Chen Shi-Zheng 陳士爭 born in 1963 in Changsha, Hunan

Hunan

' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...

, 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...

) is a New York-based theater director.

Having earned a BA from the Hunan Art School in Traditional Opera, he received his MA from the Tisch School of Art at New York University. In 2000, Chen was awarded the title Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.

Chen's directorial

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 debut film, Dark Matter

Dark Matter (film)

Dark Matter is the first feature film by opera director Chen Shi-zheng, starring Liu Ye, Aidan Quinn and Meryl Streep. It won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival....

, was released in 2007, starring Liu Ye and Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep

Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...

. This film won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize

Alfred P. Sloan Prize

The Alfred P. Sloan Prize is an award given each year, starting in 2003, to a film at the Sundance Film Festival. The prize is given to a feature film that focuses on science or technology as a theme, or depicts a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character.Each winner is presented...

 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

. He also directed Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...

 and Jamie Hewlett

Jamie Hewlett

Jamie Christopher Hewlett is an English comic book artist and designer. He is known for being the co-creator of the comic Tank Girl and co-creator of the virtual band Gorillaz.-Biography:...

's operatic stage adaptation of Monkey: Journey to the West

Monkey: Journey to the West

Monkey: Journey to the West is a stage adaptation of the 16th Century Chinese novel Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng'en. It was conceived and created by the Chinese actor and director Chen Shi-zheng with the British musician Damon Albarn and British artist Jamie Hewlett.-Development:In 2004,...

at the Manchester International Festival

Manchester International Festival

The Manchester International Festival is an international cultural festival of original new work, held in the English city of Manchester. It is a biennial event, first taking place in June–July 2007, and subsequently recurring in the summers of 2009 and 2011...

 in June–July 2007. In 2008 he directed the premiere production of Stewart Wallace

Stewart Wallace

Stewart Wallace is an American composer and cantor. He has spent much of his career composing experimental operas, from the dance-centered Kabbalah to the surrealist Hopper's Wife...

's opera The Bonesetter's Daughter

The Bonesetter's Daughter (opera)

The Bonesetter's Daughter is an opera in a prologue and two acts by Stewart Wallace to a libretto byAmy Tan based on her novel of the same name...

 at the San Francisco Opera

San Francisco Opera

San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...

.

External links

• Profile at the American Repertory Theater, 22 November 2003.