YUANYUAN LIANG

Helen Hayes Award 2024 Recommended

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

World Premiere Commissioned Musical

Story, Lyrics, and Music by Marcus Yi

Directed by Chongren Fan

Choreographed by Billy Bustamante

Costume wig and makeup designed by Yuanyuan Liang

See press below:

https://dctheaterarts.org/2023/11/26/fantastical-musical-dragon-kings-daughter-debuts-at-kennedy-center/?fbclid=IwAR2npbxxO6CqmYVwkIjrVt77weq7doKqd3Xg1KAABlsRJ1hGBg_DexKZBXA_aem_AZsMEQMQrXCbMWoEFx1ghjRytWeudQDZjHUKtcHg16WI0VJ8EoCs2xObg1NYWd9K0HQ

https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/young-audiences/2023-2024/dragon-kings-daughter/

https://www.kennedy-center.org/news-room/press-release-landing-page/castcreative-dragon-kings-daughter/

https://www.broadwayworld.com/washington-dc/article/Full-Cast-and-Creative-Team-Set-for-THE-DRAGON-KINGS-DAUGHTER-at-the-Kennedy-Center-20231016

https://dctheaterarts.org/2023/11/26/fantastical-musical-dragon-kings-daughter-debuts-at-kennedy-center/

https://theadvfam.com/dragon-kings-daughter-at-the-kennedy-center-a-magical-family-theater-experience/

World Premiere of Trouble The Water

Inspired by the real-life story of Robert Smalls, who escaped slavery to become an American hero, Trouble the Water navigates the rich tributaries of courage, betrayal and redemption. Freely adapted by Ellen Geer from the 2019 award-winning historical novel by Rebecca Dwight Bruff.

Venue: Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum

Recognized by STAGE SCENE LA as “Best Larger Theatre” in 2022.

“Terrific, Go see it!” - Broadway World

https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Photos-First-Look-At-The-World-Premiere-of-TROUBLE-THE-WATER-At-Theatricum-20220723

“Timeless”. - People World

https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/trouble-the-water-world-premiere-recounts-life-of-black-hero-robert-smalls/

“A MAGNIFICENT SHOW WITH A STERLING CAST.” – Paul Myrvold, Theatre Notes

“STUNNING… [A] MUST SEE… As powerful as the content is, Water is related in an entertaining way.” — Ed Rampell, Hollywood Progressive

https://hollywoodprogressive.com/stage/the-other-great-helmsman

Venue: TheatreSquared

Costume designed by Yuan Yuan Liang.

CHONGREN FAN Director

CHIKA SHIMIZU Scenic Design

YI-CHUNG CHEN^ Lighting Design

DAVID SANDERSON Sound Design

BRODIE JASCH Props Manager

MERIT GLOVER* Stage Manager

5 actors plays 15 characters, 32 looks, 17 quick changes.

Squabbling siblings Albert and Jennifer Chen reached the pinnacle of academic achievement. But as adults, they're epic failures: he's just been passed up for promotion and she's been dumped by her loser boyfriend. So, they confront their parents and launch an Asian Freedom Tour! From California to Shen Zhen, this hilarious new comedy tackles the successes and failures of tiger parenting—from a playwright who’s actually been through it.

Press

https://www.theatre2.org/news/2022/3/8/costume-designer-yuan-yuan-liang-comes-to-t2-with-an-impressive-resume-and-a-passion-for-theatre

The Scholar and The Executioner was presented in the form of modern black comedy with bizarre techniques. The play told the story of a Scholar, the talent under the selection institution of political power, and an executioner, the representative of brutal law enforcement. The play showed how the two people faced the abolishment of the imperial examination and brutal penalty, which exerted a huge impact on the development of Chinese society. Ultimately, the play sternly examined how human nature was twisted by feudalism. To date, the play has been performed nearly 100 times, and the crew were invited to travel to Russia, South Korea, Vietnam, and Chinese Taipei for performance. Besides, the play has claimed multiple awards including the Prize of Top Play in the National Project to the Distillation of the Stage Art, Wenhua Award, and other prominent ones. In 2014, The Scholar And The Executioner was the only drama that was selected to participate in Theater Olympics, the most prestigious summit of international theater. In 2015, the crew of Scholar and the Executioner, which has had records of awards, ramped up to prepare for a new round of performance aiming to bring more surprise to the audience.

Awards:

2004/2005

The play was awarded the Prize of Top Play in the National Project to the Distillation of the Stage Art

2005

The play was awarded the Prize of Excellent Individual Result of Shanghai Cultural and Art Composition

2007

Ping Hao won the Prize of Best Actor, White Magnolia Performance Award

Yinan Wang won the Prize of Best Supporting Actor, white Magnolia Performance Award

Awarded the first prize in the 5th national exhibition of outstanding dramatic arts as well as the 100th anniversary of the birth of Chinese dramatic arts

Awarded the Prize of Best Drama, the Prize of Best Screenwriter, and the Prize of Best Director at the 12th Wenhua Award

Ping Hao, Yinan Wang were awarded the Prize of Best Performance, the 12th Wenhua Award

Ping Hao was awarded the Prize of Most Popular Actor, the 12th Wenhua Award

2014

Selected into Theater Olympics, the top-notch summit of international theater

Fabric Design & Costume Design by Yuan Yuan Liang

Directed by Allann Le Bellenger & Edison Kong

The opera inspired by one of the greatest Chinese Kun Opera < The Stranger >. Also known as <牡丹亭> in Chinese. Rewrote by French director Allann Le Bellenger. The story starts from 1996 France. A wealthy lady Monica (32 years old Asian) and her house keeper Julie (39 years old French) moved in Monica’s family heritage, an abandoned ranch. They both are attracted by their new gardener, 33 years old Richard. Meanwhile they found out a secret of Richard that he is Monica’s former lover in previous life in 1820 China. Monica and Julie now decide to travel to 1820 China by the time tunnel Richard has used…

The Huntington Library’s 100th Anniversary Gala

The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, located in San Marino, California, United States. Established by American railroad magnate and collector of art and rare books , Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) who was once known as the richest woman in America.

The Huntington's premier annual fundraising event. Extra Special Performance for celebrating the beginning of The Huntington's Centennial with The Huntington Library’s 600 long-term supporters.

In 2019, Yuanyuan Liang was invited to design The Huntington’s Centennial Gala. Especially to “bring back” Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington to life for this extremely magnificent occasion. Yuan rose to the challenge.

Venue: The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Garden

Costume Designed & Built by Yuan Yuan Liang

Makeup Designed by Yuan Yuan Liang

Directed by Rachel Park - Center for New Performance 

Event Host: Emma Petievich Events 

A collaboration between CalArts Center for New Performance and The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Written and Directed by Stan Lai 賴聲川

Garden of Flowing Fragrance
September 21-October 26, 2018

Inspired by the famous 16th Century Chinese romantic tragicomedy, The Peony Pavilion 遊園驚夢，Chinese theater maker Stan Lai has created Nightwalk in the Chinese Garden as a site-specific performance for the Garden of Flowing Fragrance at The Huntington in San Marino, California. Nightwalk weaves elements of the ancient Chinese story—in which two lovers find each other in dreams and in death—with tales of early 20th Century Southern California, conducting its audience intimately through the mystical space of the garden at night.

The play is performed in English with some passages from The Peony Pavilion sung in Chinese to the original music. During the month-long run of the show, small audiences of 40 individuals each night will become an integral part of the performance, moving through the garden as the story unfolds around them like scenes from a Chinese scroll painting.

Co-produced by CalArts Center for New Performance and The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in association with the Shanghai Kunqu Troupe and Theatre Above, Shanghai.

Scenic Designer: Aubree Lynn

Scenic Calligrapher: Yuan Yuan Liang

Costume Designer: E.B. Brooks

Associate Costume Designer: Yuan Yuan Liang

Costume and Set Calligrapher: Yuan Yuan Liang

Lighting Designer: Christopher Kuhl

Sound Designer: Daniel Gower & Leon Rothenberg

The Production Reviews

LOS ANGELES TIMES:

https://www.google.com/amp/www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/theater/reviews/la-et-cm-nightwalk-in-the-chinese-garden-review-20180924-story.html%3foutputType=amp

NEW YORK TIMES:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/theater/nightwalk-in-the-chinese-garden-huntington.html?from=timeline&isappinstalled=0

Traditional Chinese Opera. Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera.

Photos selected from Yuan’s previous work.

The costuming of Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera are based mainly on the court and civil costumes of the Ming Dynasty style, with frequent uses of deep red, green, yellow, white, black and blue. Strong contrasting colors are freely used, and embroidered in gold, silver and colored threads. The rules for costumes are strictly based on rank, occupation and life style, and there are special costume with different colors and designs for each role.

Anti-Entropy Era is the largest immersive theater in Shanghai China , with interactive performances, live bands and custom-built sets based on a story travels through 1920 and 2080. Audience members will all dress as characters from the productions with costumes and mechanical arms that YUAN YUAN LIANG designed. Audience members will achieve missions with cast members by the guidance of their mechanical arms. The venue PARAMOUNT is a 13,000-square-meter historical nightclub. It’s one of Shanghai's most iconic landmarks.

Attack The Future ranked top 1 box office in Shanghai China.

Retold. Reexamined. Reclaimed.
Based on the novel by John Howard Griffin
Adapted and Directed by Monty Cole

Costume Design: Yuan Yuan Liang

Scenic Design: Salmah Beydoun

Lighting Design: Omar Madkour

Sound Design: Anna Libbie Grossman

Technical Director: Mitchell Leitschuh

Imagine a white man dyes his skin to become “black enough” to pass as African American. He writes a journal of his experiences “as a black man” in the South in 1959, and publishes it to great acclaim. This actually happened. 60 years later, we tackle this material from the inside, wrestling and responding in real time to the story, interrogating the difference between allyship and appropriation. The result is Black Like Me. Retold. Reexamined. Reclaimed.

OFF-BROADWAY SHOW

VENUE: THE CENTER OF WEST PARK, NEW YORK

Love, Medea is a quest for Medea’s uncharted odyssey. Medea, the woman infamous for killing her children, arrives to chart her own story. As Medea seeks to heal, we glimpse slivers of a greater story that haunts us to this day. She was once content to stay meek in her man’s shadow. But, no more…

Costume Designer - Yuan Yuan Liang

Playwright - Peter Gray

Producer - split/decision

Director - Michael Alvarez

Choreographer - Mara Driscoll

Set Designer - Anna Driftmier

Sound Designer - John Millerd

Lighting Designer - Daniela Fresard

Stage Manager - Gabriela Gowdie

Assistant Director - Hunter Gause

CAST

Medea - Francesca Fernandez McKenzie

Absyrtus - Aaron Jay Green

Aestes - Michael Raver

Jason - Nolan Burke

Ensemble - Dwayne Brown

Héctor Cerna

Łukasz Zięba

Written by Anton Chekhov

Directed by Michael Alvarez

Costume Design by Yuan Yuan Liang

Set Design by Songyi Park

Lighting Design by Pie-yu Lai

Sound Design by Anna Grossman

Music Directed by Bradley Butterworth  

Technical Director: Mitchell Leitschuh

“ People can’t live without theater” “Yes, but we need new forms.”

In the autumn of 1895, 35 years old dramatist Anton Chekhov wrote THE SEAGULL, a play now considered to be one of the greatest in history. Just like Chekhov declared in Konstantine’s speech:” We need new forms.” This time we located the production as a contemporary story, which gives the play new meanings in the new world.

It can be said THE SEAGULL is about art and love; but these are the means for which the text expresses something deeper and more elemental. Konstantine laments “I am ordinary,” in a moment of desolation. This idea of mundaneness and living an unfulfilled life – whether that be never finding/receiving the love you yearn for or not following ones dreams or creative impulses – is at the core of every characters fears. While the play discusses and debates art – it is really about what it is to be an artist; and the fight to keep true to who you are in a world that tries to stifle individuality. All of which comes down to enduring life and keeping your inner fire alive, despite what life may throw at you.

Company Creation Festival 2020

Venue: Son Of Semele

Witness the Yellow Peril is a 3-person comedy that asks what it means to be American by examining Chinese American stereotypes through humor. The play jumps between various US entertainment genres including stand-up, film noir, 80s style sitcoms, and reality court shows. Each genre focuses on a different stereotype. Throughout the piece, we follow the Yellow Peril as he challenges the label Asian-American.

Costume Design: Yuan Yuan Liang

Directed by: Charles Yee

Sound Design: Tan Sangmanee

Video Design: Kamyi Lee

Composer: Jason Fujita

Stage Manager: Diane Park

Staring: Ryan Perez Adame

Juliana Morgan Alvarez

Tom Zhang

The Next Dance Festival

Director & Choreographer : Eva Flores

Costume Designer : Yuan Yuan Liang

Lighting Designer: Matthew Baye

Character Concept - Freehand Drawing

Water Margin is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as Outlaws of the Marsh and All Men Are Brothers.

The tragedy story set in Northern Song dynasty (around 1120), tells of how a group of 108 outlaws gather at Mount Liang (or Liangshan Marsh) to rebel against the government. Later they were granted amnesty and enlisted by the government to resist the nomadic conquest of the Liao dynasty and other rebels.