We are excited to announce the premiere of Artistic Leadership Team member Nile Harris' 

, a co-presentation and co-commission with 

. Performances will take place on July 14 - 16 at 8pm at Abrons Art Center Playhouse, located at 466 Grand Street, New York, NY 


A frenzied rant of online logic delivered outside an inflatable mausoleum,

surrounds a bounce castle purchased by Harris' friend, interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker Trevor Bazile (born Miami, FL, 1996-2021). Over the course of the performance, the castle comes to represent an ephemeral monument, a besieged U.S. capital, and a simulacrum of hollow liberal care.



extends from Harris and Bazile’s collaboratively created, live-Google-document-based ‘

’ manifesto (2020), a metaphorical board meeting that asked: will the revolution have 501c3 status? In and around the sound-responsive plastic shrine,

 situates this question within the detritus of the past two years—in bitter inheritance, fugitive avatars, political theater, Tucker Carlson redacted texts, and the cleansing of money through arts philanthropy.


Figures—a gingerbread minstrel, Dimes Square vape addicts, a beloved children’s movie cowboy—appear, haunted by the fraught question: what does it mean to be an American? Enlivened by collaborators Crackhead Barney and Malcolm-x Betts, and featuring sonic composition by slowdanger and GENG PTP, 

uses clowning and live-mixed sound scoring to enact a memorial in an “Incellectual” spew of discourse.

this house is not a home premieres at Abrons Art Center July 14 - 16

a digital film created by Ping Chong, will screen at the 

. This new work, created in 2022, is  inspired by Ping's earlier theatrical work, 

(1994), which was part of a series known as The East/West Quartet. 

 connects the present day and the personal with an historical past still being felt today. The film’s narrative weaves personal reflections, music and song, with historical strands, such as the opium war, the building of the railroads across the USA, the murder of Vincent Chin, and the mythical birth of tea, among other things.

The screening will be followed by a talk back with the creators. 

Chinoiserie Redux screening at Asia Society on May 24

We're excited to announce a new work produced in partnership with 

. Directed by Artistic Director Emeritus Ping Chong and Yara Arts Group Artistic Director Virlana Tkacz, this latest piece in the 

 series explores the experiences of Ukrainian American New Yorkers: Ukrainian identity, immigration, intergenerational connections, the history of Ukrainians in the U.S., and the disastrous effect of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Performances take place May 5-14 at the 

, located at 222 East 6th Street, New York.

This project ​​is the result of a three-decade relationship between Ping Chong and Virlana Tkacz, who first worked together in the early 1990s, when Ping first created the series. Last year, Ping invited Virlana to collaborate on a new production about the experiences of Ukrainian Americans. She identified the people who form the cast, and whose stories comprise the script. 

 features Ukrainian and Ukrainian-American performers, musicians, and activists: George Drance, whose grandparents arrived in New York before World War I; Julian Kytasty, whose father arrived with his bandura-playing family after World War II; Lesya Verba, who arrived in New York from Odesa just two years ago; Nariman Asanov, a Crimean Tatar who came to U.S. in the 1990s; and Daria Kolomiec, who was in Kyiv for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The production interweaves their personal stories and Ukrainian history with traditional Ukrainian music and songs.

 are Friday, May 5 -  Sunday, May 14 on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7pm, and Sundays at 2pm. The Sunday, May 7th performance includes a post-performance Q&A. 

UNDESIRABLE ELEMENTS: UKRAINE at The Ukrainian Museum from May 5-14  

uplifts and shares real-life stories made by individuals from Reston, VA, reflecting on the challenges and joys of living in Reston during a time of pandemic and global upheaval.  

 (RCC), PCC was invited to bring together members of the community from diverse and intergenerational backgrounds to share their own stories and perspectives on what it means to be a Restonian. Cast members ranging in age from 14 to 57, reflect on Reston's unique history and utopian vision as the nation's first planned community, and what brought their families to Reston. The production addresses themes of healing, grief, growth, struggles with mental health and identity, the impact of COVID, and the search for community.

is written and directed by Sara Zatz, PCC's Associate Director and Artistic Leadership Team Member, and theatre artist Tuyết Thị Phạm in association with the cast (pictured above). 

Performances take place on Friday March 24th and Saturday March 25th at 8pm at the RCC Hunters Woods - the CenterStage. Tickets are $10 for Reston residents and $15 for non-Reston residents. 

Reserve tickets for the 3/25 performance here! 

 is an agency that offers thousands of positive, self-

development experiences that enhance the quality of life for all people living and working in Reston, VA. RCC provides a wide range of programs in arts, aquatics, enrichment and lifelong learning and also creates and sustains community traditions through special events, outreach activities and facility rentals.

In addition to the premiere of this new work, RCC will also host a 

. Participants will share, listen and learn about our individual and collective relationships to where we live and meet some of the Reston residents and cast members who are part of 

, where Ping will share his visually compelling body of work and lead a discussion about the evolution of his theatre work in relationship to the changes in contemporary arts and culture over the last 50 years.

Generations Rise: Reston premieres in Reston, VA on March 24 - 25

Join us in a public tribute to our Founder and Artistic Director 

, who both retire from their leadership roles at the company at the end of 2022. 

All Islands Connect Underwater: A Celebration of Ping Chong and Bruce Allardice 

will take place on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, from 6-9pm, at Chelsea Factory (547 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001).

The event, hosted by playwright, author, and performance artist 

, will take the form of a party punctuated by brief performances.  

, the organization that preserves and promotes the traditional Chinese performing arts and creates new performance works that bridge Eastern and Western aesthetics and forms; New York City-based all-women, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming Brazilian Samba Reggae drum line 

; legendary multidisciplinary artist and one of Ping Chong’s earliest and most formative collaborators, 

; dancer, choreographer, and founder of Muna Tseng Dance Projects 

whose moving dance-theater solo performance 

was written and directed by Chong; and legendary American jazz group 

. Other luminaries will be toasting Chong and Allardice at the event. 

Performers Announced for Celebration of Ping Chong and Bruce Allardice on January 25, 2023

We are excited to announce two presentations by our 


As part of their Fellowship during our 50th Anniversary season, PCC has commissioned and supported the generation of a new work by JU-EH and Nile, which we will present in November 2022 and January 2023.

Nearly 50 years ago, when Ping Chong started making performance work, he created an artistic home by establishing Ping Chong and Company. This artistic home has been a place of mentorship and creativity for many artists over the years; and we deepen this commitment through the Creative Fellowship. The Fellowship engages artists to learn from the body of PCC’s work and methodologies; and receive mentorship and guidance on their career and creative goals. These new projects are generated from research and engagement with the Ping Chong and Company production archive.


JU-EH
Wednesday, November 30, 2022, 7:30pm
The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, 450 West 37th Street, New York, NY 10018

This is a free event, with registration required. 

JU-EH will offer a guiding voice as you experience an immersive sound experience in various physical positions/locations (wandering, sitting, standing, lying down, shoes on/off) in a 3000 square feet music hall with a 52-speaker reverb system.

Since the beginning of 2022, JU-EH has built a new microtonal spatial instrument, 意聼 (pronounced YI TING, which is also the poetic translation of OVERHEAR). JU-EH has sourced software developers and audio engineers to code and design this instrument specifically for JU-EH's creative workflow.

You are invited to be early adoptors in this conceptual artwork. 

is presented as an interactive, process oriented workshop for facilitating live creation between the artist and audience, informed organically in real-time.


JU-EH is a male soprano specializing in developing non-human roles envisioning a new era of utilizing opera as a meta-emotional vehicle. As a composer, director, improvisor, and sound conceptualist, JU-EH has built a software synthesizer with coders and spatial sound designers to address microtonality, human voice as sonic sculptures. This is a pioneering concept in understanding human relationships from the perspective of voice, body, and technology. JU-EH has initiated projects that defy genre, period, or easy categorization including 1st Clubhouse episodic opera “ASIAN CASTA DIVA,” for the #StopAsianHate movement with an interactive virtual monument on Mozilla Hubs; JU-EH’s audio/visual NFT collection “仚 Hint” has just won the 2022 Future Arts Awards by Mozaik. Find out more on ju-eh.com.


Nile Harris
Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 7:00pm and Sunday, January 22, 2023 at 1:00pm


Presented in association with the Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival

Shiva Theater, The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003

Tickets are $25 and General Access tickets will be on sale November 10th. 



 is a lecture on absence, abjection, and American nationalism. Navigating through the anonymous logic of the internet, where everyone has an opinion, this solo performance, or incellectual rant, poses a rhetorical insurrection of the priorities of neoliberalism and pays homage to the memory of a friend gone too soon.


Nile Harris is a director and performer of live works of art. He has done a few things and hopes to do a few more, God willing.

2022/23 Creative Fellows Presentations 

Ping Chong's Final Production as Artistic Director 

In 2022, we mark 50 years of impactful work by 

our Founder and Artistic Director Ping Chong 

, his new reimagining of the production that set his boundary-shattering career in motion, from September 30 - October 16

 was Ping Chong’s first independently created theater production. It

is an imagistic meditation on the resurrected man transplanted from its Biblical setting to the surreal, urban purgatory of New York City in the 1970’s—a deeply personal work about cultural alienation disguised as a Biblical story. With the exception of a voice over, sound effects, and some music, 

is silent, poetic, and nonlinear. Originally performed in Meredith Monk’s loft in the heady early days of the New York avant-garde, it

established Chong’s seminal integration of slide and film projection, puppetry, and recorded sound in theatrical performance; so much of what the artist and his company would go on to achieve in theater and storytelling can be mapped from the artistic gestures in this bold starting point.

Ping Chong says, “Lazarus was a metaphor for my own experience, because I had just left my insular world of Chinatown, moving out of that limbo into figuring out how to exist in larger society. The original show was 1972; New York City was nearly bankrupt at that time and the urban purgatory aspect of it was very surreal and real. Originally the work reflected that—but the work has changed: I’m a lifetime New Yorker, and 

 is now different than the show was at the time in the sense that New York is also different, and centrally, part of the character of the show. 

 is my love for New York but it’s also my sadness for what it’s become. Lazarus may have left purgatory and come back into the world—but what kind of a world did he come back into in 2022?”

 as Figure 3. The creative team includes 

take place Thursday – Saturday at 8pm, and Saturday & Sunday at 4pm at La MaMa Downstairs Theater (66 East Fourth Street, NY, NY 10003). Tickets are $30 ($25 for students and seniors), inclusive of all fees, and can be purchased at lamama.org or  646-430-5374. The first ten tickets to every performance are $10. The September 29 preview performance will be pay-what-you-can. Running time is approximately one hour.

Time Passes: Ping Chong and Fiji Theater Company Then and Now
Sunday, October 9

 on Sunday, October 9, at 4pm, Chong will reunite with late 1970s and 1980s members of his company, then called the Fiji Theater Company, for a discussion of the evolution of his work and the changing climate in the downtown performing arts scene. They will share personal memories of their time creating work and touring work together. Moderated by Sara Farrington, editor of 

The Lost Conversation: Interviews with an Enduring Avant-Garde

, the event will feature Ping Chong, John Fleming, Brian Hallas, Louise Smith, and Jeannie Hutchins. Smith and Hutchins both won Bessie Awards for their work with Chong.


Lazarus 1972 - 2022 at La MaMa from September 29 - October 16

Join us at Lincoln Center this summer in their first annual Summer for the City program, where we will be presenting a revival of

Inside/Out… Voices from the Disability Community

 is part of the Undesirable Elements series, co-directed by Ping Chong and Sara Zatz, and created in collaboration with the performers, Josh Hecht, Monique Holt, Christopher Imbrosciano, Vivian Cary Jenkins, Matthew S. Joffe, Zazel-Chavah O’Garra, and Blair Wing. It explores the first-hand experiences of seven individuals with disabilities, interweaving the disability rights movement in the United State with the cast’s personal stories and experiences.

 was originally commissioned in 2008 by the international organization on arts and disability. It premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and later toured to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and New York.

 will be performed on Friday, August 12 at 6:30pm at the Hearst Plaza at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and is free to the public. On August 11, there will also be a 

, sharing an inside glimpse of PCC's approach to documentary theater and the process of

’s creation blending history and personal narratives.

Summer for the City is Lincoln Center’s invitation to New York to come together and celebrate the city’s diverse arts scene and cultural traditions to connect, heal, and rejuvenate. Discover more vibrant events and offerings 

Inside/Out at Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City

: On Demand through New Victory Theater! This virtual production is available to stream for $15 through June 2022 at 

 is an interview-based virtual production featuring Black, Latinx, and Asian American teens from New York City telling their own stories and reflecting on their lives before, during and after 2020—a year of crisis and transformation. It shares real-life stories of six New York City teenagers and the significance of a year of growing up during a global pandemic and renewed calls for racial justice.

 series and written and directed by Sara Zatz and Kirya Traber, 

 originated as a virtual theater production in partnership with 

 in June 2021. The live production of the show premiered at New Victory Theater in November 2021.

Announcing Generation Rise: On Demand! 

"Sear the Pan Against the Meat with me, savor tender and bitter memory..."

The smell of SPAM still lingers and the last notes of the finale song still echoes. After four weeks of performances at Dixon Place, 

 by Jaime Sunwoo, closed to sold-out houses. Although this run has come to a close, the show made a deep impression on audience members. See what some of them had to say about the show:

“Educational, entertaining and deeply moving ... No matter what your current relationship is to SPAM, you will not look at it the same way again!” 

makes me think about how identity is formed by eating and storytelling ... All the while striving to love ourselves and feel safe with who we are.” 

“Jaime Sunwoo's puppetry and animation art, paired with clever performances of original and folk music, elevate this otherwise lean production into a full- bodied multimedia work of art.”

"The Meaning of SPAM on Stage," The New York Times

A "wonderfully surreal, comical, and touching theatre piece," Broadway World

"A work whose sum is greater than its many ingenious parts," Theaterscene

, a podcast that tells Asian American stories!

We are so grateful to everyone who attended, and our amazingly talented creative team and cast! Follow @speciallyprocessed and @pingchongco on social media for updates on the show!

A sold-out, successful run of Specially Processed American Me! 

What’s cooking behind the scenes at Specially Processed American Me?

, a new multimedia theater work written by former PCC Creative Fellow, Jaime Sunwoo, and co-directed by Sunwoo and Karim Muasher, features multiple layers of design, music, video projection, mask work, and shadowplay. It investigates the legacy of SPAM, the infamous canned meat, its significance in the Asia-Pacific, and its influence on Asian cuisine, unraveling the stories of three generations of women in Sunwoo’s family. The many ingredients that make the show’s flavor richer and denser are seasoned with history, both cultural and historical, as well as Sunwoo’s personal history in artmaking.

, Sunwoo is truly interdisciplinary in her practice and approach, as she is also the prop, puppet, and costume designer, as well as the projection graphic illustrator for the show. She studied art as an undergraduate at Yale and was able to use her visual arts skills in illustrating the graphics and making the props in collaboration with other artists for the production.

The set design features multiple traditional Korean elements. The design for the projection screen frame was based on the traditional Korean cabinets in the house where Sunwoo grew up. Julia Kwon, a Korean American artist who specializes in bojagi, created the pink bojagi-inspired SPAM flats that are always present on stage. Bojagi is used to wrap gifts and food in Korea.


Sunwoo designed the symbol on the left that is painted on the Korean war era U.S. military reed organ in the show, based on the “Lucky Hormel Girl” good luck tokens from the 1950s. The Hormel Girls were a drum and bugle corps of American women veterans after World War II, who traveled across the United States to promote SPAM and other Hormel products. Notice the four symbols for luck surrounding the pig!


Sunwoo illustrated these projection graphics and shadow puppets made from polycarbonate sheets. The oral history recording from Sunwoo’s grandmother used in the show was the main inspiration for Sunwoo’s depiction of Korea in the 1950s.

She also worked with her mother, Clara Sunwoo, a contemporary fashion designer, to design and create the mudang (Korean shaman) costume, drawing inspiration from the Chilseong mudang regalia. She also conducted additional research with a practicing Korean American shaman in NYC.

On the music, Sunwoo worked with her long-time collaborator, Matt Chilton, with whom she first worked on her first original play, 

 [2014]. Together, they also worked on “You Are The News Now” as a part of 

 PCC’s collaborative work from 2020 which invited a group of artists to respond to the original script of Ping Chong's 

. In 2018, Sunwoo and Chilton started working on 

with Chilton writing the music, the lyrics, and the original sound cues and effects. One of the most interesting aspects of the song lyrics is that every line in the Hormel Girls' lyrics is a "backronym" (an acronym formed from an already existing word) for SPAM. Listen closely during the show to catch them all…

On her collaboration process with Chilton, Sunwoo says that “Our collaboration is fruitful because we're both self-driven, have mutual respect, and give each other freedom to explore within our specialties while valuing each other's critiques and suggestions.”

There are so many visual and auditory aspects of the show to unpack. From the detailed secrets hidden within the song lyrics to visual designs of the set and props that mix SPAM imagery and aspects of traditional Korean cultures, the table is overflowing. Scrumptious, Piquant, Appetizing, and Mouthwatering, 

will take place at Dixon Place (161A Chrystie Street, NYC) from January 27- February 19, 2022, with performances Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm.

What’s cooking behind the scenes at Specially Processed American Me? 

We are thrilled to kick off 2022 by co-producing the world premiere production of 

 with Dixon Place and Free Rein Projects, from January 27 - February 19, 2022.

Written by former PCC Creative Fellow Jaime Sunwoo and Co-directed by Sunwoo and Karim Muasher, this new multimedia theater work investigates the legacy of SPAM, its significance in the Asia-Pacific, and its influence on Asian cuisine, unraveling the stories of three generations of women in Sunwoo’s family.

Through a narrative collage of oral history, video, music, and shadowplay, SPAM becomes a powerful symbol of colonization, immigration, assimilation, American dreams, and disillusionment, inviting us to examine the memories we hold onto and those we leave behind. 

 oscillates wildly between absurd humor and sober tragedy as it unpacks the ambivalent connotations of one of America’s most misunderstood foods.

This is the first major interdisciplinary performance PCC has co-produced at this scale that wasn’t created by Ping Chong—signaling our company’s expanding commitment to incubating and supporting work from emerging voices.

“Many Asian Americans including myself have a strong emotional connection with SPAM because it is a stigmatized food that is simultaneously associated with home and nostalgia—a food that connects us to our families and links us to shared histories within the Asian diaspora.” 

Specially Processed American Me 2022 Promo Reel 

 will be performed at Dixon Place, 161 Chrystie Street, New York, NY from January 27 - February 19, 2022, with performances Thursday - Saturday at 7:30pm. 


Masks are required, which can only briefly be removed if you're having a drink from the Dixon Place cocktail lounge. We strongly recommend K95 or N95 masks. A proof of vaccination AND your personal ID are also mandatory. A CDC Vax Card or your NY Excelsior Pass on mobile devices,along with your ID, must be shown upon arrival. If you have Covid-19 symptoms or have been exposed, please stay home! Refunds will be issued by emailing: 

. Please note that these protocols may be updated based on the evolving situation.

Adrianna Mateo (Performer - Hormel Girl/Ensemble), Vanessa Rappa (Performer - Hormel Girl/Ensemble), Juella Baltonado (Performer - Hormel Girl/Ensemble), Monica Goff (Performer - Hormel Girl/Ensemble), Sarah Shin (Performer - Jaime), Eunji Lim (Performer - Grandma/Ensemble), Nathaniel Basch-Gould (Performer - Jay Hormel/Ensemble), Grace Hwoang (Performer - Understudy), Nadia Kim (Performer - Understudy). 

Jaime Sunwoo (Playwright/Co-Director/Prop, Puppet, and Costume Designer/Projection Graphic Illustrator), Karim Muasher (Co-Director), Matt Chilton (Composer/Lyricist/ Sound Designer), Sarah Lurie (Lighting Designer), Cinthia Chen (Projection Designer), Aoife Hough (Stage Manager), Samm Lynch (Assistant Stage Manager and Covid Compliance Officer), Justin Perkins (Technical Director), Alex Lee (Dramaturg), and Adrianna Mateo (Music Director).

Specially Processed American Me Premieres January 27 - February 19 

 series that shares the experiences of New York City BIPOC Teens during the pandemic, will premiere this Friday, November 5th at the New Victory Theater. This piece shares the real-life experiences of NYC teens as they reflect on the last year and a half and the impact of the pandemic and systemic inequality. 

Generation Rise Trailer 

Written and directed by Sara Zatz and Kirya Traber, 

 was created in collaboration with the storytellers: Johanni, Kenroy, Kilhah, Nathaniel, Sanaa and Serena and features additional performers: Kayla Bennett performing for Sanaa; Manny Dunn performing for Kenroy; and Matthew Martinez performing for Nathaniel. Lighting Design is by Marika Kent; Sound Design is by Megumi Katayama; and Stage Management is by Caren Celine Morris. 

Performances are from Friday, November 5 - Sunday November 14, 2021 at The New Victory Theater.

 All tickets are $25. Tickets and the full performance schedule are available 

 was created in Spring 2021 in partnership with 

, and will be available to rent on demand on the

Photo of Kilhah and Matthew by Alexis Buatti-Ramos, courtesy of New 42.
Video Courtesy of New 42. 

Generation Rise Premieres This Week at the New Victory Theater

Ping Chong and Company and Free Rein Projects are co-producing a 

, a new play by former Creative Fellow Jaime Sunwoo that uses SPAM, the canned meat, as a portal into her Asian American upbringing and her family's experiences of the Korean War.  It investigates SPAM's legacy in the military, its significance in the Asia-Pacific, and its influence on Asian cuisine through music, shadowplay, and cooking. Oscillating wildly between absurd humor and sober tragedy, 

is a thought-provoking exploration of one of America's most misunderstood foods. 

is written by Jaime Sunwoo and co-directed by Jaime Sunwoo and Karim Muasher. Music, Lyrics and Sound Design are by Matt Chilton; Lighting Design by Sarah Lurie; Prop/Puppet/Costume/Projection Graphic Ilustration by Jaime Sunwoo; Projection Design by Cinthia Chen; Music Direction by Adrianna Mateo; Technical Direction by Justin Perkins; Stage Management by Zoe-Eve Rhinehart; and Dramaturgy by Alex Lee. The cast features Adrianna Mateo, Vanessa Rappa, Juella Baltonado, Monica Goff, Sarah Shin, Eunji Lim, and Nathaniel Basch-Gould. 

This two week BRIClab residency will culminate with a work-in-progress presentation on October 7th and 8th at 7pm.

Read more about the project and presentation here. 

In addition to performances, Specially Processed American Me holds food history and storytelling workshops. On Saturday, October 9th from 3-4pm, Jaime Sunwoo and Ping Chong will be at hosting a casual community conversation about food and storytelling at 

 on Avenue B between 8th and 9th Streets. Stop by to share your story and to participate in performances and workshops with other Lower East Side artists.

Specially Processed American Me at BRIClab 

will kick off the New 42/New Victory Theater’s 2021-22 season on November 5 and will run through November 14. 

Presented by Ping Chong and Company in association with New 42/New Victory, this new work was originally developed as a 

in Spring 2021, in collaboration with Urban Word NYC, and inspired by the critically acclaimed 

e is an interview-based production featuring Black, Latinx and Asian American teens from New York City telling their own stories and reflecting on their lives before, during and after 2020—a year of crisis and transformation. 

Click here to learn more and purchase tickets

Art by Andrew Bannecker courtesy of New Victory / New 42.

Generation Rise to Premiere at the New Victory Theater on November 5


With summer well underway, we take a moment to reflect back on the 2020-21 school year. The year demanded massive amounts of flexibility in navigating shifts in virtual learning, hybrid schedules, and in-person cohorts. We’ve been inspired by the adaptability, resourcefulness, and dedication with which students, teachers, administrators, and PCC’s 20 innovative teaching artists responded to the circumstances, creating meaningful forums for expression, creativity, and connection in a time of isolation for NYC’s students!

Ping Chong and Company’s education team rose to the challenge, reimagining our 

Secret Histories theatrical storytelling residencies 

across 16 classrooms to match the unique circumstances of each partner school.  As a result, 3rd-8th grade students at PS191, PS84, MS247, PS102Q, and PS91 worked virtually with teams of inspiring teaching artists to explore identity, culture, and sense of belonging and connection.  Whether at home or in the classroom, students built bonds and collaborated to transform their stories into original visual, film, audio, and virtual theater performances.

 Secret Histories Program Highlights 


This spring our education team piloted Ping Chong and Company’s first-ever Creative Aging program - a theatrical storytelling workshop series for older adults entitled 

Artful Storytelling: Our Meaningful Histories

 Offered in collaboration with the NYC Educational Alliance and three senior centers on the Lower East Side, and made possible by the Catalyzing Creative Aging Seed Grant from the National Guild for Community Arts Education, the program was designed to enhance quality of life for elders 55+ through creative expression, social connectivity, and making meaning of our personal & community histories.  Participants mounted a moving and meaningful live virtual performance on May 22, and the pilot’s success will be shared as a case study nationally during this July’s 

 hosted by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

Artful Storytelling: Our Meaningful Histories - "Fromings and Goings"


Our education team developed two unique theatrical storytelling curricula for educators this year:

, was created in partnership with New 42/New Victory Theater, inspired by our production of Generation NYZ which premiered there in 2018.  The resource guide, fully adaptable to virtual or in-person learning spaces, offers educators and caregivers tools for inspiring youth to develop community and unleash their powerful voices to the world!  Request access to the guide 

A second curriculum is in development inspired by our 2017  interdisciplinary theater production 

.  Created by PCC creative team members and Alaskan educators and culture bearers, in collaboration with the Lower Kuskokwim School District, the curriculum will offer social studies educators in Alaska a unique approach to studying the region’s histories through student creation of artistic expressions that acknowledge and celebrate their lived experiences as integral parts of Alaska’s evolving history.

As we grapple with recovery and re-emergence from COVID-19,  we look ahead to 21-22 and ask ourselves what role we can play in meeting school and community needs for healing, expression, and reconnection, no matter the age of our students.

Through these and other Ping Chong and Company programs, we remain committed to amplifying learner voices, holding space for community building, and using the tools of arts education to work toward more justice and equity in our learning and community spaces.

2020-21 Education Program Round Up

Process memoir 6: thenowlater (HEART) Prophecy
A charted quest inspired by the question, “What is the distance of love?”


Sunday, June 27th
East Village, Manhattan, NYC 
11am-2pm

 as we engage in small group activities, a street wide sing-a-long, and a facilitated dance jam-flash-mob happening!

, a group of 80 community members brought together to map out and collaboratively chart a journey launched from the question, "What is the distance of love?" This happening will be driven by inner sensation and outward embodiment.

 takes place during and celebrates NYC Pride Weekend, and will conclude with a performance-party premiering 

Registered participants will also receive a custom-made t-shirt and mask designed by TRPNYC Visual Makers Hannah Lazarte and Corbin Graves!

Creative Fellow-in-residence with PCC for the 2020/2021 season

.  PCC has supported the generation of a new work through this Fellowship, and this event is the final presentation of Johnnie's Creative Fellowship.

SCHEDULE: Sunday, June 27th, 11am - 2pm 


East Village, Manhattan, NYC 
Specific Location will be assigned upon registration

11:00am~11:30am — Registration/Ice Breaking Activities
11:30am~12:30 pm — Cohorts Chart their Journeys
12:30pm~1:00pm — Grace Period
1:00pm~1:30pm — Community Facilitated Activities; STREET SING A LONG; DANCE JAM & FLASH MOB
1:30pm~1:45pm — The Illustrious Blacks Happening/Performance-Party 
1:45pm~2:00pm — Closing Reflection and Collective Vision

Registration closes at Friday, June 25th at 11:59pm! 

Registration open for an Outdoor Community Future-Making Workshop & Performance Happening on Sunday, June 27th!

Six NYC Teens Share Their Real-Life Stories of 2020 in a new filmed virtual theater work created in partnership with Urban Word NYC and commissioned by New Victory Theater / New 42

 for a preview presentation of our latest

This filmed virtual theater work shares real-life stories of six Black and POC teenagers —bridging reflections on their early lives growing up in New York City with discussions of the significance of the year 2020-2021 —growing up during a global pandemic and renewed calls for racial justice.

We worked with young performers/storytellers to speak to the hardships and hopes of our shape-shifting, tumultuous present. Throughout the creative process, the youth—some of whom were performing in a theatrical work for the first time—collaborated with Sara Zatz and Kirya Traber