Cast Bios

 

Lydia Gaston* (she/her). B’way credits: Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Miss Saigon, The King and I (1996, 2015), Shogun, The Red Shoes. Off-Bway productions with: Ma-Yi Theatre Group, National Asian-American Theatre (NAATCO), Pan Asian Rep, and The Public Theatre. TV credits: Law and Order, Hightown (Season 3), The Path, The Blacklist, Zero Day (Netflix), Late Night With Seth Meyers; Film: Easter Sunday (Universal Pictures) as “Tita Susan.” MA in Applied Theatre, CUNY Graduate Center, New York.

 
 

Bi Jean Ngo* (she/her) is excited to return to InterAct Theatre Company where some of her favorites roles include Afong Moy in The Chinese Lady and Meiko in Eureka Day. Bi is a member of the Wilma Theatre’s Hothouse Acting Company and is part of 1812 Productions’ Creative Core. Recent and memorable credits include Gerda in The Snow Queen and Shen Te in The Good Person of Szechwan (Wilma Theatre), Shannon/Hunter in the bilingual comedic premiere of La Otra (1812 Productions), Jenny in Young Americans (Theatre Horizon), Esther in Backing Track (Arden Theatre), and more! You can catch her on the current Netflix International Indonesian original series, Ratu Ratu Queens The Series as Ahma. She has an MFA in acting from New School University and a Bachelor's in Film & TV from Boston University. You can find out more about her and upcoming projects at www.bijeanngo.com Love to her partner David, for his unwavering love and support and their pup Archie.   

 


Karen Li* (she/her) is delighted to make her InterAct debut. Off-Broadway: The Rice Eaters (AMT Theater). Regional: Twelfth Night (TheatreSquared), Exclusion (Arena Stage), The Great Leap (Perseverance Theatre), Babel (Contemporary American Theater Festival), and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (La Jolla Playhouse). TV: Dancing with the Stars (ABC). Karen is a collective member of Submersive Productions. She was a playwright in the 2024 cohort of the Horticulture Playwrights Workshop with Sisters Freehold, and was recently a playwright in residence at Baltimore Center Stage in the inaugural year of Lab410. Theatre and Dance B.A., UC San Diego.

 

Joanna Liao* (she/her). This is Joey’s first appearance at InterAct, if you recognize her, it might be from her appearances at People's Light, the Lantern, or Hedgerow theaters, most recently in Beginners and Endlings. She has performed at Trinity Repertory Company, Cherry Lane Theatre, The Flea, Perishable Theater, The Lark, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and others. Her Shen-Te/Shui-Ta in the New York premiere of Tony Kushner’s The Good Person of Setzuan by Bertolt Brecht was a Backstage Critic’s Choice for Best of the Year. She highly recommends you adopt a dog.

 
 

Daniel Ubin Burgess* (he/him) Interact debut. Regional: Calvin in A Wrinkle in Time (Arden Theatre Company); George in Stop Kiss (South Camden Theatre Company); Aslak in Peer Gynt (Enchantment Theatre Company). National Tours: Mr. Todd in Peter Rabbit Tales (Enchantment Theatre Company); Ensemble in Harold and The Purple Crayon (Enchantment Theatre Company). Film: Donnie in Willingness and A Black Suit (SickleSaf Productions); Josh in Have A Nice Day (The Five Sands); Blue in Sleepwalk (The Five Sands). Written works: Urinal 2025, Testing Site 2023, Monologues of Spotted Minds 2022 (Ubin Movement Theatre). Education: The University of The Arts, BFA in Acting.

 
 

Jungwoong Kim (he/him) Caesar PTC; The Good Person of Setzuan, Twelfth Night, The Cherry Orchard, Wilma Theater; Endlings, Hedgerow Theatre; A Single Shard, People's Light Theatre; Yours for Me for You, InterAct Theatre. Other Live Performance: Movement and choreography rooted in Korean folk dance, shamanic aesthetics, martial arts, and improvisational practices. Background: Born in South Korea and currently based in Philadelphia, Kim's work bridges traditional movement forms with contemporary theatrical storytelling.

More: uturnkim@gmail.com.


* = appearing courtesy of a contract agreement with Actor’s Equity Association

 

Production Team Bios

 

Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay (Playwright) is a Lao American poet, essayist, and playwright. Her work focuses on creating tools and spaces for the amplification of refugee voices through poetry, theater, and experimental cultural production. The Smithsonian APAC, Theater Mu, Theater Unbound, and Mixed Blood Theater have presented her plays. She’s received fellowships from the Bush Foundation (2021), McKnight Foundation (2021), Playwrights’ Center (2018), Loft Literary Center for poetry (2018) and children's literature (2019), Twin Cities Media Alliance for public art (2018), and is an Aspen Ideas Bush Foundation fellow (2018). She's received grants from the Knight Foundation, Forecast Public Art, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, Center for Cultural Power, MAP Fund, Andy Warhol Foundation, and 30+ more. She's currently the Mellon Foundation playwright in residence at Theater Mu, a Core Writer at the Playwrights' Center, a Jerome Foundation AIR at Camargo Cassis, France, and a MN State Arts Board grantee.

 
 

Chongren Fan 范崇人 (Director) is a New York-based bilingual stage director. Hailing from Shanghai, he is the Artistic Director of OBIE Award winning theatre company Yangtze Repertory Theatre. InterAct Theatre: Quixotic Professor Qiu; Off-Broadway: Citizen Wong and The Emperor’s Nightingale (Pan Asian Rep); Romulus the Great, 410[GONE] and Behind the Mask (YZ REP); Regional: The Dragon King’s Daughter (Kennedy Center/Helen Hayes Nomination); Tiger Style! (TheatreSquared); Shanghai Sonatas in Concert (The Wallis); International: China Premiere Stones in His Pockets (Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre). Chongren was the Deputy General Manager of China Performing Arts Agency overseeing large scale live performances from China to USA from 2015-2020. He was a Jonathan Alper Directing Fellow at Manhattan Theatre Club and Resident Artist at Mabou Mines. He has been a guest lecturer at Barnard College and Yale School of Drama. Proud member of SDC and Off-Broadway League’s EDIJ committee.  www.chongrenfan.com


 
 

Melody Wang (Stage Manager)

 
 

Hannah Anderson (Production Assistant)

 
 

Melpomene Katakalos (Scenic Designer)


 
 

Ariel Wang (Costume Designer)

 
 

Christopher Colucci (Sound Designer)

 
 

Maria Shaplin (Lighting Designer)

 
 

Caitlyn Davis (Props Designer)

 
 

Jungwoong Kim (Choreographer) Caesar PTC; The Good Person of Setzuan, Twelfth Night, The Cherry Orchard, Wilma Theater; Endlings, Hedgerow Theatre; A Single Shard, People's Light Theatre; Yours for Me for You, InterAct Theatre. Other Live Performance: Movement and choreography rooted in Korean folk dance, shamanic aesthetics, martial arts, and improvisational practices. Background: Born in South Korea and currently based in Philadelphia, Kim's work bridges traditional movement forms with contemporary theatrical storytelling.

More: uturnkim@gmail.com.

 
 

Nick Wacksman (Master Electrician) (he/him) is excited to be returning to InterAct Theater Company this season. His past shows with ITC include Moreno, Quixotic Professor Qiu, The Last Yiddish Speaker and The Climb. For the past 3 years, Nick has been studying theatrical lighting design and electrics at Temple University. He enjoys working in educational environments where he can help young adults see the artistic values and expression in theater production.

 
 

John Kolbinski (Audio Engingeer) (he/him) Past Sound Design Work: Always…Patsy Cline (Delaware Theatre Co) The Winter Wonderettes (Hampton Arts, The American Theatre); Beautiful, Always…Patsy Cline, Civil War Voices, The Winter Wonderettes, Baskerville, Souvenir, The Gift, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, (Walnut); The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare in Clark Park); Basic Witches (Robert Hager); Behold Her (FringeArts/Half Key Theatre Co); Mort (New Paradise Laboratories); Every Brilliant Thing (Arden). Sound Supervisor at Arden Theatre Company and Chautauqua Theater Company. Audio Engineer at InterAct Theatre Company, Azuka Theatre and Lantern Theater Company. Sound Systems Designer, InterAct’s Drake Theater. 

 
 

Philadelphia Scenic Works (Scenic Fabrication) are the nation's only independent, non-profit (501c3) scene shop. They work with arts organizations all over the Greater Philadelphia area to build projects that advance their missions. At the same time, they are invested in building a healthy, sustainable workforce, and innovative resource sharing.

National New Play Network (NNPN) is an alliance of professional theaters that collaborate in innovative ways to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays. NNPN envisions a robust, equitable, and inclusive new play ecology that reflects a broad range of aesthetics, and strives to pioneer, implement, and disseminate ideas and programs that revolutionize the way theaters and audiences encounter new work. Since its founding in 1998, National New Play Network has grown into a vital force for new work in the American theater, serving over 130 Member Theaters as well as artists and audiences around the world.

NNPN’s National Showcase of New Plays, initially presented in 2002, was the Network’s first program aimed at creating a new play pipeline that spanned the US. In 2004, NNPN launched the pilot of what has become its paradigm-shifting Rolling World Premiere program. As NNPN’s membership, funding, and programmatic offerings have grown, innovations including season-long Residencies within Member Theaters for rising administrative leaders, two annual Commissions, and a dedicated fund for theater-makers working to develop new plays across institutions emerged. The New Play Exchange®, launched in 2015, is the world’s largest online library of scripts by living writers, and features unprecedented opportunities for direct connection among playwrights, readers, and producers.

NNPN’s current Strategic Plan centers its commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The Network’s dedication to new plays remains the center of its work, but the future NNPN envisions is one that is robust, inclusive, and equitable for all theater-makers and audience members. nnpn.org | newplayexchange.org

 

Actors' Equity Association (“Equity"), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors' Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions.

Equity is governed by its own members through an elected Council, representing principal actors, chorus actors and stage managers living in three regions: Eastern, Central and Western. Members at large participate in Equity’s governance through a system of Regional Boards and committees. Equity has 28 designated Geographically Based Communities, metropolitan areas with a concentration of more than 100 members.