World Premiere: Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, The Shipment October 30, 2008

Thu, Oct 30 - Sat, Nov 1, 2008 | 8:00PM
Sun, Nov 2, 2008 | 7:00PM
Performance Space

"She offers the pleasure of brazen theatrical inventiveness."—New Yorker

Don’t miss the world premiere of a new play by one of the boldest voices in contemporary theater and created with support from our artist-in-residence program.

Playwright and director Young Jean Lee simultaneously delighted and challenged our audiences in 2007 with Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven, her breakthrough production. Her provocative and hilariously satiric take on hot-button issues such as race and identity instigated spirited debate and established Lee’s as a fresh, significant, and original voice in contemporary theater.

Now, Young Jean Lee applies her signature style and acid wit to hip-hop culture and African American identity politics. The Shipment is, in the playwright’s words, 'an extremely awkward exploration of the experience of being black in America—an uneasy juxtaposition of hip-hop virtuosity and cultural cluelessness that raises pointed questions about ethnic appropriation and race relations that will leave people reeling."

Here’s how Lee describes the beginning of her process: "When starting a play, I ask myself, 'What's the last play in the world I would ever want to write?' Then I force myself to write it. I do this because I've found that the best way to make theater that unsettles and challenges my audience is to do things that make me uncomfortable." She continues, "I'm constantly trying to find value in unexpected places. My work is about struggling to achieve something in the face of failure and incompetence and not-knowing. The discomfort and awkwardness involved in watching this struggle reflect the truth of my experience."

Stay after each performance to hear more about the creative vision and process of this rising young talent in post-performance discussions with Young Jean Lee's Theater Company.

Official Website: http://www.wexarts.org/pa/index.php?eventid=3191