Flight of a Legless Bird 無腳鳥的飛行
by Ethan Luk
A new play reading in Cantonese and English
Directed by Wilson Wang
Performed at the Pao Arts Center, 99 Albany Street, Boston
Flight of a Legless Bird follows the intertwined lives of Robin and Leslie, two queer artists from the 1980s to the 2000s. Robin, a filmmaker in New York's West Village, confronts the reality of a HIV/AIDS diagnosis, while Leslie, an accomplished Cantopop star and actor, grapples with his personal hurdles in bustling Hong Kong. Their worlds collide by chance, uniting them through shared desires as the new millennium approaches. Poetically fusing Cantonese and English, the play reminisces a golden era of music, love, identity, and the transformative power of art in a rapidly changing time.
Flight of a Legless Bird is a recipient of The Paul Stephen Lim Playwriting Award Distinguished Achievement at the 2022 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Premiered in July 2021 at Ying Drama Studio’s (鷹劇坊) MINI Theater Festival in Beijing; developed through New York Theater Workshop’s Mind the Gap program with funding from The Sam Hutton Fund at Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts.
Pricing : Free, suggested donation $10
Performance Dates:
Friday, June 2, 2023 - 7:00 PM + Post-show conversation
Saturday, June 3, 2023 - 2:00PM
Saturday, June 3, 2023 - 7:00PM + Post-show “Red Heels” Cantopop Dance Party
About Found in Translation:
Found in Translation is a collaboration between Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston (AATAB), CHUANG Stage, and Pao Arts Center. Established in 2021, Found in Translation celebrates the power and complexities of being multilingual, immigrants, or identifying as Asian American in Greater Boston through theatre.
Contact : ashley.yung@bcnc.net
About the Artists
Ethan Luk (Playwright)
Ethan Luk was born and raised in Hong Kong. His work has been recognized by 92Y, The Kennedy Center, One Teen Story, Sine Theta Magazine, and The Adroit Journal among others. He is currently an undergraduate at Princeton University. www.ethanluk.com
Wilson Wang (Director)
Born in Northern China, Wilson Wang is currently a student at the University of California, Berkeley. His practices actively engages both filmic and performance arts through the lens of critical humanities, with a specific interest in corporeality, race, aesthetic philosophy, and labor. His artistic contributions include Flight of a Legless Bird, A Visit from the Dead, The Moment I Died (short film), and A Breath Under Water (short film).
Patrick Ip (Leslie Cheung)
Patrick Ip is an LA based actor who travels between Asia and North America. Graduated from UC Berkeley with an Electrical Engineering Computer Science degree, he had worked in several fields but couldn’t resist his love for performing--he received his master’s in acting at Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2019. He has performed in Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong.
EK William (Robin Heron)
Meet EK William. Fresh off of playing the villainous Pharoah in Ed Chisholm's Off-Broadway show "The Savage Queen", you can now spot this method actor in several national commercials and films. EK loves creating characters who are pensive, intense, dominant, and passionate; all having multi-dimensionality. EK has received training from New England Conservatory, Checkov Actors Studio Boston, and the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute.
Hana Yiu (Anita Mui)
Hana Yiu, a versatile classical singer, is making her theatrical debut with Chuang Stage in the US. As a classical singer, She will be joining the esteemed Seraphic Fire at Aspen Music Festival this summer. Additionally, she is also part of the New York Philharmonic Chorus. Hana holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music and a Master's degree from The Hartt School.
Anthony Eng (Cheung Wut-Hoi/Theo)
Anthony Eng is a Boston-based actor who usually only does short films. He is excited to make his theatre debut in Flight of the Legless Bird. When not on stage, he is a teacher and a single dad. He’d like to thank Ken Cheeseman, the cast and crew, as well as the various families who helped with childcare!
JK Wong (Kenny/Daffy)
JK Wong is a Boston local artist. He is most known for his multilingual indie surf punk band, Orca Bones, his live-looping project, aznjujube, and his canto-pop band, Juk Sing.
Originally from Quincy, MA, JK can now be spotted kicking the Chinese shuttlecock or eating snacks around Boston Chinatown.
Jen Lewis (Dinah Heron)
Jen Lewis is an Actor, director, teacher, activist and mom, Jen teaches Acting at Bunker Hill Community College and served as Interim Executive Director of StageSource. As You Like It (Merely Players); Othello (Dream Role Players), Legally Dead (Boston Playwrights'); Living Out (Lyric Stage); and Friends of Eddie Coyle (Stickball).
Evan Taylor (David)
Evan Taylor is a Boston Based actor currently attending Emerson College (BFA Acting 24’), and is thrilled to work with CHUANG Stage/Pao Arts Center/AATAB for the first time. Recent credits include Logan in Paris (Emerson Stage) and Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (EmShakes). A big thanks to my family and friends for supporting my dream, you rock!
About the Partners
CHUANG Stage is the first Mandarin-English bilingual, bicultural theatre company nationwide, cultivating joyful and challenging Asian American stories that pioneer a new activism in the arts.
Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston is a social collective that empowers and connects Pan-Asian theatre artists in the Greater Boston area.
The Found in Translation Series is supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts' Public Art for Spatial Justice program, with funding from the Barr Foundation.