Falling for Iggy Woo

A Conversation Between  
Director Rena Heinrich & Dramaturg Marie-Reine Velez

MARIE: Rena, thank you so much for being a part of this process for Alice Tuan’s Iggy Woo as the director for this reading. Before we started rehearsals for the Iggy Woo reading, what were you most looking forward to exploring in this process?

RENA: I was really looking forward to working with Alice. I knew of Alice's work but had never formally met her nor worked with her before. Then I read the play and loved it. Iggy Woo has a specific rhythm and tone, and I was looking forward to exploring this in a rehearsal process, to seeing and hearing it filtered through live bodies and seeing what that looked like. 

MARIE: Have there been any discoveries during rehearsal that have surprised you so far?

RENA: Alice leaves no stone unturned. Everything in the narrative is literally or metaphorically connected to something else. It's beautiful, gorgeous writing. She's written three movements (or acts)  inspired by No Doubt songs. At one point, I realized that there are No Doubt references sprinkled in the dialogue, and I had to smile. The play is like Alice. Playful and wickedly intelligent.

MARIE: I fully agree. There’s a specificity in the characters’ speech patterns and word choice that affects how the story moves forward--it constantly amazes me when those moments are revealed in rehearsal. What makes Iggy Woo stand out to you?

RENA: Iggy Woo is a bit Beckett meets Ionesco meets No Doubt. It has an absurdist, otherworldly quality that's grounded in a very real, modern day Los Angeles. It's about cravings and creativity amidst consumerism. But, at the end of the day, it's also a sweet love story about simply looking for that one person who gets you. Marie, I'm curious as to what drew you to the play? 

MARIE: As you mentioned, the play has a specific rhythm and tone--and I immediately fell in love with the language of the play, the exploration of the smoke break, the endless possibilities of the smoke break conversation and the bonds that form because of the five or ten minutes that smoke breakers give themselves throughout the day. Those five-to-ten minutes can be casual, intimate, cathartic, what have you; Alice really goes there. And that was my reaction to just the first movement! Her writing has a way of taking you on a journey of so many feels, laughs, surprises and revelations.

RENA: How did Artists at Play decide to pick Iggy for this event?

MARIE: We’re all very interested in Alice’s work, her voice is so strong and the play has a great sense of humor--witty, sarcastic and a little offbeat. We find ourselves more drawn to Asian American theatrical narratives that go beyond the identity crises on just an ethnic/cultural level, but who we are as humans living in today’s world. Factors like consumerism, pop culture, sexuality and social awkwardness are just as apparent as cultural identity is in our lives. What I find so funny is that some of the first notes Alice got when this play was shopped around was that it wasn’t “Asian American” enough, and I have three reactions to that: 

1. yeah, sort of
2. no, not really
3. that’s BS 

I mean, what does that matter? Who's to say what's "Asian American"? Like other theatres and organizations, all of us with Artists at Play want to support new plays, and Iggy is a great fit with our sensibilities while also pushing the envelope on what theatre can explore. I can keep going, but we can continue this conversation at the readings on Sunday, either at the Q&A session after Iggy Woo, or at dinner before the reading of Three Steps Back by Peter J. Kuo!

Iggy Woo by Alice Tuan will be presented as part of Artists at Play’s reading series on Sunday, March 24th. Get your meal tickets now for dinner and hosted bar!

Photos: (1) Alice Tuan and Rena Heinrich in rehearsal; (2) Carla Vega, Justin Huen and Brittany Lau in rehearsal. Photos by Marie-Reine Velez.

Artists at Play Readings: Meet the Casts

Actors Bring Readings to Life

Meet the two casts of the Artists at Play Readings, performing in less than two weeks! Get your tickets now.

Iggy Woo Cast

The cast of Alice Tuan's Iggy Woo: 
Lucas Alifano is an MFA graduate from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and recently appeared in the premiere of Right Together, Left Together at GTC Burbank. Justin Huen has appeared on Dexter and in the world premiere of Farragut North at the Geffen Playhouse. Brittany Lau is a current BFA Acting student the CalArts where she appeared in the world premiere of My Barbarian. 

Three Steps Back Cast

The cast of Peter J. Kuo's Three Steps Back: 
Daniel Blinkoff recently appeared in a production of Macbeth with The Antaeus Company. Kendra Chell recently appeared in Theatre Movement Bazaar's Track 3, part of South Coast Repertory's Studio SCR. Julia Cho is a co-founder of Artists at Play and appears as Charlotte Lu in the webseries The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Tamlyn Tomita is a screen actress best known for her performances in The Joy Luck Club and Karate Kid II. Greg Watanabe recently finished a run of David Henry Hwang's Golden Child at Signature Theatre in New York. Crystal Woolard appeared on Mad Men and can be found on the cover of the show's Season 1 DVD.

An All-day Pass for $18 includes access to pre-show snacks, dinner, hosted bar. A $13 Dinner Pass includes access to dinner, hosted bar. Admission to readings are complimentary. (At the door prices will go up $5.)

Purchase your tickets now!

Enter the World of Alice Tuan’s Iggy Woo and the New Wave of Asian American Plays

by Alice Tuan

When I wrote Iggy Woo back in 2002, I was pretty sick of the usual Asian-American themes—alienation, immigration, cultural misunderstanding, historical injustice, cute foods, perpetual becoming—yes of course, that’s part of the experience, but what about the Asiatics who have been in the U.S., shop in malls, smoke cigarettes, are addicted to sugar and fall in love with people who don’t love them back?  It’s better now with the 4th wave of Asian-American playwrights—Lauren Yee, A. Rey Pamatmat, Michael Lew, Mia Chung, Michael Golamco and bunches of others—but back then, in the early naughts, I wanted to write just regular folks who happen to be of Asian descent.

Iggy Woo is described as “a play about unrequited love, quitting smoking and creating amidst consumption.” How did you see these coming together, and what were your inspirations?
 
Yeah, I was trying to quit smoking.  And quit a guy.  And yeah, I grew up in the Valley.  Where the true cathedral is the mall.  And yeah am obsessed with gift wrapping.  And ate pho, like, every day.

Jimmy Choo designs shoes.  Iggy Pop is punky cool.   What if there were two mall workers who snuck cigarettes and created new designs on their break?

I gave myself the challenge of writing 8 pages a day for 9 days.  Would not get out of bed until I knew what the first 2 pages were.  Day 7 was killer—just so tired and bleary but wanted to get through. That’s when I went and sat in Macy’s gift wrap to inspire the last 3 scenes, and what a shot of metaphor for American consumption it was, down to beautiful, empty boxes and 15 second samples of Christmas favorites, the tease of sentimentality.

When my agent first sent the play around, someone said it wasn’t ‘Asian’ enough.  Ugh.  Are Asiatics forever gonna be unfun melodrama?  I say let’s have some mad joy and tear up all the pretty boxes to find that one cig during a furious nic fit.


Iggy Woo by Alice Tuan will be presented as part of Artists at Play's reading series day on Sunday, March 24th.  Get your meal tickets now!

Artist at Play Readings

Two Plays, One Day

Artists at Play announces a day of two play readings
Alice Tuan's Iggy Woo
and
Peter J. Kuo's Three Steps Back

As part of our mission to present stories of underrepresented communities, Artists at Play is developing and showcasing two new works by Los Angeles-based writers.

When Artists at Play first came together, we knew we wanted to develop writers whose works we believe have great potential. This reading series serves as an opportunity to showcase these plays to the Los Angeles community. As a local theatre collective, we believe L.A. audiences deserve L.A. writers, and L.A. writers deserve an L.A. audience.

Artists from Los Angeles have unique voices that celebrate all the complexities that our city and its people have to offer. This is why we find these plays so dynamic, and we will feature work that intrigues and excites us.

The readings will be presented on Sunday, March 24th, at the Women's Club of South Pasadena. Iggy Woo will be presented at 3:30 p.m., and Three Steps Back at 6:30 p.m.

Each reading will be followed by a talkback, and a dinner reception with hosted bar will be served between the two readings.

Iggy Woo by Alice Tuan
Kiki loves Iggy. Iggy loves Julie the Cookie Girl. A play about unrequited love, quitting smoking and creating amidst consumption.

Three Steps Back by Peter J. Kuo
Richard attempts to leave his crazed wife with his lover and hyper-diabetic daughter, but fate has other plans. A three-part dark comedy from different perspectives.

An All-Day Pass for $18 includes access to pre-show snacks, dinner and hosted bar. A $13 Dinner Pass includes access to dinner and hosted bar. All readings are complimentary. (At the door prices will go up $5.)

Get your discounted tickets now!