East Side Story

Artistic Director of Hypokrit Theatre Company, an O'Neill and Lincoln Center Directing Fellow, Women's Project Lab (Director), Arpita's resume is endless. I have the extreme pleasure of working with Arpita on my musical, The Golden Threshold, and we sat down to dig deep into her story of coming to America, living in New York and how she's flourishing as a South Asian director. Our conversation veered into imagining what the world would be like if no country had been colonized. That's a play I'd want to see.

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We're up in Salem, CT doing a workshop of my new musical, The Golden Threshold. Since episodes are being delayed, here's another bonus episode with some of the cast, Meetu Chilana and Sorab Wadia. Full transcript will be available soon. IG: @eastsidestorypod / @cheeyangmusic / @meetuchilana / @sorabwadia

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"Don't ever forget, you will be thought of as an other." - Cynthia Meng

Within a year of freelancing, Cynthia has worked in rooms for musicals in-development on Broadway, Off-Broadway and out-of-town tryouts. What is her secret? Does it only have to do with luck, like she puts it? Or is it more? I believe there's certainly more to that and we investigate that in the episode.

What Cynthia thought of playing classical piano (3:05)

What Cynthia studied at Harvard (13:45)

How Cynthia got to work on Hadestown (21:19)

The difference between Broadway and Off-Broadway for Cynthia's jobscope (29:12)

How has Cynthia conquered being Asian and Female in this industry (34:03)

And so much more…

What was classical piano competitions like? (3:52)

Was musical theater part of family tradition? (8:41)

Did she actively run away from what her parents associated with? (12:40)

What was it like to work on a Tony Award winning musical? (23:37)

Does seeing yourself represented on stage makes a difference in your career choices? (37:30)

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"When I'm speaking to my mom, I literally don't have the vocabulary to express the depth of my emotion to her." - David Park

Having not been back to Korea in over 17 years, David has always identified as American. But when faced with the world telling him that he's a "flavored American" as he would say, how does that affect his outlook on life and his journey in theatre?

How David grew up in LA (2:41)

David's passion for The Farewell (5:16)

David's really surprising family tree (12:18)

Why David started musical theatre late (20:11)

Why David thinks that Asians are basically Switzerland (30:24)

What career David can model his after (37:19)

And so much more…

How would it be like, living in Korea? (10:36)

When was the realization that being American had so many subsidiaries? (17:07)

What was the real lesson since closing Off-Broadway? (24:37)

What can people stand to hear from an Asian American actor living in New York? (31:48)

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NYU Tisch - Graduate Musical Theatre Writing

Pace University - BFA Musical Theater

Pioneer Theatre

The Farewell

Crazy Rich Asians

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"Am I entering a field that doesn't have me in its legacy?" - Desdemona Chiang

Being an only-child shaped the lives of both Cheeyang and Desdemona. They connected over their shared over-achieving nature, big identity questions as theater artists, and their different views on mortality.

How Desdemona grew up as an immigrant from Taiwan (2:17)

Why Desdemona became a Biology major (7:44)

What happened when Desdemona dissected cadavers (14:52)

How Desdemona tackled post-graduation depression (18:16)

When Desdemona came out as a Theatre Artist (21:17)

If being Chinese shaped Desdemona's life (26:30)

How Desdemona feels about doing art (35:01)

Why Desdemona is afraid of dying (42:00)

And so much more…

Did being an only child contribute to overachieving? (05:11)

Was Biology undoing what theatre was doing and vice versa? (16:17)

What do you do when your template for life is ripped away? (18:45)

What are the qualities of a good director? (28:47)

Why do people tell stories? (35:50)

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UC Berkeley - Biology

University of Washington - MFA Directing

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"It was a huge transition going from hating myself and hating my Indianness and finding out that in the process of white-washing myself, I was erasing my parents' existence in my life." - Kuhoo Verma

From graduating NYU, to booking a movie, to starring Off-Broadway and working on multiple Broadway-bound workshops, Kuhoo Verma is a force to be reckoned with. There is an energy about her that is pure and open, and the perfect embodiment of light.

Why Kuhoo never really talked about her family growing up (4:06)

Kuhoo's relationship with colorism within her community (7:53)

What the name 'Kuhoo' means (9:52)

Kuhoo's relationship with 'diverse casting' (11:49)

How an education at NYU shaped Kuhoo (18:32)

If anyone mentored Kuhoo in her first professional theatre experience (26:05)

Kuhoo's experience working with Dave Malloy and Annie Tippe on Signature Theatre's Octet (33:08)

How Kuhoo handles playing Indian characters (41:20)

And so much more…

Was it kind of permission or racial awakening to start discussing her own relationship with race? (4:50)

Was performing always in the plan? (15:59)

How was the experience doing Monsoon Wedding at Berkeley Rep? (22:23)

How was time on set of The Big Sick? (28:51)

What advice would you give yourself? (44:36)

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NYU Tisch - Graduate Musical Theatre Writing

NYU Steinhardt - Vocal Performance

Signature Theatre

Dave Malloy

Annie Tippe

The Big Sick

Shaina Taub

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Highlights from the first 3 episodes of the season. Each week, Cheeyang sits down with an Asian or Asian-American artist working in the New York Theatre scene and excavates their life story — how they grew up, as well as projects they've worked on and upcoming work that we should anticipate. Guests (in order of appearance): 1: Kuhoo Verma (Octet); 2: Desdemona Chiang (2019 Princess Grace Award); and 3: David Park (Red Roses Green Gold). Full transcript available. IG: @eastsidestorypod / @cheeyangmusic

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