Kitty Chen
Encyclopedia
Kitty Mei-Mei Chen is a playwright and actress and the author of five full-length plays and numerous short plays and children's stories. She received the 1992-93 NEA
Fellowship in Playwriting.
in Providence, R.I., she came to New York City
to study at the Martha Graham
School as a scholarship student, acted professionally for many years before becoming a playwright. She resides in New York City.
in Los Angeles
, was workshopped at Playwright's Theatre of New Jersey, and subsequently was co-produced at Westside Theatre
by Women's Project and Pan Asian Repertory. Blending the absurd and playful with the dark and painful, the play examines the effects of divorce on a Chinese-American family. "Ms. Chen's dramatic imagination is obviously unusual. More important, it is always unpredictable," writes The New York Times. It was also produced in Hawaii at Kumu Kahua Theater.
Rowing to America has been published in two anthologies under the same title, ROWING TO AMERICA AND OTHER SHORT PLAYS. The first, commissioned by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, is a group of one-act plays about the immigrant experience. "After you see these nine short plays about immigration, you'd have to have a heart of industrial-strength plastic not to be grateful that your ancestors took the plunge." Newark Star Ledger. The second is a compilation of short plays from the first playwrights lab at the Women's Project. The play also appears online: http://berkshirereview.net/theater/kmcrowing.html. Short work samples at http://www.nyfa.org/nyfa_artists_detail.asp?pid=2722
"Rosa Loses Her Face" was a Winter 2009 co-production of Queens Theatre in the Park, NY, and Electric Theatre Company, Scranton, Pa. It had been produced in an earlier version by Luna Stage, Montclair, NJ, in 1997.
Chen made her movie debut in ‘’Static’’ in 1986. Since then, she has appeared mainly on television, with featured roles in two daytime dramas ‘’All My Children
’’ and ‘’As the World Turns
.’’ She is a frequent guest on ‘’Law & Order
,’’ produced by her fellow Brown University
graduate, Jeffrey L. Hayes, and ‘’Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
.’’
Fellowship in Playwriting in 1992. She has received two fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts
, Edward Albee
Foundation, and Blue Mountain Center, and Urban Stages Emerging Playwright Award, among others.
Rosa Loses Her Face (2009)
Blessings of Chairman Moo (2003)
Rowing to America: The Immigrant Project (1999)
"I See My Bones"(1997)
Eating Chicken Feet (1995)
Numerous short plays.
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...
Fellowship in Playwriting.
Personal
Chen was born in Shanghai, China, and raised in Philadelphia, PA. After receiving a BA in mathematics from Pembroke College (Brown University)Pembroke College (Brown University)
Pembroke College in Brown University was the coordinate women's college for Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1891 and closed in 1971.-Founding and early history:...
in Providence, R.I., she came to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to study at the Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
School as a scholarship student, acted professionally for many years before becoming a playwright. She resides in New York City.
Writing
Chen’s received an NEA playwriting fellowship for her first play, Eating Chicken Feet. It had a first public reading at East West PlayersEast 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...
in 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...
, was workshopped at Playwright's Theatre of New Jersey, and subsequently was co-produced at Westside Theatre
Westside Theatre
__notoc__The Westside Theatre is an off-Broadway venue located at 407 West 43rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The building houses two auditoriums: the Upstairs theater, which seats 299, and the Downstairs theater, which...
by Women's Project and Pan Asian Repertory. Blending the absurd and playful with the dark and painful, the play examines the effects of divorce on a Chinese-American family. "Ms. Chen's dramatic imagination is obviously unusual. More important, it is always unpredictable," writes The New York Times. It was also produced in Hawaii at Kumu Kahua Theater.
Rowing to America has been published in two anthologies under the same title, ROWING TO AMERICA AND OTHER SHORT PLAYS. The first, commissioned by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, is a group of one-act plays about the immigrant experience. "After you see these nine short plays about immigration, you'd have to have a heart of industrial-strength plastic not to be grateful that your ancestors took the plunge." Newark Star Ledger. The second is a compilation of short plays from the first playwrights lab at the Women's Project. The play also appears online: http://berkshirereview.net/theater/kmcrowing.html. Short work samples at http://www.nyfa.org/nyfa_artists_detail.asp?pid=2722
"Rosa Loses Her Face" was a Winter 2009 co-production of Queens Theatre in the Park, NY, and Electric Theatre Company, Scranton, Pa. It had been produced in an earlier version by Luna Stage, Montclair, NJ, in 1997.
Acting
An actor since 1973, she appeared on the legitimate stage in leading roles in four early Pan Asian productions and many other plays. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild, Women's Project Playwrights Lab, and the three actors unions.Chen made her movie debut in ‘’Static’’ in 1986. Since then, she has appeared mainly on television, with featured roles in two daytime dramas ‘’All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
’’ and ‘’As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
.’’ She is a frequent guest on ‘’Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
,’’ produced by her fellow 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 ,...
graduate, Jeffrey L. Hayes, and ‘’Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
.’’
Awards
Chen received a National Endowment for the ArtsNational 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...
Fellowship in Playwriting in 1992. She has received two fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts
New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts was created in conjunction the in 1971. The organization gives grants to individual artists and writers and developing arts organizations with a mission to '.'-NYFA's Programs:...
, Edward Albee
Edward Albee
Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
Foundation, and Blue Mountain Center, and Urban Stages Emerging Playwright Award, among others.
Plays
Missus Mustard (in progress)Rosa Loses Her Face (2009)
Blessings of Chairman Moo (2003)
Rowing to America: The Immigrant Project (1999)
"I See My Bones"(1997)
Eating Chicken Feet (1995)
Numerous short plays.