Alice Tuan
Encyclopedia
Alice Tuan is a U.S. playwright, teacher and performer. Her first works were of an Asian American nature, attempting to make sense of being raised with eastern values while schooled in U.S. thought. The plays following, whether experimental or traditionally non-ethnic, have always attempted to juxtapose and commingle contradiction, and also articulate a female sensibility at the core of the work.
honored her with the Richard E. Sherwood Award in June, while New York’s Downtown Arts Project awarded her the Colbert Award for Excellence that fall. She was also given a New Voices Playwriting Award from East West Players
and awarded a slot at Seattle’s ACT/Hedgebrook Playwriting Festival that year as well.
Two years prior, Tuan was endowed with the NEA
/TCG
Residency Program for Playwrights through Los Angeles’ East West Players (1998–2000) while also given a Playwright in Residence grant through the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs/California Arts Council
at the Los Angeles Theatre Center (1998–1999).
Upon graduating from Brown University
with an MFA in Creative Writing in 1997 (having been endowed with the Binecke Playwright Fellowship from 1995–1997), Tuan was the winner of the Perishable Theater 5th Annual Woman’s Playwriting Festival. She was also awarded the Drama-Logue Award
for Best Play that year for scribing Ikebana, a play telling the relations of a 3-generation Chinese family, each scene having been written based on a Japanese flower arrangement.
The best known of these plays, Ajax (por nobody), had a year run at New York’s Flea Theater and traveled to the Melbourne Fringe Festival
in September 2001. It is also archived in the Billy Rose Collection of the New York Public Library
at Lincoln Center. Thomas E. Jenkins notes ‘Tuan’s Ajax is less a direct adaptation of a Greek tragedy than an exploration of what “tragedy” means in the context of American theatre, and even American social context. Tuan’s clever use of classical allusions and stage techniques, however, roots the play in the most ancient of performance traditions even as it pushes the boundaries of contemporary sensibilities concerning sex and sexuality.’
Last of the Suns, her first play, tells of a Chinese Nationalist army general shriveling away under the harsh California sun as his failed and defecting ice-skating granddaughter comes to visit him on his 100th birthday. It premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
and was later produced by New York's Ma-Yi Theater Company
. Matthew Murray begins his review ‘The world of Alice Tuan's Last of the Suns is one that, as in many great plays, exists somewhere between the real and the fantastic. Real people seem fictional, imaginary creatures are among the most human characters, and absolutely nothing is as it seems at first glance.’
More recent works include the Virtual Hypertext Play Coastline, which traveled to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2005, and BATCH: An American Bachelor/ette Party Spectacle, which was commissioned by the Actors Theatre of Louisville
and had its world premiere at the Humana Festival of New American Plays
in March 2007. In writing about BATCH in The Feminist Spectator, Jill Dolan states: "Alice Tuan’s plays stretch the proprieties of American morality. She stares in the face of all our taboos and preconceptions, and insists that we take a very close look along with her, staging a gaze so intense that everything we thought we knew begins to melt from its heat."
at the University of Texas, Austin, and the California Institute of the Arts
. Before becoming a playwright, Tuan taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in China
and Los Angeles
.
She is currently the Head of Writing for Performance at Cal Arts.
Awards
In the year 2000, Los Angeles’ Mark Taper ForumMark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
honored her with the Richard E. Sherwood Award in June, while New York’s Downtown Arts Project awarded her the Colbert Award for Excellence that fall. She was also given a New Voices Playwriting Award from East West Players
East West Players
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As one of the nation's first Asian American theatre organizations, East West Players today continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American...
and awarded a slot at Seattle’s ACT/Hedgebrook Playwriting Festival that year as well.
Two years prior, Tuan was endowed with the NEA
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
/TCG
TCG
TCG may stand for:* Geocentric Coordinate Time* Test Call Generator, piece of equipment used for testing in the telecommunications industry* TCG , the official debut studio album released in 2007 by The Cheetah Girls...
Residency Program for Playwrights through Los Angeles’ East West Players (1998–2000) while also given a Playwright in Residence grant through the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs/California Arts Council
California Arts Council
The California Arts Council is a state agency based in Sacramento. Its eleven council members are appointed by the Governor and the state Legislature...
at the Los Angeles Theatre Center (1998–1999).
Upon graduating from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
with an MFA in Creative Writing in 1997 (having been endowed with the Binecke Playwright Fellowship from 1995–1997), Tuan was the winner of the Perishable Theater 5th Annual Woman’s Playwriting Festival. She was also awarded the Drama-Logue Award
Drama-Logue Award
The Drama-Logue Award was a theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would receive a certificate at an annual awards ceremony...
for Best Play that year for scribing Ikebana, a play telling the relations of a 3-generation Chinese family, each scene having been written based on a Japanese flower arrangement.
Plays
Tuan has had over a dozen works produced, including Last of the Suns, Ajax (por nobody), Coastline, The Roaring Girle, and BATCH, one-act plays Some Asians and Manilova, 9 short plays and a self-scribed hypertext performance as part of En Garde Arts’ final production, the site specific Secret History of the Lower East Side.The best known of these plays, Ajax (por nobody), had a year run at New York’s Flea Theater and traveled to the Melbourne Fringe Festival
Melbourne Fringe Festival
The Melbourne Fringe Festival is an annual independent arts festival held in Melbourne, Australia. The Festival runs for three weeks from late September to early October, usually overlapping with the beginning of the Melbourne International Arts Festival...
in September 2001. It is also archived in the Billy Rose Collection of the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
at Lincoln Center. Thomas E. Jenkins notes ‘Tuan’s Ajax is less a direct adaptation of a Greek tragedy than an exploration of what “tragedy” means in the context of American theatre, and even American social context. Tuan’s clever use of classical allusions and stage techniques, however, roots the play in the most ancient of performance traditions even as it pushes the boundaries of contemporary sensibilities concerning sex and sexuality.’
Last of the Suns, her first play, tells of a Chinese Nationalist army general shriveling away under the harsh California sun as his failed and defecting ice-skating granddaughter comes to visit him on his 100th birthday. It premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1968, as the East Bay’s first resident professional theatre. Michael Leibert was the founding artistic director, who was then succeeded by Sharon Ott in 1984. The company runs seven...
and was later produced by New York's Ma-Yi Theater Company
Ma-Yi Theater Company
Ma-Yi Theater Company is a professional, not-for-profit, Obie Award and Drama Desk Award winning theater company based in New York City that was founded in 1989. Ma-Yi Theater is headed by Executive Director Jorge Ortoll and Artistic Director Ralph Peña...
. Matthew Murray begins his review ‘The world of Alice Tuan's Last of the Suns is one that, as in many great plays, exists somewhere between the real and the fantastic. Real people seem fictional, imaginary creatures are among the most human characters, and absolutely nothing is as it seems at first glance.’
More recent works include the Virtual Hypertext Play Coastline, which traveled to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2005, and BATCH: An American Bachelor/ette Party Spectacle, which was commissioned by the Actors Theatre of Louisville
Actors Theatre of Louisville
Actors Theatre of Louisville is a performing arts theater located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1964 by Louisville native Ewel Cornett, local producer Richard Block and actor Ken Jenkins of Scrubs fame, and was designated the "State Theater of Kentucky" in 1974. It is run as a...
and had its world premiere at the Humana Festival of New American Plays
Humana Festival of New American Plays
Humana Festival of New American Plays is an internationally renowned festival that celebrates the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in Louisville, Kentucky by Actors Theatre of Louisville, this prestigious event showcases new theatrical works and draws producers, critics,...
in March 2007. In writing about BATCH in The Feminist Spectator, Jill Dolan states: "Alice Tuan’s plays stretch the proprieties of American morality. She stares in the face of all our taboos and preconceptions, and insists that we take a very close look along with her, staging a gaze so intense that everything we thought we knew begins to melt from its heat."
Teaching
Tuan has facilitated playwright workshops at all levels throughout the United States, including MFA candidates at both the Michener Center for WritersMichener Center for Writers
The Michener Center for Writers is an interdisciplinary Masters of Fine Arts program in fiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin.-History:...
at the University of Texas, Austin, and the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
. Before becoming a playwright, Tuan taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
She is currently the Head of Writing for Performance at Cal Arts.