Ping Chong's bio

PING CHONG & COMPANY: PING CHONG BIO
PING CHONG is a theatre director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He is the recipient of two OBIE Awards, including one for Sustained Achievement in 2000, six National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, a Playwrights USA Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a TCG/Pew Charitable Trust National Theatre Artist Residency Program Fellowship, a National Institute for Music Theatre Award, and two “Bessie” Awards for Sustained Creative Achievement and for Outstanding Creative Achievement. He has received honorary doctorates from Cornish College in 1999 and from Kent State University in 2004. In 2006, Ping Chong received a USA Prudential Fellowship from the United States Artists Foundation. Since 1972 he has created over 70 works for the stage, which have been presented at major venues all over the world. In 2010, Ping Chong adapted Akira Kurosawa's 1957 film masterpiece, *Throne of Blood, which sets Shakespeare's Macbeth set in feudal Japan, for the stage. Following the world premiere at Oregon Shakespeare Festival in July 2010, Throne of Blood* will have its New York premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Fall 2010, as part of their 150th Anniversary Season. Other recent works include, *The Devil You Know, a puppet theater work inspired by “The Devil And Daniel Webster,” which premiered in January 2010 at La MaMa ETC; Cocktail, inspired by the life and work by Dr. Krisana Kraisintu, a Thai scientist who is revolutionizing AIDS medicine in the developing world, premiered at the Swine Palace Theatre in Baton Rouge in 2007; Blind Ness, which explores the tragic history of the Belgian Congo, premiered at Kent State University in Ohio, and had its New York premiere at La MaMa ETC in 2004. Ping Chong’s 2005 puppet theater work, Cathay: Three Tales of China, was commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for its Festival of China. Cathay* was created in collaboration with Shaanxi Folk Arts Theatre, Xian China. It premiered at Seattle Repertory Theatre, followed by engagements at the Kennedy Center and New Victory in New York, and the Vienna Festival. Cathay was named one of the Top 10 Shows of the 2005-2006 season by NY Theatre Wire, and received 3 Henry Hewes Awards for achievement in design. In 2010, Cathay returned to China, where it was presented in Xian, and remain as part of the repertory of the Shaanxi Performing Arts Group. In 2002, Ping Chong created *Obon: Tales of Rain and Moonlight, a puppet theater work based on Japanese ghost stories, which premiered at Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2002 and toured to the 2002 Spoleto Festival USA and to seven cities in Japan in the fall of 2003. Edda: Viking Tales of Lust, Revenge and Family* a music-theatre work in collaboration with Ben Bagby and the Sequentia Ensemble, was presented at the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, MI, in 2000, and at the Lincoln Center Festival in 2001, and toured world-wide. Ping Chong’s first puppet theater work, *Kwaidan, based on three Japanese ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn, premiered in 1998 at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta and was featured in the Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater, and toured extensively in the United States and Japan. In 1990, Ping Chong created the first work of the East-West Quartet, exploring East-West relations past, present and future. Deshima, which was commissioned by the Mickery Workshop in Holland, received its American premiere at La MaMa, ETC in 1993 and was presented at the Tokyo International Theatre Festival and the Singapore Festival in 1995. Chinoiserie* toured nationally and was featured as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 1995 Next Wave Festival. The third in the series, *After Sorrow, a collaboration with choreographer Muna Tseng and composer Josef Fung, premiered in 1997 at La MaMa ETC and was presented at the 1997 Theatre of Nations Festival in Seoul, Korea and in the 1998 Festival of Asian Arts in Hong Kong. In 1999, Ping Chong was in residency at the Harvard Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue, where he developed Pojagi, which focuses on Korean history. Pojagi* was performed as part of DMZ2000 Art Festival in the Republic of South Korea in 1999 and premiered at La MaMa in 2000. At New York City’s Artists’ Space in 1992, Ping Chong created the first production of *Undesirable Elements, an on-going series of community-specific, interview-based theatre works exploring the effects of history, culture and ethnicity on the lives of individuals living “between cultures.” He has since created over 40 versions of Undesirable Elements* in cities such as Atlanta, Charleston, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Rotterdam, Berlin and Tokyo. In 2002, *Children of War* was created with a group of young refugees, and was presented in 2002 at George Mason University and was presented to arts and social justice organizations nationwide, including at UNHCR’s World Refuge Day in 2003 in Washington DC. Other recent Undesirable Elements works have focused on issues of disability, Native-American identity, and Asian American identity. In 2005, TCG published the complete East-West Quartet. Other published works include Kind Ness, which received the 1998 USA Playwrights Award ( Plays in Process and New Plays USA, TCG). NUIT BLANCHE ( Between Worlds, TCG), and SNOW ( Plays in Process, TCG). Undesirable Elements/ New York and Gaijin were published in Japan in 1995. Truth & Beauty was published in the March 2001 issue of American Theatre Magazine. The script of Undesirable Elements/Asian America was published in the New York Theater Review. Theatre Communications Group will publish a collection of scripts from the Undesirable Elements Series in 2010. Mr. Chong has also worked successfully in both media and visual arts. He directed two television specials with Meredith Monk – Paris for KCTV, Minneapolis and Turtle Dreams (Waltz) for WGBH, which won the Grand Prize at the Toronto Video Festival. His second original video work, I Will not Be Sad in This World, has been screened at festivals internationally. His video, Plage Concrete, was shown as part of WNET/WG BH’s New Television Series and received a Bronze Star at the 1989 Sacramento International Film and Video Festival. In 1985, Mr. Chong created an environmental installation for MIT’s Albert and Vera List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge as part of the inauguration of its new media arts building. In 1988, he created a trio of out door multi-media installations, Plage Concrete, as part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh. The New England Foundation for the Arts commissioned a touring installation, In the Absence of Memory, unveiled at the Trinity College Gallery in Hartford, CT in January, 1990. The video installation Tempus Fugit was first shown in March, 1990 at the Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University. A visual arts installation, A Facility for the Containment and Channeling of Undesirable Elements, was commissioned by Artists Space in New York City in October, 1992. Another installation, Testimonial was exhibited in the 1995 Venice Biennale’s TransCulture show. Testimonial II was exhibited at the Williams Center for the Arts in Easton, PA in 2006.
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PING CHONG & COMPANY: PING CHONG BIO

PING CHONG is a theatre director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He is the recipient of two OBIE Awards, including one for Sustained Achievement in 2000, six National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, a Playwrights USA Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a TCG/Pew Charitable Trust National Theatre Artist Residency Program Fellowship, a National Institute for Music Theatre Award, and two “Bessie” Awards for Sustained Creative Achievement and for Outstanding Creative Achievement. He has received honorary doctorates from Cornish College in 1999 and from Kent State University in 2004. In 2006, Ping Chong received a USA Prudential Fellowship from the United States Artists Foundation. Since 1972 he has created over 70 works for the stage, which have been presented at major venues all over the world.

In 2010, Ping Chong adapted Akira Kurosawa's 1957 film masterpiece, Throne of Blood, which sets Shakespeare's Macbeth set in feudal Japan, for the stage. Following the world premiere at Oregon Shakespeare Festival in July 2010, Throne of Blood will have its New York premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Fall 2010, as part of their 150th Anniversary Season. Other recent works include, The Devil You Know, a puppet theater work inspired by “The Devil And Daniel Webster,” which premiered in January 2010 at La MaMa ETC; Cocktail, inspired by the life and work by Dr. Krisana Kraisintu, a Thai scientist who is revolutionizing AIDS medicine in the developing world, premiered at the Swine Palace Theatre in Baton Rouge in 2007; Blind Ness, which explores the tragic history of the Belgian Congo, premiered at Kent State University in Ohio, and had its New York premiere at La MaMa ETC in 2004. Ping Chong’s 2005 puppet theater work, Cathay: Three Tales of China, was commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for its Festival of China. Cathay was created in collaboration with Shaanxi Folk Arts Theatre, Xian China. It premiered at Seattle Repertory Theatre, followed by engagements at the Kennedy Center and New Victory in New York, and the Vienna Festival. Cathay was named one of the Top 10 Shows of the 2005-2006 season by NY Theatre Wire, and received 3 Henry Hewes Awards for achievement in design. In 2010, Cathay returned to China, where it was presented in Xian, and remain as part of the repertory of the Shaanxi Performing Arts Group.

In 2002, Ping Chong created Obon: Tales of Rain and Moonlight, a puppet theater work based on Japanese ghost stories, which premiered at Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2002 and toured to the 2002 Spoleto Festival USA and to seven cities in Japan in the fall of 2003. Edda: Viking Tales of Lust, Revenge and Family a music-theatre work in collaboration with Ben Bagby and the Sequentia Ensemble, was presented at the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, MI, in 2000, and at the Lincoln Center Festival in 2001, and toured world-wide. Ping Chong’s first puppet theater work, Kwaidan, based on three Japanese ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn, premiered in 1998 at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta and was featured in the Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater, and toured extensively in the United States and Japan.

In 1990, Ping Chong created the first work of the East-West Quartet, exploring East-West relations past, present and future. Deshima, which was commissioned by the Mickery Workshop in Holland, received its American premiere at La MaMa, ETC in 1993 and was presented at the Tokyo International Theatre Festival and the Singapore Festival in 1995. Chinoiserie toured nationally and was featured as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 1995 Next Wave Festival. The third in the series, After Sorrow, a collaboration with choreographer Muna Tseng and composer Josef Fung, premiered in 1997 at La MaMa ETC and was presented at the 1997 Theatre of Nations Festival in Seoul, Korea and in the 1998 Festival of Asian Arts in Hong Kong. In 1999, Ping Chong was in residency at the Harvard Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue, where he developed Pojagi, which focuses on Korean history. Pojagi was performed as part of DMZ2000 Art Festival in the Republic of South Korea in 1999 and premiered at La MaMa in 2000.

At New York City’s Artists’ Space in 1992, Ping Chong created the first production of Undesirable Elements, an on-going series of community-specific, interview-based theatre works exploring the effects of history, culture and ethnicity on the lives of individuals living “between cultures.” He has since created over 40 versions of Undesirable Elements in cities such as Atlanta, Charleston, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Rotterdam, Berlin and Tokyo. In 2002, Children of War was created with a group of young refugees, and was presented in 2002 at George Mason University and was presented to arts and social justice organizations nationwide, including at UNHCR’s World Refuge Day in 2003 in Washington DC. Other recent Undesirable Elements works have focused on issues of disability, Native-American identity, and Asian American identity.

In 2005, TCG published the complete East-West Quartet. Other published works include Kind Ness, which received the 1998 USA Playwrights Award ( Plays in Process and New Plays USA, TCG). NUIT BLANCHE ( Between Worlds, TCG), and SNOW ( Plays in Process, TCG). Undesirable Elements/ New York and Gaijin were published in Japan in 1995. Truth & Beauty was published in the March 2001 issue of American Theatre Magazine. The script of Undesirable Elements/Asian America was published in the New York Theater Review. Theatre Communications Group will publish a collection of scripts from the Undesirable Elements Series in 2010.

Mr. Chong has also worked successfully in both media and visual arts. He directed two television specials with Meredith Monk – Paris for KCTV, Minneapolis and Turtle Dreams (Waltz) for WGBH, which won the Grand Prize at the Toronto Video Festival. His second original video work, I Will not Be Sad in This World, has been screened at festivals internationally. His video, Plage Concrete, was shown as part of WNET/WG BH’s New Television Series and received a Bronze Star at the 1989 Sacramento International Film and Video Festival. In 1985, Mr. Chong created an environmental installation for MIT’s Albert and Vera List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge as part of the inauguration of its new media arts building. In 1988, he created a trio of out door multi-media installations, Plage Concrete, as part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh. The New England Foundation for the Arts commissioned a touring installation, In the Absence of Memory, unveiled at the Trinity College Gallery in Hartford, CT in January, 1990. The video installation Tempus Fugit was first shown in March, 1990 at the Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University. A visual arts installation, A Facility for the Containment and Channeling of Undesirable Elements, was commissioned by Artists Space in New York City in October, 1992. Another installation, Testimonial was exhibited in the 1995 Venice Biennale’s TransCulture show. Testimonial II was exhibited at the Williams Center for the Arts in Easton, PA in 2006.