August 17th - 27th, 2023 | Center Theatre at Seattle Center
In Between: A Collection of Short Plays
Exploring the complex and nuanced experiences of individuals living between cultures, identities, and worlds, In Between celebrates the beauty and richness of diversity and the power of human connection.
The Plays
Baby Bird Flies by Maya Fleischmann
Peter, a Chinese-American born in the U.S, wants to find a job in China after college. He seeks advice from his grandmother, who migrated to the U.S from Hong Kong. His grandmother, however, instructs Peter how to do Qigong, a traditional Chinese meditating method, to let the “Qi” (air) flow.
Saudade by Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin
Ary and Chea revel in the mundane--dinner plans, recapping work, raising their child day to day-- as they face deportation proceedings despite having spent their entire lives in America. A play about family, love, and a longing for a homeland which may never have existed.
La Tiza/ Chalk by Catalina Florina Florescu
Could we teach history (of displacement) from the one whose only country they know does not accept them here? This is a play about identity, as it moves in time and space, thus carrying along the histories of places, people, languages, and traditional dishes.
痒/Itch by Harvey Yang
Little Mule on the farm always feels lonely. The horses don’t like Little Mule, because they think mules belong to donkeys. The donkeys, on the other hand, feel that the Little Mule bears too much resemblance with a horse. Little Mule has been waiting for an opportunity to bond with either groups. And now, miraculously, a golden chance appears …
Afterlife by Rebecca Chan
MEIMEI is a Chinese immigrant born in the U.S. who used to not speak Chinese at all. Her grandmother, ANAI, passed away a few years back. MEIMEI misses ANAI so much. MEIMEI always has this fantasy, that maybe the Afterlife does exist, that maybe she and ANAI will reunite in some way someday. MEIMEI starts to learn Chinese and learn of Chinese culture, in the hope to get closer to ANAI. She wants to be closer to ANAI’s world. MEIMEI always remembers ANAI. ANAI, also, has always remembered MEIMEI…
Buddha Hall by Renzi Li
Once upon a time, there was a mountain. Inside the mountain lies a Buddha Hall. Numerous people come to the Buddha Hall to pray. Most people want to fulfill their secular desires: some want money, some want power, and some want both. Yet a kid is very different from everyone else. The kid wants something else, something very special. The kid works so hard to approach it, overcoming so many obstacles along the way. Now the kid is only one step away from it.
The kid, however, discovers at this very moment that the cost of this final step might be a bit too much…
The Eighteenth Quinquennial Endlings Picnic by Jillian Blevins
Nighty years ago, George — the last living Galapagos Tortoise — hosted the first “Endlings Picnic”. He invited all species that are on the verge of extinction to join, promising that they’ll reunite every five years. Nighty years later, time flies by and the host has switched from George to Olive, the last Black Rhino on Earth. Olive is very excited about this 18th quinquennial meet-up, and has been busy preparing to make sure everything goes perfectly. Yet occasionally Olive thought to themselves: another five years have passed, how many endlings have survived all the hardships to again join the party?
Luckily, Olive does not have to worry for long. Familiar faces appear one by one: Martin, the Panamanian Golden Frog; Tanya, the Scimitar Oryx; Carl, the Mountain Gorilla; and of course, Elizabeth, the Amur Leopard. Olive takes a long breath with relief. Thank god they all made it! Just as Olive is about to relax and enjoy this little party, a topic that everyone has been trying to delicately avoid is brought up. With the flow of conversation, a theme gradually zooms in. It expands. Magnifies. Ignites. Until it fills everyone’s heart, until it almost explodes, until no one can choose to ignore it anymore…
The work highlights the importance of connection in the face of a multiplicity of cultures and experiences.
International Examiner
The live music helped me hear from Asian artists their messages and transition between plays.
在剧院中哭湿了袖子。每一行台词中，都有我未能对亲人说出的话。舞台上的悲喜，牵动着我，带我去回顾自己的人生，带我去理解他人的境遇。无论是向内，还是向外，我的体验都更丰富了。
In Between Staged Reading
In addition to the 7 plays we selected for full production, there are also a couple of other short plays that we love them so much that we hosted a staged reading.
Foundations
