The World Premiere of The Chinese Lady, starring Shannon Tyo (BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter) as “Afong Moy” and Daniel K. Isaac (“Billions”) as “Atung,” is currently playing a limited engagement on the St. Germain Stage, Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201.
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo in THE CHINESE LADY. Photo by Eloy Garcia.
Written by Lloyd Suh (Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery), directed by Ralph Peña (Microcrisis, Ma-Yi Theater Company), and presented in a co-production between Barrington Stage Company (BSC) and Ma-Yi Theater Company, performances will run through Saturday, August 11.
Shannon Tyo in THE CHINESE LADY. Photo by Eloy Garcia
In 1834, Afong Moy is brought to the United States from Beijing and put on display for the American public as the “Chinese Lady.” Over the next 45 years, she performs in a side show that both defines and challenges her own view of herself. Inspired by the true story of America’s first female Chinese immigrant, playwright Lloyd Suh spins a tale of dark poetic whimsy in this piercing portrait of America as seen through the eyes of a young Chinese woman.
Shannon Tyo in THE CHINESE LADY. Photo by Eloy GarciaShannon Tyo in THE CHINESE LADY. Photo by Eloy Garcia
Daniel K. Isaac (Atung) is an actor and writer born and raised in Southern California, currently based in New York City. You can currently see him on the small screen as ‘Ben Kim’ in Showtime’s “Billions.”
Daniel K. Isaac in THE CHINESE LADY. Photo by Eloy Garcia.
Isaac co-wrote and stars in the short film/pilot presentation, “According To My Mother.” The project was selected for IFP Film Week and the inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab and was an Official Selection at ITVFest, Newfest, Outfest Fusion, Outfest, CAAMfest, SeriesFest (where it was awarded Best Actress), and New York Television Festival (Best Drama and Best Actor). “According To My Mother” is currently in development to become a digital series on First Look Media’s new platform, TOPIC. Isaac is a member of Page 73’s 2018 Interstate 73 Writers Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Youngblood, and a Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow. Training: UCSD, BADA.www.AccordingToMyMother.com
He recently appeared as William Inge in the Off-Broadway production of Philip Dawkin’s The Gentleman Caller, produced by Abingdon Theatre at The Cherry Lane. Select NYC: Sagittarius Ponderosa (NAATCO), Underland (59E59), La Divina Caricatura (La MaMa, Under the Radar & St. Ann’s Warehouse), Anna Nicole the Opera (BAM). Select Regional: The Ballad of Little Jo (Two River Theater), Miss Electricity (La Jolla Playhouse). Film/TV: MONEY MONSTER (dir. Jodie Foster), “The Jim Gaffigan Show” (TV LAND), “Search Party” (TBS), “Crashing” (HBO), “The Following” (FOX), “Person of Interest” (CBS), “Believe” (NBC, pilot), TOO BIG TO FAIL (HBO). www.DanielKIsaac.com
Shannon Tyo in THE CHINESE LADY. Photo by Eloy Garcia
Shannon Tyo (Afong Moy) Off-Broadway credits include Kentucky, Bikeman: A 9/11 Play, Dear Edwina. Favorite regional credits include The White Snake at the Old Globe, San Diego; Miss Saigon at the Pioneer Theatre Co, Music Theatre of Wichita and Cape Fear Regional; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Northern Stage, Tuacahn PAC and Pioneer Theatre Co.; and Broadway Bounty Hunter at Barrington Stage. BFA Syracuse University.
Set and Costumes designed by Junghyun Georgia Lee. Lighting design by Oliver Wason. Sound design by Fabian Obispo. Production Stage Manager is Geoff Boronda.
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo in THE CHINESE LADY. Photo by Eloy Garcia.
Playwright Lloyd Suh is the author of Charles Francis Chan Jr’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, American Hwangap, The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go!, Jesus in India, Great Wall Story, and others, produced with Ma-Yi, Magic Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Play Company, La Mama, Denver Center Theatre Company, ArtsEmerson, The Guthrie Theatre with Mu Performing Arts, East West Players, and internationally at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila, and with PCPA in Seoul, Korea. He has received support from the NEA Arena Stage New Play Development program, the Andrew W. Mellon Launching New Plays Into the Repertoire initiative via the Lark, NYFA, NYSCA, Jerome Foundation, TCG, and Dramatists Guild, and has been a recipient of the Roe Green Award from Cleveland Playhouse, the Lilah Kan Red Socks Award, and the Helen Merrill Award. His plays have been published by Samuel French, Playscripts, Smith & Kraus, Duke University Press and American Theater magazine. He is an alum of Youngblood and the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and from 2005-2010 served as Artistic Director of Second Generation and Co-Director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab. He currently serves on the Dramatists Guild Council and has since 2011 served as Director of Artistic Programs at The Lark.
Lloyd Suh, Ralph B. Peña, Shannon Tyo and Daniel K. Isaac on the set of THE CHINESE LADY.
Director Ralph B. Peña is the current Artistic Director of Ma-Yi Theater Company. Recent directing credits include Among the Dead, House Rules (Ma-Yi) The Orphan of Zhao (Fordham Theatre), Macho Dancer: A Musical (Cultural Center of the Philippines), Livin’ La Vida Imelda (Ma-Yi), Lloyd Suh’s The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra GO! (Cultural Center of the Philippines, Children’s Theater Co. and Ma-Yi, Off Broadway Alliance Award), Julia Specht’s Down Cleghorn, Joshua Conkel’s Curmudgeons in Love (EST Marathon), Mike Lew’s microcrisis(Youngblood, Ma-Yi), and House/Boy (Dublin and Singapore Theater Festivals). His theater work has been seen at The NYSF/Public Theater, Long Wharf Theater, Laguna Playhouse, NAATCO, Second Generation, Victory Gardens, and LaMama ETC, among others. He received an Obie Award for his work on The Romance of Magno Rubio. Ralph is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theater. This is for Damien, always and forever.
THE CHINESE LADY starts off as a shipping container. Designed by Junghyun Georgia Lee. Lighting by Oliver Wason. Sound by Yngo Terra. Photo by Ralph B. Peña
Both single tickets and 2018 season passes are now on sale and available at www.barringtonstageco.org or by calling 413-236-8888 or visiting the Mainstage box office (30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201). Tickets range from $25 to $69.
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang, Photo by Garth Kravits
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
The World Premiere of The Chinese Lady, starring Shannon Tyo (BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter) as “Afong Moy” and Daniel K. Isaac (“Billions”) as “Atung,” begins previews on Friday, July 20 on the St. Germain Stage, Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201.
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Ralph B. Peña
Written by Lloyd Suh (Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery), directed by Ralph Peña (Microcrisis, Ma-Yi Theater Company), and presented in a co-production between Barrington Stage Company (BSC) and Ma-Yi Theater Company, performances will run through Saturday, August 11. Opening night is Wednesday, July 25.
Director Ralph B. Peña, Shannon Tyo and Daniel K. Isaac. Photo courtesy of Facebook/Barrington Stage Company
In 1834, Afong Moy is brought to the United States from Beijing and put on display for the American public as the “Chinese Lady.” Over the next 45 years, she performs in a side show that both defines and challenges her own view of herself. Inspired by the true story of America’s first female Chinese immigrant, playwright Lloyd Suh spins a tale of dark poetic whimsy in this piercing portrait of America as seen through the eyes of a young Chinese woman.
From the source: “Afong Moy in her ‘room’. She is surrounded with ‘exotic’ Chinese items. The Carne Brothers had similar reproduction items for sale at the exhibition for viewers to remember their visit to the Chinese Lady.” Wikimedia Commons
Director Ralph B. Peña shared a few sneak peek snaps from tech and Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo answered a few questions via email.
Playwright Lloyd Suh, Director Ralph B. Peña, Shannon Tyo and Daniel K. Isaac on the set of THE CHINESE LADY.
Lia: Where are you staying? Daniel: We are staying in a beautiful newly renovated home right off the main strip of Pittsfield, MA.
Daniel K. Isaac. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia: Please describe your characters. Daniel: I like to joke that I play the title character but really that’s all Shannon.
Shannon: Afong Moy is “The Chinese Lady”, as she was billed, and so far as history can tell, the first woman of Chinese descent to arrive in America. Afong Moy wasn’t her real name, but rather a name given to her that was easier for western people to pronounce. She came to America as a sort of sideshow attraction, used as a prop in order to sell “exotic” goods from the Carne Brother’s Far East Oriental Import Company.
Shannon Tyo as Afong Moy. Photo by Ralph B. Peña
Daniel: Atung is Afong Moy’s translator. There are accounts of a translator being a part of her act but Atung is from Lloyd’s imagination. In this play, he was first assigned to the Carne Brothers as a manservant and became Afong’s translator and perhaps sole companion. It’s a disturbing and little known piece of American history that Lloyd has expanded upon with beautiful poetry and dark imagination.
Daniel K. Isaac as Atung. Photo by Ralph B. Peña
Lia: Please describe your relationship to each other. Daniel: If we describe it too much it’ll give away spoilers. For now, we’ll say that Atung is Afong Moy’s translator and go from there. Also, our director, Ralph B. Peña, would want us to say that our relationship is constantly with the audience. After our first run-thru, Shannon said, “it feels like us against the world.” It really feels like that sometimes.
Shannon: But on a real-life level, Daniel and I are very lucky that we get along well, professionally and personally.
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia: What kind of research did you do for your roles? Shannon: For the last few years, I’ve been very invested in learning as much as possible about Asian American history. Specifically for this show, I took a deep dive into the effects of the Opium Wars on migration, along with footbinding, and also what little there is recorded about Afong Moy. Luckily, I love history, so it was more recreation than compulsory. Daniel: Shannon wins.
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia: What are the challenges of performing in a two-hander? Shannon: It’s exhausting! Once the last scene plays, I have a brief moment of adrenaline high, then I crash and want to lay flat on my back and drop french fries into my mouth.
Daniel: Lia, you know this is my second two-hander this year, so I will agree with the crash and french fries (extra crispy for me) sentiment. Also, bourbon. Lots of bourbon.
Shannon Tyo as Afong Moy. Photo by Ralph B. Peña
Lia: What is the allure of performing at Barrington Stage? Shannon: I always think it’s nice to be out of town in order to focus solely on work. It’s also nice to be close to nature when you’re cooped up inside a theatre all day, and the Berkshires are beautiful.
Daniel: I think it’s a privilege every time I get to work on a new play. And especially a world premiere!
Daniel K. Isaac
Shannon Tyo
Ralph B. Peña, Geoff Boronda, Shannon Tyo and Daniel K. Isaac before ziplining.
Lia: Have you had the opportunity to do much exploring? Daniel: We went zip-lining earlier this week and we have some hikes and whitewater rafting adventures planned!
Shannon: Besides our aforementioned zip-lining excursion, we have a lot of adventures in the works. Daniel is an Eagle Scout so I plan to put myself in as much danger as possible and I expect him to be ready to help me whenever possible. I’ll be like Inspector Gadget and Daniel will be Penny.
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia ChangDaniel K. Isaac. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel K. Isaac (Atung) is an actor and writer born and raised in Southern California, currently based in New York City. You can currently see him on the small screen as ‘Ben Kim’ in Showtime’s “Billions.”
Isaac co-wrote and stars in the short film/pilot presentation, “According To My Mother.” The project was selected for IFP Film Week and the inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab and was an Official Selection at ITVFest, Newfest, Outfest Fusion, Outfest, CAAMfest, SeriesFest (where it was awarded Best Actress), and New York Television Festival (Best Drama and Best Actor). “According To My Mother” is currently in development to become a digital series on First Look Media’s new platform, TOPIC. Isaac is a member of Page 73’s 2018 Interstate 73 Writers Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Youngblood, and a Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow. Training: UCSD, BADA.www.AccordingToMyMother.com
He recently appeared as William Inge in the Off-Broadway production of Philip Dawkin’s The Gentleman Caller, produced by Abingdon Theatre at The Cherry Lane. Select NYC: Sagittarius Ponderosa (NAATCO), Underland (59E59), La Divina Caricatura (La MaMa, Under the Radar & St. Ann’s Warehouse), Anna Nicole the Opera (BAM). Select Regional: The Ballad of Little Jo (Two River Theater), Miss Electricity (La Jolla Playhouse). Film/TV: MONEY MONSTER (dir. Jodie Foster), “The Jim Gaffigan Show” (TV LAND), “Search Party” (TBS), “Crashing” (HBO), “The Following” (FOX), “Person of Interest” (CBS), “Believe” (NBC, pilot), TOO BIG TO FAIL (HBO). www.DanielKIsaac.com
Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Shannon Tyo (Afong Moy) Off-Broadway credits include Kentucky, Bikeman: A 9/11 Play, Dear Edwina. Favorite regional credits include The White Snake at the Old Globe, San Diego; Miss Saigon at the Pioneer Theatre Co, Music Theatre of Wichita and Cape Fear Regional; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Northern Stage, Tuacahn PAC and Pioneer Theatre Co.; and Broadway Bounty Hunter at Barrington Stage. BFA Syracuse University.
Set and Costumes designed by Junghyun Georgia Lee. Lighting design by Oliver Wason. Sound design by Fabian Obispo. Production Stage Manager is Geoff Boronda.
THE CHINESE LADY costumes. Photo by Lia Chang
THE CHINESE LADY costumes. Photo by Lia Chang
Playwright Lloyd Suh is the author of Charles Francis Chan Jr’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, American Hwangap, The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go!, Jesus in India, Great Wall Story, and others, produced with Ma-Yi, Magic Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Play Company, La Mama, Denver Center Theatre Company, ArtsEmerson, The Guthrie Theatre with Mu Performing Arts, East West Players, and internationally at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila, and with PCPA in Seoul, Korea. He has received support from the NEA Arena Stage New Play Development program, the Andrew W. Mellon Launching New Plays Into the Repertoire initiative via the Lark, NYFA, NYSCA, Jerome Foundation, TCG, and Dramatists Guild, and has been a recipient of the Roe Green Award from Cleveland Playhouse, the Lilah Kan Red Socks Award, and the Helen Merrill Award. His plays have been published by Samuel French, Playscripts, Smith & Kraus, Duke University Press and American Theater magazine. He is an alum of Youngblood and the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and from 2005-2010 served as Artistic Director of Second Generation and Co-Director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab. He currently serves on the Dramatists Guild Council and has since 2011 served as Director of Artistic Programs at The Lark.
Director Ralph B. Peña is the current Artistic Director of Ma-Yi Theater Company. Recent directing credits include Among the Dead, House Rules (Ma-Yi) The Orphan of Zhao (Fordham Theatre), Macho Dancer: A Musical (Cultural Center of the Philippines), Livin’ La Vida Imelda (Ma-Yi), Lloyd Suh’s The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra GO! (Cultural Center of the Philippines, Children’s Theater Co. and Ma-Yi, Off Broadway Alliance Award), Julia Specht’s Down Cleghorn, Joshua Conkel’s Curmudgeons in Love (EST Marathon), Mike Lew’s microcrisis(Youngblood, Ma-Yi), and House/Boy (Dublin and Singapore Theater Festivals). His theater work has been seen at The NYSF/Public Theater, Long Wharf Theater, Laguna Playhouse, NAATCO, Second Generation, Victory Gardens, and LaMama ETC, among others. He received an Obie Award for his work on The Romance of Magno Rubio. Ralph is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theater. This is for Damien, always and forever.
THE CHINESE LADY starts off as a shipping container. Designed by Junghyun Georgia Lee. Lighting by Oliver Wason. Sound by Yngo Terra. Photo by Ralph B. Peña
Both single tickets and 2018 season passes are now on sale and available at www.barringtonstageco.org or by calling 413-236-8888 or visiting the Mainstage box office (30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201). Tickets range from $25 to $69.
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang, Photo by Garth Kravits
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in the Berkshires (Pittsfield, MA) under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, is presenting the World Premiere of The Chinese Lady starring Shannon Tyo (BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter) as “Afong Moy” and Daniel K. Isaac (“Billions”) as “Atung.”
Daniel K. Isaac, Ralph Peña and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Written by Lloyd Suh (Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery), directed by Ralph Peña (Microcrisis, Ma-Yi Theater Company), and presented in a co-production with the Ma-Yi Theater Company, The Chinese Lady begins previews Friday, July 20 on the St. Germain Stage, Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Opening night is Wednesday, July 25, and performances will run through Saturday, August 11.
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
In 1834, Afong Moy is brought to the United States from Beijing and put on display for the American public as the “Chinese Lady.” Over the next 45 years, she performs in a side show that both defines and challenges her own view of herself. Inspired by the true story of America’s first female Chinese immigrant, playwright Lloyd Suh spins a tale of dark poetic whimsy in this piercing portrait of America as seen through the eyes of a young Chinese woman.
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia ChangDaniel K. Isaac. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel K. Isaac (Atung) is an actor and writer born and raised in Southern California, currently based in New York City. You can currently see him on the small screen as ‘Ben Kim’ in Showtime’s “Billions.”
Isaac co-wrote and stars in the short film/pilot presentation, “According To My Mother.” The project was selected for IFP Film Week and the inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab and was an Official Selection at ITVFest, Newfest, Outfest Fusion, Outfest, CAAMfest, SeriesFest (where it was awarded Best Actress), and New York Television Festival (Best Drama and Best Actor). “According To My Mother” is currently in development to become a digital series on First Look Media’s new platform, TOPIC. Isaac is a member of Page 73’s 2018 Interstate 73 Writers Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Youngblood, and a Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow. Training: UCSD, BADA.www.AccordingToMyMother.com
He recently appeared as William Inge in the Off-Broadway production of Philip Dawkin’s The Gentleman Caller, produced by Abingdon Theatre at The Cherry Lane. Select NYC: Sagittarius Ponderosa (NAATCO), Underland (59E59), La Divina Caricatura (La MaMa, Under the Radar & St. Ann’s Warehouse), Anna Nicole the Opera (BAM). Select Regional: The Ballad of Little Jo (Two River Theater), Miss Electricity (La Jolla Playhouse). Film/TV: MONEY MONSTER (dir. Jodie Foster), “The Jim Gaffigan Show” (TV LAND), “Search Party” (TBS), “Crashing” (HBO), “The Following” (FOX), “Person of Interest” (CBS), “Believe” (NBC, pilot), TOO BIG TO FAIL (HBO). www.DanielKIsaac.com
Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Shannon Tyo (Afong Moy) Off-Broadway credits include Kentucky, Bikeman: A 9/11 Play, Dear Edwina. Favorite regional credits include The White Snake at the Old Globe, San Diego; Miss Saigon at the Pioneer Theatre Co, Music Theatre of Wichita and Cape Fear Regional; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Northern Stage, Tuacahn PAC and Pioneer Theatre Co.; and Broadway Bounty Hunter at Barrington Stage. BFA Syracuse University.
Set and Costumes designed by Junghyun Georgia Lee. Lighting design by Oliver Wason. Sound design by Fabian Obispo. Production Stage Manager is Geoff Boronda.
THE CHINESE LADY costumes. Photo by Lia Chang
THE CHINESE LADY costumes. Photo by Lia Chang
Playwright Lloyd Suh is the author of Charles Francis Chan Jr’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, American Hwangap, The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go!, Jesus in India, Great Wall Story, and others, produced with Ma-Yi, Magic Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Play Company, La Mama, Denver Center Theatre Company, ArtsEmerson, The Guthrie Theatre with Mu Performing Arts, East West Players, and internationally at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila, and with PCPA in Seoul, Korea. He has received support from the NEA Arena Stage New Play Development program, the Andrew W. Mellon Launching New Plays Into the Repertoire initiative via the Lark, NYFA, NYSCA, Jerome Foundation, TCG, and Dramatists Guild, and has been a recipient of the Roe Green Award from Cleveland Playhouse, the Lilah Kan Red Socks Award, and the Helen Merrill Award. His plays have been published by Samuel French, Playscripts, Smith & Kraus, Duke University Press and American Theater magazine. He is an alum of Youngblood and the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and from 2005-2010 served as Artistic Director of Second Generation and Co-Director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab. He currently serves on the Dramatists Guild Council and has since 2011 served as Director of Artistic Programs at The Lark.
Playwright Lloyd Suh and Director Ralph Peña
Director Ralph B. Peña is the current Artistic Director of Ma-Yi Theater Company. Recent directing credits include Among the Dead, House Rules (Ma-Yi) The Orphan of Zhao (Fordham Theatre), Macho Dancer: A Musical (Cultural Center of the Philippines), Livin’ La Vida Imelda (Ma-Yi), Lloyd Suh’s The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra GO! (Cultural Center of the Philippines, Children’s Theater Co. and Ma-Yi, Off Broadway Alliance Award), Julia Specht’s Down Cleghorn, Joshua Conkel’s Curmudgeons in Love (EST Marathon), Mike Lew’s microcrisis(Youngblood, Ma-Yi), and House/Boy (Dublin and Singapore Theater Festivals). His theater work has been seen at The NYSF/Public Theater, Long Wharf Theater, Laguna Playhouse, NAATCO, Second Generation, Victory Gardens, and LaMama ETC, among others. He received an Obie Award for his work on The Romance of Magno Rubio. Ralph is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theater. This is for Damien, always and forever.
THE CHINESE LADY costumes and sets. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel K. Isaac. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel K. Isaac, Ralph Peña and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel K. Isaac, Ralph Peña and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel K. Isaac and Shannon Tyo. Photo by Lia Chang
Both single tickets and 2018 season passes are now on sale and available at www.barringtonstageco.org or by calling 413-236-8888 or visiting the Mainstage box office (30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201). Tickets range from $25 to $69.
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang, Photo by Garth Kravits
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in the Berkshires (Pittsfield, MA) under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, is presenting the World Premiere of The Chinese Lady starring Shannon Tyo (BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter) as “Afong Moy” and Daniel K. Isaac (“Billions”) as “Atung.” Written by Lloyd Suh (Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery), directed by Ralph Peña (Microcrisis, Ma-Yi Theater Company), and presented in a co-production with the Ma-Yi Theater Company. The Chinese Lady begins previews July 20, with an opening set forJuly 25, and will run through August 11.
Both single tickets and 2018 season passes are now on sale and available at www.barringtonstageco.org or by calling 413-236-8888 or visiting the Mainstage box office (30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201). Tickets range from $25 to $69.
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Lia Chang
It’s your final week to see Daniel K. Isaac (Showtime’s “Billions”) as William Inge and Juan Francisco Villa (Oedipus El Rey) as Tennessee Williams in Abingdon Theatre Company’s NY premiere of The Gentleman Caller by Philip Dawkins (Charm, Le Switch, The Homosexuals). Directed by Tony Speciale (Unnatural Acts,The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey), the limited engagement runs through May 26 at the historic Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, NYC) in Greenwich Village.
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaPerformances are Mondays at 7PM, Tuesdays – Saturdays at 8PM, with matinees Saturday at 3PM. Tickets are $65 and available at abingdontheatre.org or by calling 212-352-3101. Premium seating is available. For more information about The Gentleman Caller, season subscriptions and group bookings visit abingdontheatre.org or call 212-868-2055. $25 tickets with Caller25 code.
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Maria Baranova
Although now regarded as two of history’s finest American playwrights, back in 1944, William Inge and Tennessee Williams hadn’t yet experienced anything close to success. The Gentleman Caller takes us back in time, before the Chicago premiere of The Glass Menagerie. Inge, a dissatisfied newspaper critic, invites Williams to his St. Louis apartment for an interview. This sexy, fraught rendezvous sparks a relationship, which radically alters the course of their lives and the American Theatre.
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Maria Baranova
The Gentleman Caller features a scenic design by Sara C. Walsh (Queen of the Night), costume design byHunter Kaczorowski (The Dork Knight), lighting design by Zach Blane (Too Much, Too Much, Too Many), and sound design and original music by Christian Frederickson (Antigone, Trojan Women).
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa and Daniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa and Daniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa and Daniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaDaniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaDaniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaDaniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaDaniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa, playwright Philip Dawkins, Daniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa, playwright Philip Dawkins, Daniel K. Isaac, director Tony Speciale Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa and Daniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Lia ChangPhilip Dawkins, Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Lia Chang
Abingdon Theatre Company (Tony Speciale, Artistic Director; Denise Dickens, Producing Director) launches its 25th Anniversary main stage season with The Gentleman Caller, the New York premiere production of a new play by Philip Dawkins (Charm, Le Switch, The Homosexuals). Directed by Tony Speciale (Unnatural Acts,The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey), the limited engagement runs through May 26 at the historic Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, NYC) in Greenwich Village. The official opening night is May 10 at 7PM.
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Maria Baranova
Performances are Mondays at 7PM, Tuesdays – Saturdays at 8PM, with matinees Saturday at 3PM. There is an additional 3PM matinee on Wednesday, May 9. Tickets are $65 and available at abingdontheatre.org or by calling 212-352-3101. Premium seating is available. For more information about The Gentleman Caller, season subscriptions and group bookings visit abingdontheatre.org or call 212-868-2055.
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Maria Baranova
The Gentleman Caller features Daniel K. Isaac (Showtime’s “Billions”) as William Inge and Juan Francisco Villa (Oedipus El Rey) as Tennessee Williams. Although now regarded as two of history’s finest American playwrights, back in 1944, William Inge and Tennessee Williams hadn’t yet experienced anything close to success. The Gentleman Caller takes us back in time, before the Chicago premiere of The Glass Menagerie. Inge, a dissatisfied newspaper critic, invites Williams to his St. Louis apartment for an interview. This sexy, fraught rendezvous sparks a relationship, which radically alters the course of their lives and the American Theatre.
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Maria Baranova
The Gentleman Caller features a scenic design by Sara C. Walsh (Queen of the Night), costume design byHunter Kaczorowski (The Dork Knight), lighting design by Zach Blane (Too Much, Too Much, Too Many), and sound design and original music by Christian Frederickson (Antigone, Trojan Women).
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Maria Baranova
Juan Francisco Villa and Daniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa and Daniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa and Daniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaDaniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaDaniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaDaniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaDaniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa, playwright Philip Dawkins, Daniel K. Isaac Photo Credit: Maria BaranovaJuan Francisco Villa, playwright Philip Dawkins, Daniel K. Isaac, director Tony Speciale Photo Credit: Maria Baranova
Abingdon Theatre Company (Tony Speciale, Artistic Director; Denise Dickens, Producing Director) is presenting The Gentleman Caller, a new play by Philip Dawkins (Charm, Le Switch, The Homosexuals) as the first production of its 25th Anniversary main stage season.
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo by Lia ChangJuan Francisco Villa and Daniel K. Isaac. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel K. Isaac (Showtime’s “Billions”) will play William Inge and Juan Francisco Villa (Oedipus El Rey) will play Tennessee Williams in the New York premiere production. Directed by Tony Speciale (Unnatural Acts, The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey), the limited engagement runs May 5 – 26 at Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, NYC) in Greenwich Village. The official opening night is May 10 at 7PM. Tickets are currently on sale at abingdontheatre.org or by calling Ovationtix at 212-352-3101. $25 Tix available for the first week of performances w/ Promo Code: “CALLER25”
Although now regarded as two of history’s finest American Playwrights, back in 1944, William Inge and Tennessee Williams hadn’t yet experienced anything close to success. The Gentleman Caller takes us back in time, before the Chicago premiere of The Glass Menagerie. Inge, a dissatisfied newspaper critic, invites Williams to his St. Louis apartment for an interview. This sexy, fraught rendezvous sparks a relationship, which radically alters the course of their lives and the American Theatre.
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel invited me to his rehearsal room at Shetler Studios to chat after a rehearsal.
Lia: How did you get cast in The Gentleman Caller? Daniel: One of my best friends, Keelay Gipson, is a playwright. He was the playwright assistant to Philip Dawkins when he was doing Charm in the fall with MCC at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. I met Philip briefly then. And then when Tony Speciale and Abingdon Theatre Company were doing a reading of this play in December, Philip’s boyfriend recommended me to be a part of the reading after seeing me on “Billions”. And here we are today!
Chris Manelli, managing director, Victory Gardens, Brian Bosque, Philip Dawkins and Chay Yew, artistic director, Victory Gardens at the 45th Annual Jeff Equity Awards ceremony, held at Drury Lane Oakbrook, Oakbrook Terrace, Il on November 4, 2013. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia: What was the thinking behind the non-traditional casting aspect of this play? Daniel: Philip has always said while these are two historically white people, he has no interest in seeing two white actors portray these characters on the stage – that is not the society we are in or the storytelling that we should be doing in 2018, etc. He’s been committed to that. In Chicago, there is a Latinx actor playing Tennessee Williams and here in New York we have Juan, who is Columbian American, in that part. And I’m obviously Korean American. And, frankly, it’s a big deal. Until, one day, it won’t be. Which will be a wonderful day. Juan and have talked about it in the room. There is a lot of healing happening for us in that we never imagined that we would get to play these characters.
Daniel K. Isaac and Juan Francisco Villa. Photo by Lia Chang
Before Hamilton, I could not fathom any actor of color getting to play our founding fathers, let alone anyone from American History that wasn’t white. And in school, I didn’t get to study Williams or Inge with the same fervor as my white classmates because I never thought there would be a place for me in their work.
(Courtesy photograph by Joan Marcus) Joseph Morales as Alexander Hamilton and Marcus Choi as George Washington in the national tour, which will play Salt Lake City April 11 through May 6.Sanjit De Silva, Mia Katigbak, Henry Yuk and James Saito in a scene from NAATCO’s revival of Clifford Odets’ “Awake and Sing!” (Photo credit: William P. Steele)
NAATCO, the National Asian American Theatre Company, has been a great healing presence for me because they are committed to revivals of shows with full Asian American casts. Their production of Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing was stunning and heart wrenchingly beautiful.
I never fathomed that I would get to play William Inge. Even when I did the reading, I viewed it as a gift – that I would love and appreciate this day of workshopping and presenting a staged reading for a small audience. And that would be that. But then I got that magical phone call that so rarely happens, “Hey, you remember that reading? We want to slate that show into our season. Are you available?” I workshop so many new plays. I love them and I want to do new plays for the rest of my life. But I am realistic that you don’t often get to do the final production, because it’s out of town or scheduling conflicts. In this instance, I got to do the reading and the production – it’s a gift. And to have the playwright in the room. He really knows and loves these people. The play started for him when he did a residency at William Inge’s house. It was birthed from William Inge’s home in Independence, Kansas.
Daniel K. Isaac. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia: How are you conducting your research to portray William Inge? Daniel: I’d seen the Picnic revival at Roundabout Theatre Company several years ago. I’d maybe read Picnic and Bus Stop in college and that was it. So I had no real knowledge of him. In fact, Inge was a very private person in his personal life. There isn’t as much documentation on him. Our dialect coach, Ron Carlos, found me an Oscar winning speech clip of Inge when he won for Splendor in the Grass. It’s less than 30 seconds because Oscar speeches were much shorter back then. But it’s just enough of his voice. Philip recommended two biographies and one veiled autobiography, My Son Is a Splendid Driver, for me to read. I also set about reading all of his plays that were done on Broadway. He had four successive Broadway hits: Come Back Little Sheba, Picnic, Bus Stop and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs. I read all four of them. After that, his Broadway success rate drastically declines and it really devastates him. He does some movies in Hollywood successfully, but only for a spell. I’m reading his short plays now and his other less successful plays, in addition to the biographies and autobiography. It’s an ongoing balance with research and learning all of my lines.
Daniel K. Isaac. Photo by Lia Chang
Lia: How old is Inge in the play? Daniel: Our play is set in 1944. Inge is 31 and Williams is 33 – but they both lie about their ages for various reasons.
The play is in two acts and takes place over two different evenings- one prior to Glass Menagerie’s premiere in Chicago and one after Glass Menagerie premieres. They both had met in real life – in St. Louis and in Chicago. But there has been some fictional liberties taken about what actually happened in those meetings. Inge was an arts critic at the time and he interviewed Williams. Philip likes to joke that the article that Inge wrote about Williams is so full of errors and falsehoods – that even though Tennessee was always one to mythologize his origin story and the origins of his name and such – to Philip the article is proof that they did very little interviewing and probably much more whatever. The other thing that Philip always brings up is that Williams was notorious for shading everyone he encountered. He had something to say about everyone, and not in a positive light – bitchy, catty, just shade. With Inge, he doesn’t. There is something telling in that. Williams also introduced Inge to his Lit Agent. There is this whole generous side of Tennessee Williams that no one knows about.
Philip brought up this story in rehearsal of when Inge committed suicide, his girlfriend at the time called Williams to ask, “What do I need to get rid of before the authorities come?” There was a deep level of intimacy and closeness even though at that point they weren’t seeing each other regularly. There was a frenemy or competitive edge between them. But there was a level of intimacy that no one knows about. What bravery for that time period. This is pre-“Will and Grace,” “Queer and Folk,” and legalized gay marriage. They were trailblazers in their art but neither Inge nor Williams could survive their time period, which is the tragedy of their actual lives. This plays captures a beginning between the two of them.
Lia: Are there other things that Philip Dawkins draws upon to help inform the two of you? Daniel: One day during table work Philip said, Williams and Inge were trying to create safe, queer spaces at a time in which there were no safe, queer spaces. The world conspired against them during their time. The fact that they even attempted to make that space for themselves is beautiful and tragic and what makes this story worth telling.
Lia: How does that particular point speak to you and the artist that you are? Daniel: I went through so much self-hatred and repression and internalized homophobia. I had to come out multiple times before I finally did come out and not fight it as a “sin” or resist or suppress or deny. It’s been an ongoing journey and I think I’ve come a long way in my own personal life. I’ve been able to heal by sharing my own personal story, especially my relationship with my mom and our religious background. But I don’t think I’ve ever been able to explore that on stage. I don’t often play gay characters and it’s a privilege to get to play a historically, albeit closeted, important one. His repression and self-loathing and fear and baggage and depths of depression—I am bringing something very personal to that. Mining my own experience, so to speak. And that is a gift to get to explore in the safe space of the theatre.
Daniel K. Isaac in “Billions”.Daniel K. Isaac at the Showtime and elit Vodka hosted BILLIONS Season 2 premiere and party, held at Cipriani’s in New York City on February 13, 2017. (Facebook)
Lia: Who is Ben Kim in “Billions”? Daniel: Ben Kim is an analyst at Axe Capital. He starts out in the pilot as a promising and potentially cocky new hire who brags about an education at “Stanford-Wharton.” But he is immediately eclipsed and humbled by Damian Lewis’ brilliant Bobby Axelrod. Over the course of two seasons you see Ben Kim navigating the trials and tribulations of the finance world with increasing neuroses and awkwardness. When I auditioned back in December of 2015, Ben Kim was only in one scene of the pilot. And here we are, three seasons later. It’s been incredible.
Lia: What has your experience been like, working on this show, with this cast and this crew? Daniel: I was realizing after we wrapped season three that I’d never done 36 of anything! Maybe performances of a play? Maybe. But to do 36 episodes of this show with this cast and crew is truly mind-blowing. I’m so grateful that I’ve gotten to explore a character for this long, while also getting closer to the people I am working with. And I got to quit waiting tables and bartending! It has changed my life. And I have a new family!
Maggie Siff, Daniel K. Isaac and Dan Soder in “Billions.”Maggie Siff and Daniel K. Isaac at the Showtime and elit Vodka hosted BILLIONS Season 2 premiere and party, held at Cipriani’s in New York City on February 13, 2017. – Photo: Brian Bedder/SHOWTIME
Lia: Have you gotten to know the writers? Daniel: Yes, they’re amazing! They’ll sneak in stuff from my personal life and add it to Ben Kim to enhance the character. I talk about my mom a lot in my own work and they’ve used that for Ben Kim in really hilarious ways. In the first season you learn that Ben Kim’s parents were Korean immigrants who had a convenience store. In episode three of this season Ben Kim has a mini-breakdown about his mom with Wendy, the brilliant performance coach played by Maggie Siff. The baggage of being an immigrant’s child is a very familiar theme in my own life. It is a privilege to get to portray Ben Kim with the personal experience of being a Korean American child of immigrants myself, and with such mature writing behind it. The trap with a character like Ben Kim would have been for him to be one-dimensional or stereotypical. Instead, the writers are so great about fully fleshing out the ensemble. This season we are seeing so many different sides of all these supporting characters that you maybe thought were ancillary, but are actually integral towards what makes the world of “Billions” so rich and vibrant and authentic on both the government and the finance side. It’s been a real joy to work on.
Daniel K. Isaac and Dan Soder.
Lia: Who are your favorite cast members to work with? Daniel: Dan Soder, who plays Mafee, is a brilliant standup comedian and we both live in Astoria so we travel to and from set together. I‘ve gone to see his shows in the city and in Philly; and he has a brilliant Netflix special everyone should watch! We also both have single mothers and are only children so I think the bond is strong there. The whole Axe Capital gang gets to shoot together so we’ve gotten really close. I carry a flask around because of Kelly Aucoin (Dollar Bill). I love seeing David Costabile (Wags) and Chris Carfizzi’s (Rudy) baby pictures. Asia Kate Dillon and I had oysters the other week. Zina Wilde (Helena) just made a short film with Kelly and Stephen Kunken (Spyros). And we even cross-pollinated over to the #TeamChuck’s side and had a viewing party at Toby Leonard Moore’s (Connerty) place.
Dan Soder, Ilfenesh Hadera, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Daniel K. Isaac, Kelly AuCoin, Asia Kate Dillon and Malachi Weir (front) at the Showtime and elit Vodka hosted BILLIONS Season 2 premiere and party, held at Cipriani’s in New York City on February 13, 2017. – Photo: Dave Kotinsky/SHOWTIME
Recently, I had the privilege of attending Condola Rashad’s (Sacker) Opening Night on Broadway in Saint Joan. She is a goddess! She’s so wonderful, so talented, so generous, and so humble and kind. I love seeing theatre. And I love seeing friends in theatre.
I guess it’s hard to pick a favorite! We’ve become a family!
“According To My Mother” update:
I’ve learned to take pain and turn it into art.
The director and writing partner of “According To My Mother,” Cathy Yan, did really well at Sundance with her debut feature film, Dead Pigs, and now she is set to direct the new Harlequin spinoff movie with Margot Robbie! It is so exciting, an Asian American female identifying Hollywood Blockbuster filmmaker. This is huge. We need to have more.
First Look Media has a production company called Topic and they are our biggest supporters. Now we are looking for the right network and the right people who want to present this story.
Other people have been trying to tell our stories for so long. It’s important that we get to tell our stories now, more than ever. Look how successful they have been in recent years, with Black Panther and Moonlight. I’m really excited for Crazy Rich Asians.
The Kevin Kwan connection Daniel: I used to be a waiter at a steakhouse that Kevin liked to go to. I became friends with him by being his waiter. He offered me his first book to read and of course I devoured it. And then I was a reader for his second book! It was my first time getting to be a reader on a piece of fiction and I love fiction. I read mostly fiction. When he told me about the movie, I was so excited for him. I can’t wait to see it. Kevin has lots of projects in the pipeline. And he was on the 2018 TIME 100 List, and just got honored this past week.
Lia: What next for you? Daniel: It’s been announced that “Billions” has been renewed for Season 4! Yay! I have some writing deadlines as a playwright so I’ll have a couple readings in June. One I have to finish is for Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre. And I’m currently working on my second full length play, Sex Play. In June we’ll have a public reading of it. More details to come!
Lia: What does it take for you to switch your gears as a multi-hyphenate artist? Daniel: I will say that I am so thankful for “Billions” because it has allowed me the financial independence to not have to wait tables. I was waiting tables and bartending even between Season 1 and 2, as Season 1 was airing. Finally around Season 2—I had this deal with this steakhouse that I would pick up shifts when I could – I went to try and pick up a shift during the holidays and I could no longer log into the restaurants online database. I realized they had taken me off of their list of servers and bartenders. I thought that was my sign from the universe that you are not going to do this anymore. It was around that time that I dove head first into writing more because I had the privilege of time and resources to get to explore that voice more fully. Now I am a part of Youngblood at EST and Page 73’s Interstate Writers Group, my first two writers groups giving me support and feedback and structure.
It’s not hard for me to switch hats. I believe being a multi-hyphenate artist helps you in whatever artistry you are currently focusing on, because all the other hats help inform it. Your level of empathy for all the other artists in the room is so much deeper. Especially with theater which is such a collaborative art form during rehearsals. For example, with The Gentleman Caller, Juan is a playwright, Tony, our director, is a playwright and the play itself is about two playwrights. We have such deep empathy with their fears of failure and dreams of success and their ambition and torment and and and. And this enhances our story telling in the room.
Lia: Why should people come see The Gentleman Caller? Daniel: It’s a two-person show. I’ve never been more vulnerable and honest. I’m given the privilege and the vehicle to get to bring these two people to life on a New York stage in an Off-Broadway capacity with the support that isn’t always offered to Others, artists of color, artists that are queer, etc. Anyone who has ever felt like a minority or the underdog, I hope, will see themselves in this show. And isn’t this the type of theatre we want to support so we can see more of it happening? Inclusive, queer, empathetic, radical in love and pain. There are risks being taken by not hiring two white actors to play these roles, these two historically recognizable and still relevant artists. I want that risk to pay off. And it should. I hope the community comes to support it. More than ever. All of that only deepens the storytelling. I want it to be the norm, the standard.
The Gentleman Caller features a scenic design by Sara C. Walsh (Queen of the Night), costume design by Hunter Kaczorowski (The Dork Knight), lighting design by Zach Blane (Too Much, Too Much, Too Many), and sound design and original music by Christian Frederickson (Antigone, Trojan Women).
Daniel K. Isaac. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel K. Isaac (William Inge) is an actor and writer based in New York City. You can currently see him on the small screen as ‘Ben Kim’ in Showtime’s “Billions.” Select NYC: Sagittarius Ponderosa (NAATCO), Underland (59E59), La Divina Caricatura (La MaMa, Under the Radar & St. Ann’s Warehouse), Anna Nicole the Opera (BAM). Select Regional: The Ballad of Little Jo (Two River Theater), Miss Electricity (La Jolla Playhouse). Film/TV: MONEY MONSTER (dir. Jodie Foster), “The Jim Gaffigan Show” (TV LAND), “Search Party” (TBS), “Crashing” (HBO), “The Following” (FOX), “Person of Interest” (CBS), “Believe” (NBC, pilot), TOO BIG TO FAIL (HBO), and “According To My Mother” (NYTVF Best Drama & Best Actor, Inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab, www.AccordingToMyMother.com). Daniel is a member of Page 73’s 2018 Interstate 73 Writers Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Youngblood, and a Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow. Training: UCSD, BADA. www.DanielKIsaac.com
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang, Photo by Garth Kravits
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
Daniel K. Isaac’s award-winning independent pilot presentation/short film “According to My Mother,” co-created with Cathy Y. Yan, will have its West Coast Premiere at Outfest on March 4th at the Egyptian Theatre in LA at 8:00PM and and will screen at CAAMfest on March 10th at the Roxie in San Francisco at 9:40PM.
“According to My Mother” is a comedic series about a young, gay Korean American actor and his disapproving, devout Christian mother who moves in with him and changes everything.
“According to My Mother” took home two NYTVF awards at the 12th annual New York Television Festival, including Best Drama and Best Actor for Isaac, in New York last fall. www.accordingtomymother.com
Daniel K. Isaac at the Showtime and elit Vodka hosted BILLIONS Season 2 premiere and party, held at Cipriani’s in New York City on February 13, 2017. (Facebook)
Isaac can also be seen in “Billions” Season Two, which premieres on Sunday, February 19th at 10:00PM on SHOWTIME. The high-profile cast is led by Emmy winners Paul Giamatti (“John Adams”) and Damian Lewis (“Homeland”) as Chuck Rhoades and Bobby Axelrod, respectively.
Maggie Siff and Daniel K. Isaac at the Showtime and elit Vodka hosted BILLIONS Season 2 premiere and party, held at Cipriani’s in New York City on February 13, 2017. – Photo: Brian Bedder/SHOWTIME
Chang: Who do you play in “Billions”? Isaac: I play ‘Ben Kim.’ In the pilot he is introduced as the new analyst (“Stanford-Wharton”) hired to work at Bobby Axelrod’s (Damian Lewis) firm, Axe Capital. In season two he has hopes of becoming a portfolio manager but…well…you’ll see… #TeamAxe.
Chang: What are you rehearsing now? Isaac: I just finished a two-week workshop of Henry VI Parts 1, 2, & 3, with five other amazingly talented Asian American actors, directed by the brilliant Stephen Brown-Fried, and with the help of NAATCO and the Shakespeare Society.
Daniel K. Isaac and Kelly AuCoin at the Showtime and elit Vodka hosted BILLIONS Season 2 premiere and party, held at Cipriani’s in New York City on February 13, 2017. (Facebook)
Chang: How did you find out about your awards for “According to My Mother”? Isaac: Last fall, a pilot presentation I co-wrote and acted in called “According To My Mother” was awarded Best Drama and Best Actor at NYTVF. I was sitting backstage between scenes of my last play Sagittarius Ponderosa when my phone started blowing up with congratulatory texts and emails. It was surreal. Thank goodness if was on non-vibrating-silent.
Chang: How did the project begin? Isaac: “According To My Mother” began as a series of Facebook posts! I’d have a conversation with my (Korean, immigrant, conservative, Christian) mom on the phone, or have a text or email exchange, and I began sharing our exchanges online. It’s actually how I got started writing. Simply by transcribing our conversations. Then a close filmmaker friend, Cathy Y. Yan, approached me to turn the posts into a short film which then evolved into a pilot.
Chang: What are you future plans for it? Isaac: We now have an 18 minute pilot presentation slash short film that’s finishing up the festival circuit. We will be at Outfest and CAAMfest this March! And we’ve got a series bible we are pitching in hopes of making the series come to life. Fingers crossed!
Chang: Does your mother understand your life and career now? Isaac: The short answer would be ‘No.’ The long answer would be…’buy me a manhattan and we can talk about it.’ We will always have our differences and believe very opposite things about lives and career paths.
Funnily enough, I was introduced to acting because my mom had heard this story of a pastor getting stage-fright and she didn’t want her future pastor/lawyer/doctor/politician/all-of-the-above son getting stage-fright so she signed me up for the church theatre troupe. So when I declared a Theatre Major on my college applications and then moved to New York to be an actor, she sort of knew it was her “fault.” But she reasoned that great actors are celebrities and thus can use their platforms for “good” aka preaching the gospel and warning mankind about the end of the world being nigh etc etc. She recently googled my name and texted “You are very famous Gey guy but I not happy”… does that answer your question? (And for anyone suddenly feeling bad for me about this text, know that it is routine and I was too busy laughing about her spelling of “Gey” to have any hurt feelings.)
Daniel K. Isaac and Bex Kwan in NAATCO’s Sagittarius Ponderosa.
Chang: How did Sagittarius Ponderosa go for you? Isaac: It was an absolute pleasure to finally get to work with NAATCO, a company I’ve admired and loved since I’d moved to the city seven and a half years ago. I’d done readings and workshops with most of the actors, and Virginia Wing had played my grandmother back in 2011 in “disOriented” by Kyoung H. Park, so it really felt like family (…even though I played the one character outside of the family). I’d also been, and still am, a Huge fan of the director Ken Rus Schmoll, and still can’t believe we all got to work with him. He’s a genius genius genius. Working on new plays is one of my biggest passions. MJ Kaufman is such an exciting voice and it was a pleasure every night to get to breathe life into their words.
Chang: How was it received? Isaac: How was it received. Hmm. Well. To be honest, I think the election really hurt our audience and word of mouth momentum. But after a couple days of shock, we also felt privileged and empowered to be telling an under-represented story with a trans protagonist, and an all Asian American cast, in the face of an orange cheeto who’d won on a platform of hate and bigotry. We knew it would be the beginning of an uphill battle but here was a tiny form of rebellion and a source of hope and light.
I hope we keep creating art like that. We’ll need it now more than ever.
Dan Soder, Ilfenesh Hadera, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Daniel K. Isaac, Kelly AuCoin, Asia Kate Dillon and Malachi Weir (front) at the Showtime and elit Vodka hosted BILLIONS Season 2 premiere and party, held at Cipriani’s in New York City on February 13, 2017. – Photo: Dave Kotinsky/SHOWTIME
Chang: What else are you working on this year? Isaac: Hopefully, fingers crossed knock on wood toi toi merde etc, “Billions” will be renewed for Season Three. All prayers, good luck charms, and positive vibes are welcome. Watch the show!
And I’m acting in some readings and workshops of new plays, which, like I said, is my favorite thing to do.
I’m also writing more and trying to write about something other than my mother…so I’m working on my second full-length play about sex positivity and micro-aggressions. So, you know, a light hearted rom-com.
Daniel K. Isaac was born and raised in sunny Southern California. When he was in fifth grade, his mother heard a mortifying story about a preacher who went numb with stage fright and had to be escorted off the stage. Isaac was promptly signed up for Grace Korean Church’s theatre troupe and he’s been an actor ever since. After receiving his Bachelor’s in Theatre from the University of California – San Diego (UCSD), Isaac moved to not-always-sunny New York City where he’s been seen on large and small screens and stages. Some Film/TV Credits include: “Foshay” on The Jim Gaffigan Show (TV LAND), MONEY MONSTER (dir. Jodie Foster, with George Clooney and Julia Roberts), “Virgil” on Person of Interest (CBS, recurring), The Following (FOX), Believe (NBC, pilot), TOO BIG TO FAIL (HBO) and “Ben Kim” on SHOWTIME’s Billions (with Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis). Some upcoming projects include: Search Party (TBS), Crashing (HBO), Shades of Blue (NBC) and Drew (CBS, pilot). www.danielkisaac.com
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
It’s not hard for me to switch hats. I believe being a multi-hyphenate artist helps you in whatever artistry you are currently focusing on, because all the other hats help inform it. Your level of empathy for all the other artists in the room is so much deeper. Especially with theater which is such a collaborative art form during rehearsals. For example, with The Gentleman Caller, Juan is a playwright, Tony, our director, is a playwright and the play itself is about two playwrights. We have such deep empathy with their fears of failure and dreams of success and their ambition and torment and and and. And this enhances our story telling in the room.
Daniel K. Isaac’s award-winning independent pilot presentation/short film “According to My Mother,” co-created with Cathy Y. Yan, will have its West Coast Premiere at Outfest on March 4th at the Egyptian Theatre in LA at 8:00PM and and will screen at 
Chang: How did the project begin?
