In 1989, Joe, a young American journalist, photographs a protester facing down four tanks in Tiananmen Square. In 2012, with election season bringing US-China relations into the spotlight, Joe decides to seek out the subject of his most famous image—just as an old friend from China reaches out with an agenda of his own. A sensation in its London run, Chimerica covers two decades in the history of two superpowers as it considers political change, personal responsibility, and the stories that exist beyond the margins of a frame.
Runtime: 3 hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission.
Environmental Warnings: This production contains strobe-like effects.
Chimerica is generously underwritten
by Gerald and Laura Rosberg.
Studio is also grateful to Esthy and James Adler
for their additional support.
In 2009, Lucy Kirkwood’s play it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now was produced by Clean Break Theatre Co. at the Arcola Theatre, London. The play was nominated for an Evening Standard Award for Best Newcomer and made her joint winner of the John Whiting Award (2010). NSFW premiered at the Royal Court, starring Janie Dee and Julian Barrett, in 2012. Chimerica premiered at the Almeida Theatre in 2013 and subsequently transferred to the West End, earning the Best New Play at the 2014 Olivier and Evening Standard Awards, as well as the Critics Circle Award and the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Recent work includes The Children, which premiered at the Royal Court in 2016 and on Broadway in 2017, and Mosquitoes, presented by special arrangement with Manhattan Theatre Club, opened at the National Theatre in 2017. Lucy also writes for television. She has written for Skins (Company Pictures), created and wrote The Smoke (Kudos/Sky 1), and is currently writing a mini-series of her play Chimerica for Playground Productions. She also wrote and directed the short film The Briny and is developing projects with Clio Barnard and Lenny Abrahamson.
David Muse (Director) is in his ninth season as Artistic Director of Studio Theatre, where he has directed The Remains, The Effect, The Father, Constellations, Chimerica, Murder Ballad, Belleville, Cock, Tribes, The Real Thing, An Iliad, Dirt, Bachelorette, The Habit of Art, Venus in Fur, Circle Mirror Transformation, reasons to be pretty, Blackbird, Frozen, and The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow. Previously, he was Associate Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, where he has directed nine productions, including Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Coriolanus, and King Charles III (a co-production of ACT and Seattle Rep). Other directing projects include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune at Arena Stage, The Bluest Eye at Theater Alliance, and Swansong for New York Summer Play Festival. He has helped to develop new work at numerous theatres, including New York Theatre Workshop, Geva Theatre Center, Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, and The Kennedy Center. David has taught acting and directing at Georgetown, Yale, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy of Classical Acting. A nine-time Helen Hayes Award nominee for Outstanding Direction, he is a recipient of the DC Mayor’s Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist and the National Theatre Conference Emerging Artist Award. David is a graduate of Yale University and the Yale School of Drama.
(As of April 2019)
Ron Menzel made his Studio Theatre debut with Chimerica. His regional credits include A Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); A View From the Bridge, Merchant of Venice, Edgardo Mine, Hamlet, Intimate Apparel, Pericles, and the world premiere of The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide... (Guthrie Theater); and productions with Ten Thousand Things, Geva Theatre Center, City Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, The Cape Playhouse, Jungle Theater, and Huldufolk Theatre.
(As of September 2015)
Paul Morella has appeared at Studio Theatre in Chimerica, Two Sisters and a Piano, Conversations With My Father, Imagine Drowning, North Shore Fish, and Romeo and Juliet. Other theatre credits include Orpheus Descending and All My Sons at Arena Stage; Richard III and Macbeth at the Folger Theatre; Angels in America (Helen Hayes Award nomination) and God of Carnage at Signature Theatre; The Crucible, Rabbit Hole (Helen Hayes Award nomination), The Diary of Anne Frank, and Awake and Sing at Olney Theatre, as well as extensive work with Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Theater J, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Round House, Everyman Theatre, and the Kennedy Center. He appeared as George Deever in the L.A. Theatre Works production of All My Sons (with Julie Harris and James Farentino), as well as Joe Cantwell in The Best Man (with Fred Thompson and Marsha Mason). In November, his acclaimed one-person adaptation of A Christmas Carol returns to Olney Theatre for its 10th season.
(As of August 2018)
Lee Sellars made his Studio Theatre debut in Chimerica. He recently spent a season at Contemporary American Theatre Festival playing Stine in Steven Dietz’s On Clover Road and Roy Pillow in Michael Weller’s The Full Catastrophe, both directed by Ed Herendeen. Mr. Sellars’ Broadway credits include A Time to Kill, directed by Ethan McSweeny, and Officer Krupke in West Side Story, directed by Arthur Laurents. Off Broadway credits include Iow@ (Playwrights Horizons), by Jenny Schwartz and Todd Almond, and A Small Melodramatic Story (LAByrinth Theater Company), by Stephen Belber and directed by Lucie Tiberghien. Recent regional work includes Ether Dome (La Jolla Playhouse, Hartford Stage, Huntington Theatre), by Elizabeth Elgoff and directed by Michael Wilson; Our Town (George Street Playhouse) directed by David Esbjornson, and Colonel Jessup in Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men (Alley Theatre), directed by Greg Boyd.
(As of September 2015)
Tessa Klein returns to Studio after appearing in The Hard Problem (Helen Hayes Nomination) and Chimerica. Broadway and Off Broadway credits include War Horse at Lincoln Center Theater; The Weir and Philadelphia, Here I Come at Irish Repertory Theatre; and A Touch of the Poet at 14th Street Theatre. DC and Regional credits include Labour of Love at Olney Theatre, An Ideal Husband at Shakespeare Theatre; Argonautika at Shakespeare Theatre, McCarter Theatre, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre; The Call and The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall at Theater J; The Trojan Women at Alabama Shakespeare Festival; Hamlet, She Stoops to Conquer and Aristocrats at Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre. Film and television credits include The Whitest Kids U' Know, Disappearances, and Peter and John. She studied at Moscow Art Theatre and holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University.
(As of November 2018)
Rob Yang made his Studio Theatre debut in Chimerica. His Off Broadway credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Classic Stage Company); Shanghai Gesture (Mirror Repertory Company); the world premiere of Adam Rapp’s Bingo With The Indians, Los Angeles, I.E. In Other Words, and ‘Twas the Night Before (The Flea Theater); and Death and The Ploughman (La MaMa). Recent and upcoming films include A Bear Lands on Earth, About Ray, Me and Lizzie, The Secrets of Emily Blair, Mistress America, Stockholm, Pennsylvania, True Story, Match, and Listen Up Philip. Television credits include The Good Wife, The Blacklist, Twisted, and Bored to Death. He is originally from Chicago-land and currently resides in Los Angeles.
(As of September 2015)
Julie-Ann Elliott previously appeared in Chimerica and Superior Donuts at Studio Theatre. Select credits include Marjorie Prime, The Tempest, Angel Street, Dinner with Friends, The Constant Wife, The Millionairess, Hedda Gabler, The Mousetrap, Blithe Spirit, Tartuffe, and Trip to Bountiful at Olney Theatre, where she is an Artistic Associate. Elsewhere in the DC/Baltimore area, she has performed with Center Stage, Everyman Theatre, Folger Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Metro Stage, Potomac Theatre Project, Rep Stage, Round House Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Theater J, and Washington Stage Guild. Her television/film credits include Veep, Jamesy Boy and Really Love. Ms. Elliott is a Senior Adjunct of Acting at Howard Community College and narrates books for Potomac Talking Book Services, Inc. She holds an M.F.A. in Acting from The Catholic University of America.
(As of August 2018)
Kenneth Lee made his Studio Theatre debut in Chimerica. He originated the role of Dr. Hsu in The Machine (Donmar Warehouse, London; Manchester International Festival; Park Avenue Armory, NYC). Off Broadway credits include Ethel Sings (Theatre Row), Hamlet (The Pearl), and The Suitcase Trilogy (Ma-Yi Theatre). Regional credits include Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 and Hamlet (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Snow Falling on Cedars and The Completely Fictional, Utterly True Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allen Poe (Center Stage); M. Butterfly (Arena Stage); Hamlet (Arkansas Rep); 30 Fest (People’s Light and Theatre Company); Leonce & Lena, The Beaux’ Stratagem (Magic Theatre); Pericles (NJSF); Two Gentlemen of Verona, Hamlet, and The Tempest (American Players Theatre); Death of a Salesman (Singapore Repertory Theatre); The Cherry Orchard (The Substation, Singapore); Nineteen (Columbia Stages); and Allegiance (workshop with George Takei). Film and television credits include Mr. Robot, Madam Secretary, Unforgettable, The Following, Delocated, Deception, Children of Invention, Across the Universe, Law & Order: CI, One Life to Live, and Love and Adventure in NY. Mr. Lee received his BFA from NYU and his MFA from American Conservatory Theatre.
(As of September 2015)
Jordan Barbour returned to DC for Chimerica at Studio Theatre, after appearing in Peter Brooks’ The Suit at The Kennedy Center in 2014. Mr. Barbour toured with The Suit around Europe, Asia, and North America. Additionally, Mr. Barbour has toured with Young Jean Lee’s The Shipment to venues around the world including the Barbican in London, the Hebbel in Berlin, and the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. His New York credits include The Civilians’ The Way They Live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Deepest Play Ever at New Ohio Theatre, Vertebrae at New York Theatre Workshop, and Langston in Harlem at Urban Stages. His regional credits include The 12 at Denver Center Theatre Company, Stormy Weather with Leslie Uggams at Pasadena Playhouse, Rent at Syracuse Stage, Topdog/Underdog and Hair at Perseverance Theatre, Macbeth at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and three seasons at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Mr. Barbour is a graduate of a joint program between Columbia University and The Juilliard School.
Diana Oh made her Studio Theatre debut in Chimerica. She is the creator of {my lingerie play}, featured in People Magazine, Huffington Post, Upworthy, Marie Claire NZ, and Fox. Recent credits include New Line Cinema’s How to Be Single, Wifey TV’s Hey Yun, the film Me and Lizzie, her concert plays Diana Oh is GOING ROGUE with terraNOVA Collective, and {my lingerie play} Installation 9/10: THE FINAL INSTALLATION (Ensemble Studio Theatre, All For One Theater, international tour). She has performed at Lincoln Center, LAByrinth, Ars Nova, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Symphonics Live, Bowery Poetry Club, The Blue Note, Culture Project, La MaMa, Caps Lock Theatre, Gideon Productions, Ivy Theatre, BBC, and National Geographic. Ms. Oh is a Radical Diva Finalist, two-time New York Innovative Theatre nominee for Outstanding Actress, New York Theatre Now’s 2013 Person of the Year, and serves on the committee of E.S.T.’s Last Call. She is also a singer/songwriter and tours internationally. She received her MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts (Thropp Fellow), and is an alumna of Smith College, LAMDA, and NTI.
(As of September 2015)
Jacob Yeh (Playwright and Ensemble) was last seen at Studio in Chimerica. His other credits include Rodney in Yellow Face (Theater J); Momotaro in Anime Momotaro and Machine Master in P.Nokio (Imagination Stage); and Confucius in Back to Methuselah, Kawabata in Take Me Out, Kenny in Fuddy Meers, and Dorante in Game of Love and Chance (1st Stage Tysons). He has appeared in productions at Ford’s Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Folger Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, the Hub Theatre, Adventure Theatre MTC, The Welders, Pinky Swear Productions, Spooky Action Theater, and the Source Festival. Recently, he was seen in 410 [GONE] at Rorschach Theatre, The Farnsworth Invention at 1st Stage Tysons, and will be seen in The Wizard of Oz at Synetic Theatre.
(As of April 2018)
Kelsey Wang recently appeared as Lin Chang in the Off Broadway production of I Know What Boys Want at Theatre Row and the lead role of Fanshen in OMG! Chopsticks at the Venus/Adonis Theatre Festival in New York. A New York-based actress, Ms. Wang was born in Beijing and grew up in Singapore. She studied Economics and Theatre Studies at Duke University, and has also worked as an investment banking analyst. Chimerica was her first show with Studio Theatre.
(As of September 2015)
Jade Wu made her Studio Theatre debut in Chimerica. New York credits include Mother Courage and Her Children with Meryl Streep and directed by George C. Wolfe, The Shanghai Gesture (Bank Street Theater), Comfort Women (Urban Stages Theater), and Primary English Class directed by Gerald Gutierrez (Minetta Lane Theatre). International credits include Medea and Yankee Doodle Dandy at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and The Changeling at the Adelaide Festival. Regional appearances include Trojan Women (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Book of Days (Arena Stage), and Red (The Wilma Theater). Film and television include The Motel (recipient of the Sundance/Humanitas Award), recurring roles on The Blacklist, Homicide: Life on the Streets, One Life to Live, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and The Jury, and the upcoming Me and Lizzie. Writing fellowships include Disney/ABC Writers, Jerome, Ms. Foundation, and PEN USA’s Rosenthal Emerging Writers. Her solo show 2752, developed at La MaMa Umbria, will receive its world premiere in 2017.
(As of September 2015)
Blythe R.D. Quinlan returns to Studio Theatre where she has designed Chimerica, Venus in Fur and The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow. Recent theatre work includes Coriolanus/Wallenstein at Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Wheel at Steppenwolf Theatre, Antony and Cleopatra at Hartford Stage, Cure at Troy at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Iphegenia 2.0 at Signature Theatre NYC, The Greeks at The Juilliard School, and King Lear at Yale Repertory Theatre. Recent film and television work includes Happiness, Boardwalk Empire, Gotham, A Most Violent Year, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Julie and Julia, and many others. Ms. Quinlan is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts and the Yale School of Drama.
(As of September 2015)
Mary Louise Geiger has designed Chimerica, Time Stands Still and Invisible Man (Helen Hayes Award) for Studio Theatre. Upcoming projects include The Crucible at the Cleveland Play House, The Sound of Music at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle, and the new play Native Gardens at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Her work has been seen on Broadway in The Constant Wife, and most recently in New York with Dael Orlandersmith’s new work Forever at the New York Theatre Workshop. Additional New York credits include shows with Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater, Second Stage Theatre, The Vineyard Theatre, The Actors Company Theatre, and Ars Nova. Her design for Mabou Mines’ Dollhouse played St. Ann’s Warehouse in New York and toured around the United States and internationally. Ms. Geiger is Head of Lighting in the Department of Design for Stage and Film at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and trained at the Yale School of Drama.
(As of September 2015)
Helen Huang designs her 29th production at Studio with White Pearl. Her regional credits include Alice in Wonderland at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; The Great Leap at Guthrie Theater; Matilda the Musical at The Children’s Theatre, Minneapolis; and Miss Bennet and Christmas at Pemberley at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. DC area credits include JQA at Arena Stage; A Doll’s House, Part 2 at Roundhouse; Fences at Ford’s Theatre; Me…Jane at The Kennedy Center; and Fickle: A Fancy French Farce at Olney Theatre Center. She has received a Helen Hayes Award and an Ivey Award. Helen is a professor of MFA Costume Design at University of Maryland, College Park.
(As of October 2019)
Matt Tierney has designed Chimerica for Studio Theatre. He recently designed the Broadway production of Machinal (2014 Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk Award). Other recent credits include The Tempest (The Public), Gloria (Vineyard Theatre), The Sound and The Fury (Elevator Repair Service/The Public), Appropriate (Center Theater Group/Mark Taper Forum). His Off Broadway work includes Our Lady of Kibeho (Signature Theatre); Pocatello, The […] Watson Intelligence, Detroit, Kin, This (Playwrights Horizons); An Octoroon, Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Nights Dream (TFANA); Generations, Uncle Vanya, A Public Reading […] About The Death Of Walt Disney, Blasted (Hewes Award) (Soho Rep); Luck of the Irish (LCT3); and work with the The Wooster Group and Young Jean Lee’s Theatre Company. With Elevator Repair Service, he has designed The Sound and The Fury, Arguendo, The Select (The Sun Also Rises) (OBIE and Lortel awards, 2012). His regional credits include productions at Yale Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, McCarter Theatre Center, American Repertory Theater, Alley Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Long Wharf, Great Lakes Theater, and Center Theatre Group.
(As of September 2015)
Zachary G. Borovay has designed projections for Broadway, Las Vegas spectaculars, circuses, concerts, theme parks, operas, museums, and art installations. Recent Broadway credits include Rock of Ages (also London, Australia, Las Vegas, Toronto, Norwegian Cruise Line, national and UK tours), Holler If Ya Hear Me, No Man’s Land, Waiting for Godot, Ann, Evita (also national tour), Elf, Lombardi (Drama Desk nomination), A Catered Affair (Drama Desk nomination), and Xanadu (also national tour, Japan). Recent regional credits include The Colored Museum (Huntington Theatre), Chaplin (La Jolla Playhouse), and Nerds (Philadelphia Theatre Company). Additional credits include The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, Peepshow (Las Vegas), and Voyage de la Vie (Resorts World, Singapore). Mr. Borovay is also an accomplished bassist (Berklee College of Music).Chimerica was his first production with Studio Theatre.
(As of September 2015)
Lauren Halvorsen is in her ninth season as Studio’s Associate Literary Director. Her dramaturgy credits here include Doubt, P.Y.G. or the Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle, Admissions, Kings, If I Forget, Vietgone, The Wolves, Skeleton Crew, The Father, Three Sisters, The Hard Problem, Hand to God, Moment, Between Riverside and Crazy, Chimerica, The Wolfe Twins, Belleville, Water by the Spoonful, Tribes, The Real Thing, The Motherfucker with the Hat, The Aliens, Bachelorette, The Big Meal, and Time Stands Still. Previously, Lauren spent three seasons as Literary Manager of The Alley Theatre. She was the Artistic Associate of the WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory for six years and has worked in various artistic capacities for The Kennedy Center, City Theatre Company, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, First Person Arts Festival, and The Wilma Theater. Lauren is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College.
(As of December 2019)
Zach Campion is a freelance voice, speech and dialect coach originally from San Antonio, TX. Recent credits at Studio include coaching dialect for P.Y.G. or the Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle, Kings, The Remains, Vietgone, Hand to God, and Terminus. Other DC credits include the world premiere of Kleptocracy, Indecent, Sovereignty, The Price, and Smart People at Arena Stage; The Wiz at Ford’s Theatre; Matilda, Tiger Style, Oil, Labour of Love, The Invisible Hand, Aubergine, Annie, My Fair Lady, Sweeney Todd, and Angels in America (Parts 1 & 2) at Olney Theatre Center; and the world premiere of The Gulf and Heisenberg at Signature Theatre. Zach is a certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework ® and is a member of the Studio Acting Conservatory faculty. He holds MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University and a BFA in Performance and Production from Texas State University.
(As of August 2019)
Cliff Williams III has been choreographing and directing for the last twelve years, mostly in the DC area. His credits include Chimerica at Studio Theatre, Dracula, The Scene, and Six Years at Actors Theatre of Louisville; Shoplifters, Gem of the Ocean, and Long Day’s Journey into Night at Arena Stage; Dead Man’s Cell Phone at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Angels in America at Forum Theatre, and The Argument and Yentl at Theater J.
(As of September 2015)
Anthony O. Bullock returns to Studio Theatre after previously being the Resident Stage Manager for two seasons. Prior Studio credits include The Hard Problem, Cloud 9, Hedda Gabler, Moment, Between Riverside and Crazy, Chimerica, Jumpers for Goalposts, and Laugh. Additional DC area credits include Signature Theatre, Arena Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, and Theater J, where he will be their new Resident Stage Manager for the 2019-2020 season. Other regional credits include McCarter Theatre Center, Barrington Stage Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Passage Theatre, and Shakespeare & Company, among others. He toured with The White Snake by Mary Zimmerman in association with the Goodman Theatre, as part of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival in Wuzhen, China. Anthony received his BFA from Oklahoma City University. He is also on the board of The Stage Managers’ Association as the Eastern Regional Director. He is a proud member of AEA.
(As of April 2019)
Sivan Battat is Studio Theatre’s 2015–2016 Artistic Apprentice, where she serves as the resident assistant director. This season, she has assistant directed Moment, Between Riverside and Crazy, The Apple Family Plays, and Chimerica. Outside of Studio, Ms. Battat has worked with a number of artists including Kim Weild, Lily Whitsitt, Faye Driscoll, Yuri Kordonsky, and Rinde Eckert. She has worked at the Cape Cod Theatre Project, as well as New Haven-based companies Elm Shakespeare and Collective Consciousness Theatre. She most recently worked with the Doris Duke Building Bridges Grant to develop a new commission with Leila Buck for the Muslim Women’s Voices Series at Wesleyan University. She has spent time working with various peace-based groups abroad including the Arab-Hebrew Theatre of Jaffa in South Tel Aviv, and a young artists’ festival in Sderot, Israel. Ms. Battat spent a semester training at the Moscow Art Theatre School and is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where she received her BA in Theater and Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory.
(As of April 2016)
Madison Bahr's Studio Theatre productions include Queen of Basel, The Remains, Moment, Murder Ballad, Chimerica, and The Torch Song Trilogy. Other regional credits include Cabaret at Olney Theatre Center; Billy Elliot: The Musical at Signature Theatre; Charlotte’s Web and The Little Mermaid at Imagination Stage; Kiss and Guards at the Taj at Woolly Mammoth; Our Suburb at Theater J; ReEntry, Next Fall, and Glengarry Glen Ross at Round House Theatre; and In The Heart Of America at Rep Stage. Madison holds a BA in Theatre with a focus in Stage Management from the University of Maryland (College Park).
(As of October 2019)
