for more information about Undesirable Elements, please visit http://www.undesirableelements.org

UNDESIRABLE ELEMENTS is an on-going series of community-specific works by Ping Chong exploring the effects of history, culture and ethnicity on the lives of individuals in a community. The piece is made through a collaborative workshop process involving Ping Chong and a group of individuals who vary in many ways but share the common experience of having been born in one culture and now being part of another.

UNDESIRABLE ELEMENTS draws its power from the "simple" act of naming oneself in public. On one level, UNDESIRABLE ELEMENTS is an emotionally charged challenge to traditional views of culture and the "other"; on another level, it is a lyrical expression of the astonishing fact of human similarity, difference and indomitability. Since each individual's experience encompasses that of his or her ancestors and culture, the piece is a journey through the turbulent history of the 20th century from a global perspective.

UNDESIRABLE ELEMENTS was first produced during a residency at Artist Space in New York City. In Tokyo, where under the title GAIJIN or "foreigner" it received a 1995 Yumiuri Theatrical Award. A video version of SECRET HISTORY is now available.

2005  UE: Twin Cities Ten Years Later
2005  SH: Native Voices, Lied Center, Kansas
2004  UE 92/04, Journeys Within, Rome, Italy
2004  SH: Journeys Abroad, Journeys Within, NYC
2004  Secret History, Seattle Youth
2003  Undesirable Elements, Pioneer Valley, MA
2003  UE 92/02, touring production, Lille, France
2003  Undesirable Elements, Berlin
2002  Children of War, Fairfax, VA
2002  UE 92/02, 10th anniversary, NYC
2002  Undesirable Elements/Hanover, NH
2001  Undesirable Elements/Atlanta
2001  Secret Histories/Charleston
2001  Undesirable Elements/Madison, WI
2000  Secret Histories/NYC
2000  Undesirable Elements/Washington DC
2000  Undesirable Elements/APA - NYU
1999  Undesirable Elements/Chicago
1999  Undesirable Elements/Hamilton College, NY
1998  Undesirable Elements/Newark
1997  Undesirable Elements/Long Beach, CA
1997  Undesirable Elements/Rotterdam, Holland
1997  Undesirable Elements/Yellow Springs
1995  Undesirable Elements/Tokyo (Gaijin)
1995  Undesirable Elements/Seattle
1994  Undesirable Elements/Minneapolis
1993  Undesirable Elements/NYC
1993  Undesirable Elements/Cleveland
1992  Undesirable Elements/NYC
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