MOON BEAR

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2023
7:30PM at The Shiva Theater at the Public

by Nina Ki (xe/she/they)
Directed by cara hinh (they/she)

Stage Manager: Angela Salazar
Dramaturg: Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel (she/they)

featuring Ashil Lee (pronoun inclusive), Che’Li (they/them), Clew (they/them), Futaba Shioda (he/him/his), Jojo Brown (she/her), Si Chen (she/they/她), and Wesley Han (they/them)
with Stage Directions read by Marshall Joun (they/he/she)

Silver and Richie are siblings without parents. As the two grow up, they cling to one another as each other's family, and help one another navigate their positions as social outsiders - Silver as a genderqueer weirdo, and Richie as a drug dealing gangbanger. In a parallel world, Bear is ousted from his tribe and through a gesture of filial piety, is turned by Hwanung, a gay Korean god, into a human woman. S/he is then coerced into being Hwanung's pregnant beard and has Hwanung's child. As family bonds begin to disintegrate, and the god-world begins to crumble, Silver and Bear must redefine home for themselves, to find power through the magic of stories.

Nina Ki (xe/she/they)

**Writer**
Nina Ki (xe/she/they) is a Queerean (Queer + Korean) American playwright. Xe holds a BFA from NYU in Dramatic Writing, and xer plays have been read, recorded, and presented nationwide, including with Clubbed Thumb, Ma-Yi Theater Company, MCC Theater, The Parsnip Ship, Yale Summer Cabaret, and Queens Theater. Xer play “Moon Bear” was given special consideration for the Relentless Award, and xer play “Ravage” was a finalist for the Playwrights Realm's Fellowship. Xe was an inaugural member of The Parsnip Ship's Radio Roots Writer's Group and a member of Clubbed Thumb's Early Career Writer's Group. Xe is also a member of Ma-Yi's Writers Lab. www.nina-ki.com.

cara hinh (they/she)

**Director**
cara hinh (they/she) is an Indiana-born queer, fat, mixed Viet theatre maker. They rejoice in work that uplifts the messy intersectionalities of holding multiple identities. Recent select credits include Transfer direction of Sanctuary City at Arena Stage and Berkeley Rep, Little Women at Perseverance Theatre, Buried Ruins with the Sống Collective, love you long time (already) at Atlantic MixFest. Cara has been a Drama League Fellow, member of the ‘20-22 Roundabout Directors Group, a Directing Apprentice at Actors Theatre of Louisville, SDC Observer on Hadestown and a Fellow at Baltimore Center Stage. carahinh.com

Angela Salazar

**Stage Manager**
This is Angela Salazar’s second time working with Breaking the Binary Theatre, having previously stage managed the script workshop of POOL by Temidayo Amay (2023). Other regional credits include Stage Management Apprentice at the Denver Center for Performing Arts (2022-2023), Assistant Props for the National Tour of Cats (2021-2022), and Stage Management Intern for the MUNY for Kinky Boots and Footloose (2019). She graduated from the University of Michigan for her Bachelor's and Mesa Community College for their Associate's.

Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel (she/they)

**Dramaturg**
Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel (she/they) is a dramaturg, journalist and oral historian with roots in and around Chicago. As a queer, fat, brown femme, they endeavor to amplify and archive stories that go lost/stolen/forgotten. Their arts writing and research explore possibility models for a more inclusive and sustainable theatre culture and industry (American Theatre magazine, Teen Vogue, Chicago Reader, Windy City Times, Rescripted, Austin Chronicle, Sightlines). As a dramaturg and new play worker, they specialize in queer family drama, theatre for young audiences, and devised theatre (Free Street Theater, Timeline Theatre, Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Goodman Theatre, among others). Learn more at YasminZacaria.com and on socials aka dramaturgically it tracks.

Ashil Lee (pronoun inclusive)

**SILVER**
Ashil Lee (pronoun inclusive) NYC-based actor, playwright, and sex educator. Korean-American, trans nonbinary child of immigrants. 2023 Lucille Lortel nominee (Outstanding Ensemble: The Nosebleed) Selected acting credits: The Nosebleed (LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater, Woolly Mammoth), world premiere of Gina Femia's The Virtuous Fall... in rep with Measure for Measure (Spicy Witch Productions), Juliet+Romeo (Pocket Universe), theatrical premiere of Dogville (dir.Robert O'Hara). Playwriting credits: Member of Clubbed Thumb’s 2023-2024 Early Career Writer’s Group. Finalist: Playwright’s Realm Fellowship (23-24). Semi-finalist: Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship (23-24). Former member: Echoes Emerging Writer’s Group 2022-2023 (Primary Stages) and Pataphysics 2020, led by Clare Barron. NYU: Tisch. BFA in Acting, Minor in Youth Mental Health. NYU Steinhardt: Master's Candidate in Mental Health and Wellness. www.ashillee.com

Che’Li (they/them)

Che'Li is the life-performance embodiment projected by alyxandra ciale charfauros (they/them), ritualizing consciousness and shaping change at the intersections of beauty, absurdity, and sensuality. They are a Queer, Disabled CHamPinoy healing artist based in NYC. Currently, they are training to be an Alexander Technique teacher and recovering post-grad from University of Michigan’s BFA acting conservatory (‘21). Look out for them in Jess X Snow's upcoming short film, Roots That Reach Toward the Sky and American Stage’s production of The Chinese Lady. (www.cialikethey.com)