Purple Cloud by Jessica Huang

When you’re hapa, you know deep down you’re greater than the sum of your many parts. In Purple Cloud, three generations of Huangs deal with the multifacets of their multiracial identities as – accompanied by four Jade Pieces – they embark on a mythical journey from China to Minnesota and back again. Through three intertwining stories, the Huang family acculturates: Grandpa Lee emigrates from Shanghai to America...
When you’re hapa, you know deep down you’re greater than the sum of your many parts. In Purple Cloud, three generations of Huangs deal with the multifacets of their multiracial identities as – accompanied by four Jade Pieces – they embark on a mythical journey from China to Minnesota and back again. Through three intertwining stories, the Huang family acculturates: Grandpa Lee emigrates from Shanghai to America during the Sino-Japanese War; his son Orville deals with his confusion as a first generation Asian American; and his granddaughter fights for her Chinese-ness through the search for her true name.
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Purple Cloud

Recommended by

  • Eli Effinger-Weintraub:
    22 May. 2019
    “ A lovely and haunting script about identity, history, and culture, and the desire to define ourselves expansively despite the small boxes the world tries to shove us into. As it moves through time and space, it offers performers, directors, and designers a rich opportunity to explore the moods and mores of different eras and cultures. Would make a powerful production for any theater company that wants to explore Asian American experience in the last half-century. ”
  • Asian American Theater Project:
    10 Feb. 2018
    “ The Stanford Asian American Theater Project had the delight of including Jessica Huang's remarkable “Purple Cloud” as part of our 2016–2017 season. AATP found that our audience resonated strongly with the protagonist Hapa Girl’s desire to reconcile the myriad, seemingly-opposed facets of her identity over the course of the play. Huang’s chorus of ancient Jade Pieces keep the script moving fluidly, and steer the piece toward a clear and narratively fulfilling resolution. ”

HAPA GIRL- A young woman, mixed race – part Chinese, part white.
LEE HUANG– Her grandfather – also mixed
ORVILLE HUANG– her father – also mixed
PIECES OF JADE:
(These are NOT animals, rather they are jade pieces handed down for generations, who have embodied animalistic energies and a human-like appearance - for example, TORTOISE might wear a leather jacket and BIRD might wear brightly colored clothes - but these are jade pieces first and foremost.)
-- DRAGON (The Azure Dragon of the East. Wood. Spring.)
-- BIRD (The Vermillion Bird of the South. Fire. Summer.)
-- TIGER (The White Tiger of the West. Metal. Autumn.)
-- TORTOISE (The Black Tortoise of the North. Water. Winter.)
Ideally, DRAGON and BIRD are women and TIGER and TORTOISE are men. Another
option is for all four PIECES OF JADE to be played by women.

Development History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Playwrights Center
    ,
    2015
  • Reading
    ,
    Mu Performing Arts
    ,
    2014
  • Reading
    ,
    CAATA
    ,
    2014

Production History

  • University
    ,
    AATP - Stanford University
    ,
    2017
  • Professional
    ,
    Mu Performing Arts
    ,
    2015

Awards

Nominee - Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
,
2016
Nominee - Kilroy's List
,
2014