Directed by BIBIANNA TORRES
written BY esmé maria ng
produced BY EMMA LAI
PART OF THE 2025 MOXIE INCUBATOR
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CREATIVE TEAM
Lighting Designer ari kim
projection and Sound Designer MAX VAN
illustrator MAy wang
assistant sound designer molly litvin
Stage Manager max raymond
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CAST
May sagAn chEn
April kelly marie tran
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SUMMARY
i know why iris chang died is a tragicomic play told from the perspective of May - a trans masculine Chinese-American graphic artist. In the wake the Atlanta Spa Shootings, May prepares to publish their debut graphic novel, a recounting of their family’s experience during the Rape of Nanking. As May hyper focuses on the past, their twin sister puts her attention into conceiving a baby through IVF. This heartfelt, dark, and deeply funny two-hander takes a look at legacy, family, suicide, genocide, and healing from generational trauma.
More info HERE
SYSTEM SETUP & DESIGN CONCEPT
Moxie Arts Incubator is an accelerated development program for new, unproduced works and aligns with Moxie’s mission of engaging audiences with stories centering women, created by artists of historically excluded genders! Each production has roughly one week to rehearse, a few days for tech/run, and a 4 performance-run.
Esmé's play i know why iris chang died revolves around May, a graphic designer who, like many artists, dug so deep in research that the line between the realities blurred. The projection design at first started within the bounds of the whiteboard and the backdrop on stage. As May progressively becomes more enrapt in the research, the bounds expand and bleed onto the back walls and onto May themselves. Similarly, the illustrator May Wang drew the first few frames also within the comic box and bounds; later on, the lines are no longer ruled by the box and gutters. Esmé had also written in interludes that guided this character progression.
One of the most exciting scenes to build is when May was pacing back and forth, telling the audience about having to redo and scan new pages. For that moment, I built a scanner effect on the backdrop that May walks into – all in all, representing parts of them that are scanned in those drawings.
The world of May has textures and sounds sharp. Later on, the lead narrator is April, the twin sister, and her world is in the darkness of grief over their sibling. But her world always has a softness that touches May with every visit and call.
Should I have a next time working with the incubator, I would allow the amount of time ahead of tech to tech and pre-program in the space. I'd find more moments, like the scanner, to add an abstract and sculptural stage image.
SOUND DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS
FOR A BETTER EXPERIENCE, LISTEN WITH HEADPHONES*
CLEANING INTERLUDE | April cleaning up May's apartment
I wrote this piece to underscore and create a sentimental build, as April cleans and finds May's item scattered throughout, until she found on the shelf a can of corn – an item that May famously dislike.
PERFORMANCE PHOTOS
PHOTOS BY MCKENNA CHRISTINE POE
