A Conversation With Award Winning Playwright DAVID HENRY HWANG

By Amanda Andrei

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been David Henry Hwang season in the D.C. metro area. Pinky Swear just pulled off a successful run of Bondage this November, Theater J is staging the regional premiere of Yellow Face this January and February, and the legendary playwright himself delivered an insightful and thought-provoking lecture at the Reston’s CenterStage this November detailing his relationship with writing, identity, and exploration of his Asian American heritage. We had a chance to talk to Hwang and ask him a few questions about his current works, his writing process, and thoughts on theater today.

Asian Fortune: Tell us a little about what projects you currently have in the works.

Hwang: My next show, KUNG FU, about the life of Bruce Lee, will premiere at NYC’s Signature Theatre in February 2014. In addition, I’m writing an animated feature film for DreamWorks, and a musical, THE FORGOTTEN ARM, with singer/songwriter Aimee Mann. I’m also writing the libretto for an opera, AN AMERICAN SOLDIER, with music by Huang Ruo, about the tragic death of Chinese American soldier Danny Chen, which will premiere at the National Opera in Washington, DC, next summer.

Asian Fortune: What’s your writing process? How do you generate ideas and structure your writing?

Hwang: As a writer, I’m always trolling for ideas — they may come from my life (as in YELLOW FACE), my family history (GOLDEN CHILD), a newspaper article (M. BUTTERFLY) or a visit overseas (CHINGLISH). I usually sit with an idea for a few years before actually beginning to write. Once I do, I start at the beginning and write to the end — but that only generates a first draft. A major part of playwriting is rewriting, which I will do up until I have to stop, because the show is about to open.

Asian Fortune: What’s a typical day (or week!) in your life like?

Hwang: I don’t know that I have a typical day/week, but, assuming I don’t have a new show in rehearsal, I try to write in the mornings, then spend my afternoons returning emails, having meetings, etc.

Asian Fortune: M. Butterfly was first previewed at the National Theater in Washington D.C., and this season, we have two D.C. theatre companies putting on your plays—Theater J staging Yellow Face and Pinky Swear presenting Bondage. What’s been your relationship with D.C. as a theatre city? How does it compare to other cities?

Hwang: I’ve always enjoyed working in DC, and traveling there. This may be a little sappy, but I still get a thrill riding in a cab or walking down the street and seeing the Capitol and the White House. As a theatre city, DC has become increasingly more adventurous, with many companies doing groundbreaking work, including Theater J and Pinky Swear. The growth of the DC theatre community over the past 10-20 years has been impressive.

Asian Fortune: How have you seen technology and social media change the way we experience theatre?

Hwang: I’ve long argued that the digital age would be good for live theatre, and I think this has been the case. As virtual realities proliferated, live art and entertainment became more valuable. Take pop music: artists earn less of their income nowadays from recordings, and more from touring and other uses of their songs. Similarly, Broadway, at any rate, is healthier than it’s been my entire lifetime, and musicals are arguably closer to the heart of American popular culture than at any time since the 1950’s. That said, the down side is that commercialism pulls the cart of the American Theatre in a way it didn’t, say, 20 years ago. I believe in commercial theatre, but I also feel it has to be part of a larger ecology, in which we put just as much, if not more, value on work which is not intended to make money, and never will.

Asian Fortune: How have roles of (and for) Asian Americans changed since you started theatre?

Hwang: How Asians are doing in theatre depends on the timespan over which we measure progress. Compared to 30 years ago, when I was getting started, Asians have made great strides in becoming a vital part of the American Theatre. 30 years ago, most mainstream theatre company artistic directors would not have been able to name an Asian American play, much less produce such a work. Compared to, say, 15 years ago, however, I don’t know that we’ve made so much progress, particularly where it comes to roles for Asian actors. In fact, given the resurgence of “yellow face” casting (nowadays justified as “blind casting”), one could argue that things have gotten worse in the past couple of years. The theatre industry needs to work harder to at least audition Asian actors for non-ethnic specific roles.

Asian Fortune: What encouragement would you give to young playwrights and writers (especially those of Asian American descent)?

Hwang: This is an amazing time for Asian American playwrights. Creators like Young Jean Lee and Mike Lew sometimes deal with explicitly Asian themes, but often do not. All young writers should realize that no one knows what is going to be successful — critically or commercially. In a way, this is liberating, because it forces us to fall back on writing what really interests us. Create something meaningful to you — then, if others agree, that’s only the icing on the cake.