away from the public housing where she grew up. But as she becomes reacquainted with her changing neighborhood, she will be thrown into the past in ways that will change the way she views herself and her community forever.
Written By: Jesse Jae Hoon
Directed By: Charlotte Murray
Featuring: Amanda Centeno, David Lee Huynh, Mia Katigbak, Alex Lin, Angel Lin
Stage Manager: Diana Khong
House of Billy Paul
Zoom Reading, Ma-Yi Theater Company, 2021
Inspired by Euripides’ The Bacchae, The House of Billy Paul follows Rachel, an impressionable young YouTuber as she is swept into the orbit of her longtime YouTube hero Billy Paul. But when her sister, Lara, discovers the YouTube star’s horrifying past, and with no help from her family, it will be up to Lara to get her sister out before it’s too late.
Written By: Jesse Jae Hoon
Directed By: Charlotte Murray
Featuring: Colin Barham, Marieta Carrero, ChiWen Chang, Ron Domingo, Joshua Josey, Alex Lin, Dawn Akemi Saito, Yeena Sung
Stage Manager: Alisha Shrestha
Dong Xuan Center
Zoom Reading, Ma-Yi Theater Company, 2021
In the newly created center of Berlin’s Northern Vietnamese community, Lili, a 14-year-old Vietnamese middle school student, and her sister Nathalie struggle to repair their relationship after the death of their late mother. When Lili befriends her German former bully – who has a dark secret of his own – the sisters' relationship to their adopted country and to each other will be pushed to the brink.
Written By: Jesse Jae Hoon
Directed By: Charlotte Murray
Stage Manager: Samantha McCann
Featuring: Ben Beckley, Veronica Dang, Lynn Kim Do, Dinh James Doan, Nik Duggan, David Huynh, Michelle Vo
