Chapters of a Floating Life

An Irons in the Fire Project

May 7, 2018
China Institute

Written by Clarence Coo
Directed by Kareem Fahmy

Synopsis

It's the Second World War and two couples from China are trying to make ends meet in New York City. One husband and wife live uptown, obsessed with a past of poetry, painting, and gardens. The other two face the day-to-day reality of keeping a Chinatown restaurant in business. Their worlds, once separated by class and education, converge when the two women find each other in Central Park and fall under the spell of the Chinese language.

Performed By

Cleo Gray
Kenneth Lee
KK Moggie
David Shih
Stefani Kuo (stage directions)

Playwright

Clarence Coo is a recipient of a 2017 Whiting Award and the 2012 Yale Drama Series Prize. His plays include The Birds of Empathy, Beautiful Province (Belle Province), People Sitting in Darkness, and The God of Wine. His work has been developed at the Atlantic Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. He has received fellowships from the Dramatists Guild, the Rita Goldberg Playwrights Workshop at the Lark, NYFA, and the Playwrights Realm. He received his MFA in Playwriting at Columbia University. Currently, he is a resident playwright at New Dramatists, a member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, and the manager of academic administration of Columbia’s MFA Writing Program.

Director

Kareem Fahmy is a Canadian-born director of Egyptian descent who focuses on new play development. He is a 2017-2018 National Directors Fellow with The O’Neill/NNPN/The Kennedy Center/SDC. He has directed and co-conceived a number of world premiere productions including Sevan K. Greene’s This Time (Rising Circle, New York Times Critics’ Pick), James Scruggs’s 3/Fifths (3LD, New York Times 5 Must-See Shows), Victor Lesniewski’s Couriers and Contrabands (TBG Theatre), and Nikkole Salter’s Indian Head (Luna Stage). Other work: Rohina Malik’s The Mecca Tales (New York and New Jersey premieres, Voyage Theater Company/Crossroads Theatre Company), Adam Kraar’s Alternating Currents (world premiere, Working Theater). Kareem has developed plays with New York Theatre Workshop (where he is a Usual Suspect), MCC, Second Stage, Soho Rep, New Dramatists, The Lark, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Sundance Institute Theatre, Partial Comfort Productions, The Civilians, Noor Theatre, Silk Road Rising, and Berkeley Rep. Kareem is currently a Resident Director at The Flea Theater, and is an alumnus of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, the Van Lier Directing Fellowship, and NYTW’s Emerging Artist Fellowship. He is also a founder of Maia Directors, a consulting group for organizations and artists engaging with Middle Eastern stories. MFA: Columbia University. www.KareemFahmy.com

Poster Art by Sean Devare