NEW YORK CITY: Yangtze Repertory Theatre has named Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin and David Lee Huynh their newest Project YZ residents. The residency for Asian American and Pacific Islander artists will award each $10,000.
“With an acute awareness of what is missing in American mainstream theatre, Yangtze Rep is uniquely positioned to support resident artists embarking on their artistic journeys,” artistic director Chongren Fan said in a statement. “We are so glad that Kaela and David will be joining Project YZ’s ever-growing cohort of artists.”
Garvin will use their residency to develop Chinatown Burlesque, an experimental full-length work centering San Francisco’s Chinatown clubs in the 1950s-60s. Their play Call Out Culture was a 2022 finalist for the National Playwrights Conference and played Ars Nova’s ANT Fest in 2019. They have developed work with Alliance Theatre, Gingold Theatrical Group, the Road Theatre Company, the Coop, PlayGround-NY, and Pipeline Theatre Company, among others. They have also been commissioned by the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Sloan Project, Montana Repertory Theatre, and Luna Stage, where they serve as literary manager. Garvin is the curator of the Tank’s Pridefest and a founding member of Undiscovered Countries, an interdisciplinary art incubator in Brooklyn. They are also a play selection advisor at the Playwrights Foundation and have taught playwriting at Cornish College of the Arts and Indiana University.
Huynh is a first-generation Việt American artist who will use his residency to create a one-person show exploring the effects of French colonialism on his maternal family. Huynh’s Off-Broadway credits include work with the National Asian American Theatre Company, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Theatre for a New Audience, and Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. He has been featured in multiple film and television projects and has also worked as a voiceover artist and audiobook narrator. Huynh is a founding member of the Sống Collective, which is dedicated to the artistic growth of the Việt diaspora in the United States. He holds an MFA from the University of Houston.
Yangtze Repertory Theatre has been producing and presenting theatrical works for over 30 years. The company celebrates artists who are global citizens and provides a way for audiences to see the world through a contemporary Chinese lens. As of 2022, the theatre had a budget of approximately $139,700.
