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Past Production

You For Me For You

By Mia Chung
Directed by M. Graham Smith
Mar 9–Apr 1
Bay Area Premiere
Venue: The Thick House

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Details

Mia Chung

As they attempt to flee the Best Nation in the World, North Korean sisters Minhee and Junhee are torn apart at the border.  Each must race across time and space to be together again—navigating the perilous Land of the Free and the treacherous terrain of personal belief.

http://www.theaterdogs.net/2017/03/14/sisters-paths-diverge-in-crowded-fires-you-for-me-for-you/http://www.sfchronicle.com/performance/article/You-for-Me-for-You-wrings-truth-from-11001465.php#photo-12514836

 

FeaturingJulian Green, Kathryn Han, Grace Ng, Elissa Beth Stebbins, Jomar Tagatac
Assistant Director: May Liang
Dramaturg: 
Sarah Rose Leonard
Scenic Design:
  Maya Linke
Costume Design:
 Michelle Mulholland
Lighting Design: David K H Elliott
Sound Design: James Ard
Props Design: Devon LaBelle★
Fight Director: Carla Pantoja
Dialect Coach: Lynne Soffer
Stage Manager:
 Adeline Smith★
Assistant Stage Manager: Benjamin Shiu
Production Manager: Stephanie Alyson Henderson★

★ Crowded Fire Resident Artist
◼ Member of Actors’ Equity Association

Reviews

Hailed by The Washingtonian as “…(a) magical universe…a dizzying, sometimes surreal tale…endlessly creative…” in it’s world premiere production at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington D.C.

“You for Me for You is a rich, imaginative exploration of the refugee experience from two very different points of view…. The humor and the wonderland-ish tone keep the play buoyant, but a grim sense of sacrifice, pain and dissociation looms to keep a fantastical telling grounded in reality.” – Chad Jones, Theater Dogs

“…this mysterious, beguiling Bay Area premiere offers myriad rewards.” -Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle

“With this thrilling and provocative production Crowded Fire Theater continues to build on its solid legacy of fearlessly producing new works that not only challenge their audience, but can make people laugh, squirm, and cry.” – George Heymount, Huffington Post

“You for Me for You takes us to unexpected places and introduces surprising notions. That makes it worth a trip to Portrero Stage to pass through Mia Chung’s strange borders.” -Kim Waldron, Theatrius

“You for Me for You certainly leaves with renewed impressions of the would-be and actual immigrant experience from countries much different in culture, safety, and independence than ours.  And in this day and time, that in itself is certainly a major accomplishment and a key reason to see Mia Chung’s freewheeling, often puzzling, but always intriguing play.” – Eddie Reynolds, Theatre Eddys

Photos

In her attempt to cross the North Korean border, Minhee (Kathryn Han) finds herself on a mystical journey of memory where even the trees have ears. Along the way she encounters various characters played by Jomar Tagatac.

Photo by Pak Han

Junhee (Grace Ng) is a North Korean refugee navigating New York City and her desire to reunite with her sister lost at the border. Elissa Beth Stebbins portrays a series of American women in Junhee’s life.

Photo by Pak Han

In a world turned upside down, bears (Julian Green) and frogs roam free, and a peculiar government official (Jomar Tagatac) may or may not be the key to Minhee’s (Kathryn Han) search for her son.

Photo by Pak Han

Time is not on their side as Junhee (Grace Ng) and the Man from the South (Julian Green) chase the American Dream.

Photo by Pak Han

Funders

Production Sponsors: Jason Marks & Pepi Ross, Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro

Project Support: Dramatists Guild Fund, The Bernard Osher Foundation

2017 Season Producers: Dugan MooreKarena Fiorenza Ingersoll & Emrys Ingersoll, G. Tiphane

General Operating Support: The Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Grants for the Arts/Hotel Tax Fund