Desdemona Chiang Explained

Desdemona Chiang
Birth Place:Taipei, Taiwan

Desdemona Chiang is a Taiwan-born American theatre director, and co-artistic director of Azeotrope in Seattle, Washington. Her directing credits include the Guthrie Theater, Alley Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, Playmakers Repertory Company, and ACT Theatre. She directs in a variety of genres, including Shakespeare, new plays, and musicals.

Early life

Chiang was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and immigrated to California in the United States when she was three years old.[1] She attended the University of California, Berkeley to study pre-medicine. She became interested in the theatre after taking an introduction to acting class, and graduated with a double major in Biology and Theatre. In 2009, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre Directing at the University of Washington School of Drama.[2]

Career

In 2010, Chiang co-founded Azeotrope with her graduate school colleague Richard Nguyen Sloniker, to create theatre focused on stories about invisible and marginalized people. Their production, Sound by Don Nguyen, was a bilingual show performed in American Sign Language and spoken English, and featured a mixed ensemble of deaf and hearing actors.[3] Chiang co-directed with Seattle-based deaf actor Howie Seago.[4] [5]

Some of Chiang's productions include a re-imagined The Winter's Tale at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival set in Dynastic China and New World America featuring an Asian American and multicultural cast,[6] As You Like It at California Shakespeare Theater where the forest of Arden is transformed into an urban jungle,[7] and a modern-day setting of The Crucible at PlayMakers Repertory Company.[8] She has also directed at numerous regional theatres across America, including the Alley Theatre in Houston, Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, and South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA.

In 2016, Chiang received the Vilcek Foundation's Award for Creative Promise in Theatre.[9]

Awards and nominations

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Desdemona Chiang: The Lost Generation. The Vilcek Foundation. 2018-07-01.
  2. News: Biology major Chiang, director of 'Smart People' at Long Wharf, won over by arts. New Haven Register. 2018-07-01.
  3. News: Desdemona Chiang's theater directing spans genres and geographies. Somers . Dusty . 2017-10-04. The Seattle Times. 2018-07-01. en-US.
  4. News: She's the Boss - City Arts Magazine. 2016-04-22. City Arts Magazine. 2018-07-01. en-US.
  5. News: Cochlear controversy dramatized in 'Sound'. 2015-09-10. The Seattle Times. 2018-07-01. en-US.
  6. News: 'Winter's Tale' spans continents and emotions. Group. Sinclair Broadcast. Mail Tribune. 2018-07-01. en-US.
  7. News: Cal Shakes' 'As You Like It' Evokes Ghost Ship and Tent Cities. 2017-06-02. KQED. 2018-07-01. en-us.
  8. News: The Crucible at PlayMakers Rep Is Arthur Miller's Cautionary Tale About the Salem Witch Trials' Rush to Judgment Triangle Arts and Entertainment. 2016-10-19. Triangle Arts and Entertainment. 2018-07-01. en-US.
  9. News: Blanka Zizka of Wilma Theater Wins $100,000 Vilcek Prize. Barone. Joshua. ArtsBeat. 4 February 2016 . 2018-07-01. en.
  10. Web site: Drama League . Drama League Fellowship Alumni . 24 March 2021 . February 6, 2022.
  11. Web site: 2019 Award Winners. Princess Grace Foundation-USA. en-US. 2019-11-19.
  12. News: Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Seattle's stars come out for Gregory Awards . October 24, 2016 . Hindsley . Grant . February 6, 2022.
  13. Web site: Gregory Awards . The Gregory Awards . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151202101933/http://www.gregoryawards.org/2015/nominees . December 2, 2015 . February 6, 2022.
  14. Web site: 2017-2018 Fellows . Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation . February 6, 2022 . Past recipients include Chika Ike, Tlaloc Rivas, Tyne Rafaeli, Desdemona Chiang, Elyzabeth Gorman, Saheem Ali, and Susanna Gellert..
  15. News: Gregory Awards honor Seattle theater community . Seattle Post-Intelligencer . October 12, 2020 . February 6, 2022.

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