Qui Nguyen was just featured in Rolling Stone Magazine talking about what it means to be an immigrant in the U.S today and the importance of representation of minorities on stage.
Here’s a little excerpt:
“When playwright Qui Nguyen working on his play Vietgone four years ago, no one seriously thought Donald Trump would one day be the President of the United States of America. It was long before he descended his gaudy Trump Tower escalator to announce his candidacy and malign Mexican immigrants as criminals, drug dealers and rapists. But now Nguyen’s sexy, genre-busting “All-American love story” musical – which has its final performances this week in New York City – about how his parents met at a refugee camp in Arkansas in 1975 feels all the more vital in the way it addresses issues of race, immigration and female empowerment. Even though it’s a wild, enjoyable ride – complete with comic book tropes, kung fu fights and ninjas – he did create it to correct Asian and immigrant stereotypes.
Growing up, every Vietnamese narrative on the planet – from Platoon to Rambo to Miss Saigon – the main protagonist is always a white guy going to Vietnam and Vietnamese are the bad guys being shot at or the are the people who need saving,” he says. “I remember watching those moves as a kid, and I remember how shitty it felt feeling like the alien. They have no agency for their own narrative; all of the yellow characters are there to serve the white characters’ narrative. In Vietgone, I specifically wanted the Asian characters to be their own heroes.”
Read full article here Congrats Qui!
More about Qui
Qui Nguyen is a playwright, TV/Film writer, and Co-Founder of the OBIE Award-winning Vampire Cowboys of NYC. His work, known for its innovative use of pop-culture, stage violence, puppetry, and multimedia, has been called “Culturally Savvy Comedy” by The New York Times, “Tour de Force Theatre” by Time Out New York, and “Infectious Fun” by Variety.
Scripts include Vietgone (South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Rep), She Kills Monsters (The Flea, Buzz22 Chicago/Steppenwolf, Company One); Begets: Fall of a High School Ronin (Waterwell); War is F**king Awesome (Sundance); Krunk Fu Battle Battle (East West Players); Bike Wreck (EST); Trial By Water (Ma-Yi Theater); Aliens vs Cheerleaders (Keen Teens); Soul Samurai; The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G (Ma-Yi Theater & Vampire Cowboys); and the critically acclaimed Vampire Cowboys productions of Six Rounds of Vengeance, Alice in Slasherland; Fight Girl Battle World; Men of Steel; and Living Dead in Denmark.
