Overview
During the Chinese Exclusion Act, Harry Chin, a Chinese national, entered the U.S. by buying forged documentation. Like other “Paper Sons,” Harry lived the rest of his life keeping secrets—even from his daughter. Told through the eyes of a middle-aged Chin, The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin reveals the complicated loves and regrets of this Chinese immigrant. Through dreamlike leaps of time and space and with the powerful assistance of ghosts, the story of the Chin family reveals the personal and political repercussions of making groups of people “illegal”.
Casting & Production
Casting
CAST OF CHARACTERS (3W, 3M)
HARRY — Chinese man, late 40s. A cook.
SHEILA — Hapa (mixed race), Chinese/white woman, 20s.
Harry’s daughter.
LAURA — White woman, 20s-40s. Harry’s wife.
YUET — Chinese woman, 20s. Also plays SUSAN.
POET — Chinese man, age can range from 17 to 40.
Also plays IMMIGRATION OFFICER.
BOSS — Latino man, late 20s-30s. Also plays INTERROGATOR.
Setting:
Something open, something flexible — something that can flow between a small apartment, a restaurant kitchen, a ship, a detention center, a courtroom, a garage. Something with levels so several of these places can exist at once.
Time:
1970
Reviews
“Huang’s superb storytelling keeps us engaged with this complex, and all too timely, tale.”
—City Pages
“A remarkably poetic work…The beautiful dreams and poetry of the script by Jessica Huang, clash with racist realities in mid-century America and create a haunting play.”
—The Weekly View
“At once a mystical, memory-filled, pragmatically painful, and harshly truthful tale…Ms. Huang…[has] created a unique story-telling style which is fresh and compelling”
—A Seat on the Aisle
