WEST COAST PREMIERE
ABOUT THE SHOW
Vichet Chum’s captivating new play revolves around two sisters who have been at odds since their birth. Now, tasked with the responsibility of organizing their strong-willed, quick-witted mother's affairs, they must also come to terms with their family's Cambodian heritage, intricately woven into the complexities of their American present. Through a mix of irreverent humor and heartfelt moments, the story delves into the bonds formed by history, spirituality, and the power of laughter.
RUN TIME: 1 hour 35 minutes with no intermission
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“Funny, Powerful, Stunningly Good [by] a rising playwright gaining national renown.”
“[Director Jeffrey] Lo has assembled a collection of those who understand how to create a beat, the collective deftly delivering... moments of richness.”
“Chum’s characters represent classic dysfunctional families who are fully dimensional... With impressive performances and a deep telling of a family journey BALD SISTERS is ‘must see’ theater.”
CAST & CREATIVES
JEFFREY LO Director
CHRISTOPHER FITZER Scenic Design
MAURICE VERCOUTERE Lighting Design
STEVE SCHOENBECK Sound Design
BECKY BODURTHA^ Costume Design
SPENSER MATUBANG Video Design
PATRICK CHEW Dialect, Language, and Cultural Consultant
JENN TRAMPENAU Props Coordinator
AARON GIN Master Electrician
BENNETT SEYMOUR Scenic Builder
ALEXA BURN* Stage Manager
ILIANA KARBOWSKI* Stage Manager
CHIANA NIEDBALEC Production Assistant / Board Op
CHEYENNE BACON Production Assistant
STEPHANY PUENTES Production Assistant
HALEY BAUGHER Stage Management Intern
*Denotes members of Actors’ Equity Association
†Denotes members of Stage Directors & Choreographers Society
^Denotes members of United Scenic Artists, the union of professional designers.
SPONSORS
a SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR ASSOCIATE PRODUCER SPONSOR
Kathleen Danzy Cohen
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Jeffrey Lo is a Filipino-American playwright and director based in the Bay Area. He is the recipient of the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artist Award, the Emerging Artist Laureate by Arts Council Silicon Valley and Theatre Bay Area Director's TITAN Award. Selected directing credits include The Language Archive, Little Shop of Horrors and The Santaland Diaries at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Chinglish, The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin and Hold These Truths at San Francisco Playhouse, Vietgone and The Great Leap at Capital Stage, A Doll’s House, Part 2 and Eurydice at Palo Alto Players (TBA Awards finalist for Best Direction) and The Grapes of Wrath, The Crucible and Yellow Face at Los Altos Stage Company. As a playwright, his plays have been produced and workshopped at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, BindleStiff Studio, City Lights Theatre Company and Stanford University. His play Writing Fragments Home was a finalist for the Bay Area Playwright's Conference and a semi-finalist for the O'Neill Playwright's Conference. Jeffrey has also worked with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Asian American International Film Festival, San Jose Repertory and is a company member of Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company and SF Playground. His short play Brendan’s Damn Good Day was adapted to a short film which was selected for the Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival and the Black Cat International Film Festival in Bolivia. Jeffrey also works as an educator and advocate for issues of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and has served as a grant panelist for the Zellerbach Family Foundation, Silicon Valley Creates and Theatre Bay Area. He is the Associate Producer of Casting and Literary Manager at the Tony Award Winning TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, a graduate of the Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute and a proud alumnus of the UC Irvine Drama Department.
INTERVIEW WITH JEFFREY LO
Exploring the power of storytelling to uplift communities and create connections through shared human experiences.
An incredible conversation with Contemporary Asian Theatre Scene (CATS) president Leianne Wong Lamb and Cambodian-American multimedia artist Ellina Yin (creator of The Other Perspective(s) podcast). BALD SISTERS director Jeffrey Lo discusses his approach to creating Asian American theatre and the significance of Vichet Chum’s play.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Vichet Chum is a Cambodian American playwright, theater maker, actor, and writer originally from Dallas, Texas and now living in New York City. His plays have been workshopped at Steppenwolf Theatre, Cleveland Play House, the Magic Theater, the Alley Theatre, the UCROSS Foundation, Fault Line Theatre, Crowded Outlet, Second Generation Productions, Weston Playhouse, Cleveland Public Theatre, All For One Theater, Amios, Florida State University, Merrimack Repertory Theatre and the New Harmony Project. He received the 2018-19 Princess Grace Award in Playwriting with New Dramatists, has served as a curator for Space on Ryder Farm, is a current board member for the New Harmony Project, and serves as a steering committee member for the Obie Award and Tony Award-winning organization, AAPAC (The Asian American Performers Action Coalition). Notable writers' groups include: the Resident Working Farm Group at Space on Ryder Farm, the Interstate 73 Writer's Group at Page 73 and the Ars Nova Play Group. In 2022, his plays High School Play: A Nostalgia Fest had its world premiere at the Alley Theatre and Bald Sisters (recipient of the 2021 Laurents/Hatcher Award and the 2021 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award) had its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He is currently working on commissions for Audible, Steppenwolf Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Seattle Children's Theatre and Merrimack Repertory Theatre. He is a proud graduate of the University of Evansville (BFA) and Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company (MFA).