Bennett Media Studio
Presents
Esther Chae’s SOLO PERFORMANCE “SO THE ARROW FLIES”
A North Korean spy. The Korean-American FBI agent that chases her down. Who will get hit first?
WHAT: Award winning actress Esther K. Chae presents SO THE ARROW FLIES for three nights May 14- 16th, 2010 at Bennett Media Studio in the West Village. SO THE ARROW FLIES is a solo performance piece about four characters whose lives intertwine: the North Korean spy, the Korean-American FBI agent that brings her down, a grandmother who is a survivor of the Korean War and the spy’s young daughter who is half Korean-half Caucasian. With only a turn on a chair, Esther K. Chae plays the following four dynamic roles. This show was previously presented at the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference, Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the World Women’s Forum (Seoul). Each night is presented by a special guest host and will be followed by an additional 30 minute talkback with the host and creator/performer Esther K. Chae.
Fri 5/14 @ 7pm Hosted by Ed Bennett (President of Bennett Media Studios; Former CEO of MTV Networks’ VH-1)
Sat 5/15 @ 7pm Hosted by Maria Di Dia (Vice President at Theatre Management Associates; Award winning production company of STOMP)
Sun 5/16 @ 3pm Hosted by Jeannie Park (Former Executive Editor, People Magazine; Founding President, Asian American Journalists Association-New York)
Each night’s post discussion will explore post-9/11 themes of conflicting political and social ideologies between North Korea, South Korea and the US, how we see ourselves as immigrants and/or Americans, government sanctioned torture, and how changing political tides affect 4 intergenerational mother-daughter relationships and ultimately love for one another. “Amazing and beautiful show”- David Henry Hwang (Tony Award winning author of M Butterfly)
“Chae skillfully absorbs the audience into a world of espionage and deception …fascinatingly gripping” – Edinburgh ThreeWeeks festival e-magazine.
WHERE: Cultural hotbed Bennett Media Studio 723 Washington Street NYC http://www.bennettmediastudios.com
WHEN: Friday, May 14 – Sunday, May 16. Each evening opens 30 min. prior to show-cash bar for Friday and Saturday evening performance, tea for Sunday matinee. A brief audience Q&A with the guest host and creator Esther K. Chae following the show. (Press interviews will be arranged upon request).
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: To RSVP for the event, attendees should email rsvp.saf@gmail.com
ABOUT ESTHER K. CHAE
Esther K. Chae is an international award-winning actor/writer based in Los Angeles and New York. Her artistic work has been seen and heard in the US, Korea, Ireland, Australia, Canada and Russia. Her numerous credits as a performer include TV shows NCIS, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, The West Wing, The Shield, ER; and theatre stages such as Yale Repertory Theater, La Mama, Mark Taper Forum/ Kirk Douglas Theater, P.S. 122 and Harvard/A.R.T. Chae’s performances have been lauded as “talented” (Variety), “engaging” (Hollywood Reporter) – and may just “break your heart” (Asia Pacific Arts). Her life in Hollywood has been featured in a Korean Broadcasting Station (KBS) documentary.
Her most recent solo performance So the Arrow Flies, about a North Korean spy and the Korean-American FBI Agent who pursues her, was featured at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (“a powerful and compelling script… fascinatingly gripping-ThreeWeeks Magazine), Ars Nova Theater Festival (NY) and the World Women’s Forum (Seoul). In 2009, it was invited to TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference of which she is an inaugural fellow, CUNY’s Martin Segal Theater and NYU’s Performance Studies. Chae graduated from the Yale School of Drama with an MFA in Acting, the University of Michigan with an MA in Theater Studies, and Korea University. This fall, she is excited to be honored with the Emerging Artist Alumni Award by University of Michigan. She is hot off the airport runway from Abuja, Nigeria where she helped establish the nation’s first film academy and was teaching Acting for Film and Leadership. www.estherchae.com
