ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
R
RALPH B. PeñA
ecent directing credits include Felix Starro, Among the Dead, House Rules (Ma-Yi) The Orphan of Zhao (Fordham Theatre), Macho Dancer: A Musical (Cultural Center of the Philippines), Livin’ La Vida Imelda (Ma-Yi), Lloyd Suh’s The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra GO! (Cultural Center of the Philippines, Children’s Theater Co. and Ma-Yi, Off Broadway Alliance Award), Julia Specht’s Down Cleghorn, Joshua Conkel’s Curmudgeons in Love (EST Marathon), Mike Lew’s microcrisis (Youngblood, Ma-Yi), and House/Boy (Dublin and Singapore Theater Festivals). His theatre work has been seen at The NYSF/Public Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, NAATCO, Second Generation, Victory Gardens, and LaMama ETC, among others. He received an Obie Award for his work on The Romance of Magno Rubio. Ralph is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre. He is the Producing Artistic Director of Ma-Yi Theater Company, an Off-Broadway theater dedicated to developing and producing new plays by Asian American playwrights.
In the Classroom DISCUSSION: Playwright Lloyd Suh makes a remark about the importance of being aware of how people see you and how that awareness can influence who you ultimately become. Do you believe people see you for who you are? Have you allowed others to see the real you or the person you think they want to see? GOING FURTHER: Ask the following discussion questions: Why do people hide their true selves from others? How can we begin to make people feel comfortable enough to be their authentic selves? If You Really Knew Me… • Make a standing circle with 1 student in the middle. • The student in the middle makes a statement beginning with: • I f you really knew me you’d know… (ie I love pizza, I have four siblings, I am passionate about…) • If those in the outside circle agree with the statement, they (and the student in the middle) must find a new place to stand in the circle. • One person will be left without a new spot. This person will step into the middle of the circle and make a new statement.
• C ontinue until everyone has had the opportunity to be in the middle of the circle.
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