Ping Chong


Ping Chong is a Canadian-born American contemporary theatre director, choreographer, video and installation artist. Born in Toronto and raised in the Chinatown section of Manhattan, Chong is considered a seminal figure in Asian-American theatre and the Asian-American arts movement.

Career and works

Originally trained as a visual artist and filmmaker at the School of Visual Arts and Pratt Institute, Chong studied dance and performance with Meredith Monk and began his theatrical career as a member of Monk's company, the House, in 1971. Chong was both a performer and collaborator on The House. His co-created work includes The Travelogue Series: Paris 1972, Chacon 1974, and Venice/Milan 1976. His final collaboration with Monk was The Games in 1983 which premiered at the Schaubuhne in Berlin, in then-West Germany.
Chong created his first independent theatre work, Lazarus, in 1972. He has worked in the visual arts, film, dance, and Chinese opera. In the earliest works, such as Lazarus, Fear and Loathing in Gotham, and Humboldt's Current, the theme of otherness reflected Chong's personal sense of estrangement from the society he grew up in as a first-generation immigrant in a segregated city. Later, the theme became more universal, encompassing a broader range of material. Many of Chong's works concern colonialism and the collision of cultures and/or issues of cultural diversity, and frequently draw on documentary and interview-based materials
Ping Chong + Company was founded in 1975. The company's mission is "to explore the meaning of contemporary theatre and art on a national and international level" and "to create and tour innovative multi-disciplinary works of theater and art that explore the intersections of history, race, art and technology in the modern world." The company has created and toured more than 100 works by Chong and his collaborators, which have been presented at theaters, performing arts centers, and arts festivals around the world.
Key works in Chong's evolution include Humboldt's Current, from his first decade. It is an early work anticipating Chong's interest in geopolitical and historical subjects. It received an Obie Award. In 1980, Ping Chong formed a small ensemble, and it was with this group of performers, which included Jeannie Hutchins, Louise Smith, John Fleming, and Brian Hallas, that he evolved his performance style. A.M./A.M.—The Articulated Man marked Chong's interest in choreographic, non-literary theater. The second decade of Ping Chong's career includes 3 major works back-to-back. Nosferatu, A Symphony of Darkness, Angels of Swedenborg and Kind Ness. Kind Ness was the recipient of a USA Playwright's Award in 1988. The 1990s marked major changes in Ping Chong's work. It is at this time that he disbanded his decade old ensemble in order to explore a solo career. From 1990 with the East/West Quartet: Deshima, Chinoiserie, After Sorrow, Pojagi and in 1992 with the launch of the Undesirable Elements series, the work took a turn towards poetic documentary and historical subjects. The exception to this is the puppet theater works beginning with Kwaidan which largely nods toward Chong's earlier allegorical works.
Ping Chong's early interest in puppetry starting with Lazarus in 1972 was given full expression in the creation of large scale productions of puppet theatre works including, Kwaidan which received Unima-USA's Citation of Excellence in the Art of Puppetry, Obon: Tales of Rain and Moonlight, the sequel to Kwaidan, and Cathay: Three Tales of China, Kwaidan and Obon were both based on Kwaidan, Japanese ghost stories collected and adapted by Lafcadio Hearn. Cathay, a commission by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, was set in China and used three interconnected stories to explore three eras of Chinese history: the Tang Dynasty, the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese invasion during World War II, and contemporary China today. Cathay was named one of the Top 10 Shows of the 2005-2006 Season by NY Theatre Wire and was awarded three Henry Hewes Awards for achievement in theatrical design.
Since 1992, Chong and his collaborators have created over 70 works in the Undesirable Elements project, an ongoing series of oral-history theater works exploring issues of race, culture, and identity in the lives of individuals in specific communities. The development process includes an extended residency and rehearsal period during which Ping Chong and collaborators conduct intensive interviews with potential participants who are not generally performers, from the local community. These interviews then form the basis of a script, performed by the interviewees, which covers the historical and personal narratives of individuals who are in some way living between two cultures. Chong has often described the series as, "Seated operas for the spoken word." One of the most recent entries in the series is Beyond Sacred: Voices of Muslim Identity which started touring in 2016. Beyond Sacred is an interview-based theatre production exploring the diverse experiences of Muslim communities in the United States. The five cast members of Beyond Sacred vary in many ways but share the common experience of coming of age in a post-9/11 New York City, at a time of increasing Islamophobia. They are young men and women that reflect a wide range of Muslim identities, including those who have converted to Islam, those who were raised Muslim, but have since left the faith, those who identify as “culturally” Muslim, and those who are observant on a daily basis. It stars Tiffany Yasmin Abdelghani, Ferdous Dehqan, Kadin Herring, Amir Khafagy and Maha Syed.
In 2014, Chong and dramaturg, director, and playwright Talvin Wilks created Collidescope: Adventures in Pre- and Post-Racial America in collaboration with undergraduate and graduate designers and actors in the University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. Of the work, Chong says, "In response to the recent killings of Trayvon Martin, shooting of Jordan Davis, shooting of Michael Brown and the seemingly endless killings of black men and boys for unarmed offenses, we have designed Collidescope to be a collision-course view of the legacy and psyche behind this history of racial violence, racism and social injustice in America." Subsequent adaptations have performed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Wake Forest University.
There are aspects of Chong's prolific career that have remained under the radar. Primarily an artist of the theater, he also, when the opportunity arose, created works of video art, pure dance works, and installations. The two-dance works are, I Will Not be Sad In This World, Baldwin/NOW. Video works include the video adaptation of I Will Not Be Sad In This World and Plage Concrete. His installation work includes Kind Ness not to be confused with his play Kind Ness, a commission by MIT's List Visual Arts Center in its inaugural season in 1985. Another highlight of Chong's installation work was Testimonial commissioned for the Venice Bienalle.
In 2023, Chong was honored with an Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement. He is featured in the 2025 documentary about Meredith Monk entitled Monk in Pieces.
TitleYearMediumCollaborator, notes
A Universal History of Infamy: Variations on Nocturne in 1200 Seconds2020Visual art and installationKenya Bullock, Jaime Sunwoo, Matt Chilton, Zakaria Khafagy, Irisdelia Garcia
Nocturne Remix2020Film and mediaEdwin Aguila, Kenya Bullock, Irisdelia Garcia, Zakaria Khafagy
Collidescope 4.0 2019TheaterTalvin Wilks
Difficult Lives2019TheaterHiromi Sakamoto and cast
ALAXSXA ALASKA2017TheaterRyan Conarro, Justin Perkins, Gary Upay'aq Beaver
Cage Is Stage2017Visual art and installationDanny Yunh
Collidescope 3.0 2017TheaterTalvin Wilks
Collidescope 2.0 2016TheaterTalvin Wilks
Baldwin/NOW2016DanceEnsemble
PUSH! Real Athletes. Real Stories. Real Theatre.2015TheaterSara Zatz and performers
Beyond Sacred: Voices of Muslim Identity2015TheaterSara Zatz, Ryan Conarro, and performers
Collidescope: Adventures in Pre- and Post-Racial America2014TheaterTalvin Wilks
Brooklyn '632013TheaterTalvin Wilks and performers
Angels of Swedenborg 2011DanceJohn Fleming
The Devil You Know2010Puppetry, theater
Cry for Peace: Voices From The Congo2010TheaterKyle Bass, Sara Zatz, and performers
Throne of Blood2010Theater
Invisible Voices: New Perspectives On Disability2009TheaterSara Zatz and performers
The Women of the Hill2009TheaterTalvin Wilks and cast
Secret History: The Philadelphia Story2009TheaterSara Zatz and performers
Delta Rising2008TheaterTalvin Wilks and cast
Inside/Out...voices from the disability community2008TheaterSara Zatz and performers
Tales from the Salt City2008TheaterSara Zatz and performers
Undesirable Elements/Asian America2007TheaterSara Zatz and performers
Cocktail2007TheaterVince LiCata
Six Lives2007TheaterSara Zatz, Bonnie Morris, Michael Robins, and performers
Testimonial II2006Visual art and installationMichiki Okaya
Native Voices-Secret History2005TheaterSara Zatz and performers
Undesirable Elements/Ten Years Later2005TheaterSara Zatz, the performers, Sean Kelley-Pegg, Bonnie Morris, Mai Moua
Undesirable Elements/Albuquerque2005TheaterSara Zatz and performers
Cathay: Three Tales of China2005–2012Puppetry
Secret Histories: Seattle Youth2004TheaterSara Zatz and performers
BLIND NESS: The Irresistible Light of Encounter2004Theater, puppetry, circusMichael Rohd, Bobby Bermea, Jeff Randall, Burke Walker
Secret History: Journeys Abroad, Journeys Within2004TheaterLeyla Modirzadeh, Sara Zatz, and cast
God Favors The Predator2004TheaterMichael Rohd
La Clemenza Di Tito2003Music and opera
Undesirable Elements/Pioneer Valley2003TheaterTalvin Wilks and cast
Undesirable Elements/Hanover2002TheaterMichael Rohd and cast
Undesirable Elements/Berlin2002TheaterMichael Rohd and cast
UE 92/022002TheaterTalvin Wilks and cast
Children of War2002Theater
Reason2002TheaterMichael Rohd
EDDA: Viking Tales of Lust, Greed and Family2001–2002TheaterVictoria Abras
Undesirable Elements/Madison, WI2001Theater
Undesirable Elements/Atlanta2001TheaterTalvin Wilks and cast
Secret Histories/Charleston2001TheaterTalvin Wilks and cast
Obon: Tales of Rain and Moonlight2002–2003Puppetry, theater
Secret History2000Theater
Undesirable Elements/Washington DC2000TheaterMichael Rohd and cast
Undesirable Elements/Chicago1999TheaterMichael Rohd and cast
Undesirable Elements/East Harlem1999TheaterEmerald Trinket Monsod, Alain Jezequel, and cast
Undesirable Elements/Hamilton College1999Theater
Pojagi1999–2000Theater
Undesirable Elements: A/P/A1999Theater
SlutForArt1999–2002Dance, theaterMuna Tseng
Truth and Beauty1999–2005TheaterMichael Rohd, Jeff Randall
Undesirable Elements/Newark1998Theater
Nocturne in 1200 Seconds1998Theater
Undesirable Elements/Seattle1998Theater
Kwaidan1998–2000Theater, puppetry
Undesirable Elements/Yellow Springs1997Theater
Undesirable Elements/Rotterdam1997TheaterDave Schwab and cast
Undesirable Elements/Los Angeles1997TheaterDavid Mohrmann and cast
After Sorrow1997–1998Dance, theaterMuna Tseng
Curlew River1997Music and opera
98.6: A Convergence in 15 Minutes1996–2007Dance, theater
Interfacing Joan1996–1997TheaterWritten by Louise Smith
Undesirable Elements/Tokyo 1995TheaterHiromi Sakamoto and cast
Testimonial1995Visual art and installationFumio Nanjo, Dana Friis-Hansen
Persuasion1994TheaterAnne Basting, Vince LiCata
Chinoiserie1994–1995Music, opera, theaterMichael Matthews, Regine Anna Seckinger, Ric Oquita
Undesirable Elements/Twin Cities1994TheaterEmerald Trinket Monsod, Cochise Anderson, and cast
Undesirable Elements/New York1993Theater
Undesirable Elements/Cleveland1993Theater
American Gothic1992Theater
A Facility for the Containment and Channeling of Undesirable Elements1992Visual art and installationCarlos Solanas
I Will Not Be Sad in This World1991/2008Dance, film, media
Elephant Memories1990–1994Theater
Deshima1990–1996Theater, danceMichael Matthews
Tempus Fugit1990Visual art and installationCurtis Carter
4AM America1990–1991Theater
Noiresque: The Fallen Angel1989Theater
Brightness1989CircusLouise Smith, designers, and performers
In The Absence of Memory1989Visual art and installation
Skin - A State of Being1989Theater
Quartetto1988TheaterMichael Matthews
Snow1988Theater
Plage Concrete1988Visual art and installationGary Garrels, Jock Reynolds
Without Law, Without Heaven1987TheaterWritten by Norman Duke
Maraya - Acts of Nature in Geological Time1987–1988Theater
KIND NESS1986–1993Theater
Nosferatu1985–1991/2017Theater
Angels of Swedenborg1985–1989Dance, theaterJohn Fleming
Kind Ness1985Visual art and installationKaty Kline
A Race1983–1984Theater
Astonishment and The Twins1984–1987TheaterLouise Smith
Anna Into Nightlight1982–1983Dance, film and media, puppetry, theater
Nuit Blanche, A Select View of Earthlings1981–1985TheaterLouise Smith, John Miglietta, Tone Blevins, Pablo Vela
A.M./A.M. - The Articulated Man1981–1985Dance, theater
Rainer and the Knife1981–1982TheaterRob List
Humboldt's Current1977–1980Theater
Fear and Loathing in Gotham1975–1982Theater
I Flew to Fiji, You Went South1973Theater
Lazarus1972–1980Theater