From Yangtze Rep’s official press release:
Yangtze Repertory Theatre, a 33-year-old company dedicated to producing new work and bold reimaginations of classics that allow audiences to see the world through a contemporary Chinese lens, is proud to announce the newest members of Project YZ, the company’s AAPI Artist Residency program. Launched in 2022, the goal of Project YZ is to support and build an artistic home for AAPI immigrant artists.
The three 2025 recipients, who will receive $10,000 ($5,000 unrestricted, $5,000 in professional development) in support over one year, are the duo of writer and director Jing Dong and performer Julia Gu, playwright Jesse Jae Hoon, and writer and performer Jo Mei. During their one-year residency, Yangtze Rep will connect the resident artists with other collaborators, offer research support, and facilitate interviews and focus groups. Dramaturgical development and discussion with Yangtze’s artistic staff will take place throughout the residency.
Chongren Fan, Artistic Director of Yangtze Rep, remarked, “Project YZ exists to make space for theater makers from different disciplines without the pressure of the show-must-go-on mantra. As we enter our fourth year, it feels akin to celebrating a senior year milestone. We are thrilled to embark on this journey with our new cohort of four artists working on three distinct projects, each deeply personal and courageous, engaging intimately with the significant questions confronting us all today.”
Playwright Jesse Jae Hoon will use his residency to develop the first play in a three-part series called The Korea Cycle, which follows the tumultuous political history of South Korea. This intimate political thriller will follow the People’s Committees of the late 1940s, from their formation in the hopes of a true democracy of the masses to their systematic undermining and bloody dissolution.
Jae Hoon says, “I'm incredibly excited to be a part of this fantastic cohort and to be working with Yangtze Rep, having previously collaborated with Chongren on my short play BAGS. The Korea Cycle is a giant behemoth of a project, surprising nobody who knows me, and it's an honor to have Yangtze's support as we begin to tackle the political conflict that would go on to influence America's approach to war, diplomacy, and global economics to the present day.”