Lyra Nalan

Lyra Nalan

Lyra Nalan is a Chinese playwright based in New York. She is a recipient of the Kennedy Center's Judith Royer Award, Miranda Theatre Playwrights Grant and Horticultural Playwrights Workshop Fellowship. Recently Lyra was nominated for the Susan Blackburn Smith Prize by Silk Road Rising Theatre and NNPN's Smith Prize for Political Theatre by Interact Theatre. She's also a finalist for New Harmony...
Lyra Nalan is a Chinese playwright based in New York. She is a recipient of the Kennedy Center's Judith Royer Award, Miranda Theatre Playwrights Grant and Horticultural Playwrights Workshop Fellowship. Recently Lyra was nominated for the Susan Blackburn Smith Prize by Silk Road Rising Theatre and NNPN's Smith Prize for Political Theatre by Interact Theatre. She's also a finalist for New Harmony Project and Relmagine TYA competition, and a semi-finalist for O' Neill National Playwrights Conference. Her work had been developed or showcased at the Kennedy Center, Cherry Lane Theatre, Round House Theatre, Spooky Action Theatre, Miranda Theatre, Avant Bard Theatre, Tradewind Arts Asian American Artists, The Living Room Players, Strand Theatre, Three Cats Productions, among others. Currently, she’s under commissions from Adventure Theatre MTC and Silk Road Rising Theatre. Lyra's writing is influenced by her childhood in China and the differences she's experienced from living abroad. She hopes that her writings can start dialogues about how we can find agency and humor in challenging circumstances, and build an empathic connection with others.

Plays

  • Paper Dream
    In 1930, a Chinese woman, trapped in Angel Island Detention Center, seeks the aid of a ghostly creature to connect with her lost daughter. Guided by a riddle, she endeavors to protect what she holds dear, but her plan faces imminent threat from a young woman who challenges her moral standards – what it means to be a good woman. Her biases, shared by the Chinese exclusion policy in the U.S. at the time,...
    In 1930, a Chinese woman, trapped in Angel Island Detention Center, seeks the aid of a ghostly creature to connect with her lost daughter. Guided by a riddle, she endeavors to protect what she holds dear, but her plan faces imminent threat from a young woman who challenges her moral standards – what it means to be a good woman. Her biases, shared by the Chinese exclusion policy in the U.S. at the time, complicate her journey to reunite with her daughter.
  • Chuan & Eve
    In the near-future Manhattan, Chuan, a Chinese immigrant encounters Eve, a therapist who encourages him to seek their free therapy program to help his mother who has schizophrenia. While Chuan makes significant progress with Eve, questions regarding Eve’s qualifications arise as the mysterious death of her former patient connects to her.
  • The Peachlanders
    Two rivalry friends discover a strange fable land where everyone lives a long, youthful, and non-competitive life. At the center of it all, stands a sacred peach tree which can bestow the gift of longevity -- but only to those who choose to remain there forever.
  • Dream Reunion
    Dream Reunion follows Ting, a Chinese woman living in America, who runs over various possibilities of her reunion with her mother Jun back home, hoping to find the right words that lead to a perfect scenario.
  • The Drought Girl
    Nemo is a fourth-grade human girl who prefers to play by herself, but is constantly teased by her obnoxious table-mate, Stone. However, their dynamic changes with the arrival of a strange girl who possess supernatural gifts/curses. The Drought Girl is one tale about two unlikely friendships told in three perspectives.
  • World Behind the Fence
    A innocent young woman lives a simple life with her mother in a garden until one day she encounters a stranger who makes her realize that she has been kept in a cage... World Behind the Fence is a one-act play exploring abusive relationship and the power of conditioning.
  • Homoskitten
    When Leila tries to ask her feline boyfriend to brush his teeth, he throws her a tantrum. The couple’s relationship is at rock! The short explores inter-racial/cultural relationship as well as its gender dynamic.
  • THE GOLDEN SON
    Follow the journey of a Chinese son as his scandalous cousin
    pays him a sudden visit before his wedding night. Witness the
    golden son’s dilemma unfold as he faces clashes between
    traditional Confucian values and Western notions of
    individuality.
  • The Snow Zither
    A girl moves the Snow Goddess with her beautiful music, so the goddess helps her travel to the underworld to see her grandfather one last time, with her opinionated cat.
  • The Peony Soul
    A nine-year-old girl learns to take care of her mother who suffers a chronic mental illness with the help of a Peony Fairy. ​