Fiji Theater Company Inc dba Ping Chong and Company
Programs
Program 1 [2018]
In 2017-2018 Ping Chong + Company (hereafter PCC) created and presented work in New York City and in 5 states (New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Alaska). We also began development on several new projects, and completed multiple artistic residencies around the country, serving over 5,000 people:ALAXSXA | ALASKA is an original theater work exploring the complex histories, cultures, and environments of Alaska, created by Ping Chong, artist Ryan Conarro, and Gary Beaver (Central Yup'ik). It premiered at the University of Alaska Anchorage in August 2017, followed by a five-city tour (Anchorage, Homer, Bethel, Nome, and Juneau) before its New York premiere, a three-week run at La Mama ETC. The production received a 4-star review from TimeOut Magazine, and the Village Voice called it, "a spellbinding history of the 49th State." Alaskan and New York presentations were accompanied by workshops, story circles, and other engagement activities. Undesirable Elements: Generation NYZ was commissioned by the New Victory, and premiered January 2018 at the Duke on 42nd Street. Seven New Yorkers (ages 18 to 22) from across the city shared stories of the challenges and joys of growing up New York City, including experiences with immigration and homelessness, depression and loss, gender and sexual identity. It ran for 16 performances, including 8 student matinees, and was named a New York Times Critic's Pick.Aan Ytxu Sani: Noble People of the Land premiered in March 2018 in partnership with the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council in Alaska. This UE production was developed through in-depth interviews with over twenty Juneau community members, five of whom form the cast, sharing stories illuminating their deep connections with Juneau's Native culture and history.Undesirable Elements/Dearborn premiered in May 2018, and focused on the voices of Arab American Muslim women in Dearborn, Michigan, home of one of the largest Arab American communities in the United States. It was created in collaboration with the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. UE/Dearborn was presented for two sold-out public performances (one of which was live-streamed) and one student matinee. Beyond Sacred: Voices of Muslim Identity (BSVMI) is a work in the UE series exploring the first-hand experiences of diverse group of young Muslim New Yorkers in a time of rising Islamophobia. BSVMI premiered at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in April of 2015. Since then, it has toured to 8 states and Washington, D.C, and has been seen by over 10,000 people. In FY18, BSVMI was presented at City Lore in New York City, Wesleyan College (Connecticut), Lafayette College (Pennsylvania), and at the International Performing Arts Conference in Philadelphia. Ping Chong directed a revival of his seminal work NOSFERATU at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA in November.Calling: A dance with faith is a new dance theater piece in development. Calling features two Muslim American women dancers exploring their complex and powerful relationships to dance and faith. A workshop production led by NYC-based director and company member Jesca Prudencio was presented for two public performances in June 2018 at Downtown Arts. This piece will be developed further in FY19, in anticipation of a full-length presentation.Arts Education and Training In FY18 PCC offered two training programs, a summer institute focused on the UE methodology and another on devising new work. PCC continued its arts education programs, returning to MS191, PS84, and MS256 in Manhattan, and adding a program with 102Q in Queens, as well as continuing its partnership with Global Kids. PCC also completed the 2nd year of a pilot program in 4 high schools in Newark, NJ, in partnership with NJPAC. PCC served a total of approximately 1000 students through our arts education programs in FY18.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2017 – Jun 30, 2018Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$866.2KArtistic Leadership Transition and Education
In December 2022, the retirement of founder and Artistic Director Ping Chong and Bruce Allardice, longstanding Executive Director heralded a major organizational transformation. The company is now in the second year of a planned three-year transition period, and has announced an innovative leadership model, in the form of a collaborative five-person Artistic Leadership Team (ALT) which will develop and realize a vision for PCCs future. In 2022-2023, we presented:Inside/Out...voices from the disability community, an Undesirable Elements production that shared seven cast members reflections on living with disability. Inside/Out was presented at Lincoln Centers Summer for the City Festival in August 2022.Lazarus 1972 2022 was Ping Chongs final work with the Company as Artistic Director. Lazarus was the first work that Ping Chong created as an independent artist in 1972. The new production premiered in September/October 2022 at LaMama, an interdisciplinary, imagistic meditation on alienation and belonging, the passage of time, and the evolution of his artistry.Testify (the worst is yet to come), a lecture and solo performance by Nile Harris was presented as part of the Public Theaters Under the Radar Festival in January 2023. This work was developed in Fall 2022 as part of the third year of the Creative Fellowships program which provides paid 8-month fellowships to two emerging artists of color. On February 2023, a two-day Undesirable Elements 30th Anniversary Symposium celebrated the history of UE in partnership with The New School's Eugene Lang College and College of Performing Arts. The celebration brought cast members, presenters, creative collaborators, producing partners and colleagues in the field of documentary theater to the university for a student workshop, panels, and a culminating evening performance from work-in-progress, Undesirable Elements: Ukraine. Generations Rise: Reston, directed by Sara Zatz and Tuy?t Th? Ph?m was held in partnership with Reston Community Center (RCC) on March 24-25, 2023. In this Undesirable Elements production, cast members ranging in age from 14 to 57 reflected on Reston's unique history and utopian vision as the nation's first planned community, and what brought their families to Reston. The production addresses themes of healing, grief, growth, struggles with mental health and identity, the impact of COVID, and the search for community.Undesirable Elements: Ukraine (directed by Ping Chong and Virlana Tkacz, Artistic Director of Yara Arts Group), explores the experiences of Ukrainian American New Yorkers and recent Ukrainian arrivals: Ukrainian identity, immigration, intergenerational connections, the history of Ukrainians in the U.S., and the disastrous effect of Russias war. The work in progress was shared at New School University as part of UE 30th Anniversary Symposium, and premiered May 5-14, 2023 at the Ukrainian Museum.An Extra Ordinary Afternoon with Ping Chong and Company was held at La Mama Theater in June 2023, a day-long gathering of curated conversation and new performance. This event invited new and returning PCC audience members to engage with new creative visions and artistic collaborators, and represented the first public presentations curated by the Companys new leadership model.Education Programs: PCC continued to provide its arts education program to six NYC schools in FY23. Students in 19 classrooms in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, worked with teaching artists to explore identity, culture, and sense of belonging and connection. PCC also partnered with the New Victorys Education program, NYC Department of Education, and the Lower Kuskokwim School District in Alaska, to create curricular materials based on PCCs work. PCCs newly launched a Creative Aging program partnered with a NYC senior center, and higher education workshops happened at the New School for Drama, UC Davis, UCONN, San Jose State, and Mars Hill University.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2022 – Jun 30, 2023Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$1.2M
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