BOSTON, MA — CHUANG Stage and TC2 Theatre Company are thrilled to announce their co-produced workshop production of The Fortune Teller, a new play written by Christina R. Chan. Directed by Kai Chao and associate directed by Alison Qu, The Fortune Teller weaves a compelling narrative that spans several generations of a Chinese family, from roots in 1800s China to the contemporary Chinese adoptee experiences in America. Inspired by the real history of early Chinese immigrants whose final resting place lies in Mt Hope Cemetery in Mattapan, The Fortune Teller explores the trials and triumphs of Chinese immigrants and their descendants. The workshop production will take place at Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Black Box Theatre, performing Saturday, October 28th thru Saturday, November 4th, 2023. This will be the first production that CHUANG Stage will present as part of their multi-year Launchpad Residency at Boston Center for the Arts (BCA).
The Fortune Teller takes audiences on a journey through time, offering a glimpse into the lives, dreams, and struggles of an adoptive family of a Chinese daughter, as they search for destiny and each other connected by heritage and blood. This poignant and deeply moving play explores themes of legacy that are uniquely Chinese American and the spirit of resilience that binds generations together.
"We are thrilled to kick off our 23-24 season with The Fortune Teller and share this powerful story with Boston," said Alison Yueming Qu, Executive Director of CHUANG Stage. "This play is a testament to the strength and crucial presence of the Chinese immigrant community and their enduring legacy in America. We are here to embrace community dialogues and bring justice to the underrepresented history of Chinese American legacy in Boston and beyond."
“The Fortune Teller is the result of a five-year journey within TC2 Theatre Company's Play Lab, where the play received several readings and benefited from the generous feedback of our artists and audiences," says Rosalind Thomas-Clark, Artistic Director of TC2 Theatre Company. "TC Squared is delighted to have the opportunity for this collaboration with CHUANG Stage. The Chinese history that is revealed is important and powerful."
"The inspiration for The Fortune Teller was based on the origin story of the founding of the Chinese Historical Society of New England in Boston," shares playwright Christina R. Chan. "The former managing director of CHSNE told me about the dilapidated and neglected gravesites of the early Chinese immigrant men in Boston at Mt Hope Cemetery. What stories were buried with these men if they have no family to take care of their graves?"
"We are overjoyed to have Chuang Stage as our current Launchpad Resident," said Michaila owie, Associate Director of Theatre Arts of BCA. "They are bringing much needed diversity to the New England theatre community by centering AAPI artists and their voices through innovative, bilingual productions that contribute to language access. With their dedication to centering the AAPI experience, they are advancing often overlooked voices throughout Boston's local community, surrounding partners, and more widely on a national scale. We are fortunate to be able to focus resources towards a theatre company who we believe in."
The Fortune Teller will undergo an extensive workshop development process, featuring a month-long rehearsal period and multi-day workshop production performances paired with community engagement opportunities and post-show conversations, including a special gathering dedicated to welcoming Asian American adoptee teens and families in the Greater Boston area.
The presentations will be free and open to the public with optional donation, inviting audiences to join in the conversation and share their own experiences. The play will serve as a focal point for the local Asian American and Boston Chinatown community, providing a hub for dialogue and reflection on the shared history and experiences of the Chinese immigrant community in America.
The Fortune Teller, written by Christina R. Chan. Directed by Kai Chao; associate directed by Alison Qu. Co-produced by CHUANG Stage and TC2 Theatre Company. Venue: Boston Center for the Arts, Plaza Black Box Theatre, 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116. For more information, please visit www.chuangstage.org.
About TC Squared Theatre Company
TC Squared offers a platform for writers to develop scripts from inception to completion through weekly workshops with PlayLab, Directors Lab, and collaborative readings before diverse audiences. Playwrights are encouraged to push artistic boundaries and to challenge important, controversial issues in service to their authentic voice. For more information, please visit tc2theatre.org.
About CHUANG Stage
Founded in 2018, CHUANG Stage is Boston’s translingual Asian American theatre company; its mission is to cultivate joyful and challenging pan-Asian stories that pioneer a new activism in the arts. CHUANG Stage envisions a future in the American theatre moved forward by theatre artists and audiences of Asian descent through innovative productions that focus on the diverse language needs of the pan-Asian immigrant community. CHUANG Stage is the Launchpad Resident of Boston Center for the Arts. For more information, please visit chuangstage.org.
About BCA Launchpad Residency
The BCA Launchpad Residency supports the artistic and organizational growth of an emerging Boston-area performing arts company — a theatre, dance, or music company or ensemble. This multi-year residency provides resources to further develop artistic excellence, organizational growth, and audience engagement. We invite taking artistic risks, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary creativity, and challenging, provoking, and moving audiences.
About Boston Center for the Arts
Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) supports working artists to create, perform, and exhibit new works; develops new audiences; and connects the arts to community, and has for over five decades engaged the creative community for public good. While the organization’s physical residence is in the historic South End, BCA touches every part of Boston’s cultural ecosystem. A leading force in the city’s cultural community, BCA has supported thousands of individual artists, small organizations, and performing arts companies, who add depth and dimension to the Boston arts ethos. Through residencies and programming, BCA serves as an epicenter for an expanding cohort of artists working across all disciplines, and has catalyzed careers by providing fertile ground for experimentation and artistic risk-taking. To learn more about Boston Center for the Arts, visit bostonarts.org.
