Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters

Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters

Stephanie is a half-Korean, Philadelphia-based, hyphen-supporting playwright. Stephanie writes hyper contemporary, magical realism plays that are built on the pillars of laughter, curiosity and whimsy. She describes her work as "Charles Mee, David Henry Hwang, Twyla Tharp, and Mariah Carey walk into a bar". She currently studies with Philadelphia’s new play development laboratory, PlayPenn. Stephanie...
Stephanie is a half-Korean, Philadelphia-based, hyphen-supporting playwright. Stephanie writes hyper contemporary, magical realism plays that are built on the pillars of laughter, curiosity and whimsy. She describes her work as "Charles Mee, David Henry Hwang, Twyla Tharp, and Mariah Carey walk into a bar". She currently studies with Philadelphia’s new play development laboratory, PlayPenn. Stephanie is a second year member of Philadelphia's playwright collective, The Foundry. She is also the lead artist for Philadelphia Asian Performing Artist's Playwrights Project and co-facilitator of Studio 1219, Philadelphia Young Playwrights/Teaching Artists playwriting group.

Stephanie is also a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association and a teaching artist in Philadelphia. She is graduate of Bucknell University, the London Dramatic Academy, and CAP21.

Plays

  • Esther Choi and the Fish that Drowned by Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: coming of age, grief + 4 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: coming of age, grief, teenage death, Asian American and African American relations, magical realism, multi-generational
    Esther Choi is your favorite all-American, overachieving-Asian teen except she has a ghost. Anthony Gibson is Esther’s best friend and (spoiler alert) he’s dead. Mr. Choi is Esther’s grandfather and he owns a haunted dry cleaner on Cheltenham Ave. In an (un)likely turn of events, Esther must grapple with grief, loneliness, and winning first chair in high school orchestra, all while living up to her grandfather’s new expectations.
  • Are You My Father or the dream ballet of north korea by Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: dark comedy, political
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    Keyword: North Korea, Kim Jong-Il + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, political
    Keyword: North Korea, Kim Jong-Il, Kim Il-sung, Korea, defection, Kpop
    Are You My Father is a political comedy exploring love and coming of age in one of the world’s most mysterious nations. Meet North Korean elite Min-Jun as she struggles with understanding freedom, disappointing family and dreaming about Kim Il-Sung. Min-Jun’s world is rocked when she is magically spirited away to South Korea.
  • Keep Me Posted by Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: online dating, Stalking + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: online dating, Stalking, sexual abuse, social media, magical realism
    Celeste Moon, a hyper-trendy Insta-famous poet, is new to internet fame. Followed on social media and IRL, Celeste is no stranger to looking over her shoulder. But after a series of mysteriously specific packages fall into her hands, she is forced to face her stalker. Will he ghost her or haunt her? Keep Me Posted examines the presence of technology in contemporary society and the struggles of online dating.
  • The Elvis Administration by Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: love, Race + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, romantic comedy
    Keyword: love, Race, humor, imagery, Korea, Kim Jong-Il, Elvis Presley, Asian American, asian
    A whimsical look at love and where we belong through the eyes of Crab Girl, Turtle Man, Elvis, and Kim Jong-Il. This teenage girl's tumbler page meets Korean drama is a playful way of examining new landscapes of the heart. A "Love Actually" for the brokenhearted.
  • The Wall with Four Eyes by Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: dark comedy, fable/folktale + 1 more
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    Keyword: Kim Jong-Il, Art and Artists + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy, fable/folktale, political
    Keyword: Kim Jong-Il, Art and Artists, North Korea, Korean folktale
    A ten-minute play exploring art and the way people want to be seen by others. Physical perception from the point of view of the powerful.
    Meet Kim Jong-il and a painter, as they share North Korean folklore and re-imagined classical art.
  • Follow Me Through the Gates by Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale + 2 more
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    Keyword: interactive children's theatre, Asian American + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale, immersive, young audiences
    Keyword: interactive children's theatre, Asian American, Chinese American, African American, site-specific, intergenerational, multi-cultural
    Ty has lived in America her whole life, a whole 8 years! Her grandfather has not; he was born in China. Grandfather talks about China a lot, a whole lot. Ty doesn't know much about China. She thinks Grandfather doesn't know much about her.
    Azsori has lived in America her whole life, a whole 9 years! She doesn’t know much about living someplace else, but she knows a whole lot about feeling like...
    Ty has lived in America her whole life, a whole 8 years! Her grandfather has not; he was born in China. Grandfather talks about China a lot, a whole lot. Ty doesn't know much about China. She thinks Grandfather doesn't know much about her.
    Azsori has lived in America her whole life, a whole 9 years! She doesn’t know much about living someplace else, but she knows a whole lot about feeling like she doesn't always fit in where she lives.
    But this Saturday, someone goes missing in the library and everything is about to change, a whole lot.
    Help Ty, Grandfather, Azsori, and their favorite librarian, Ms. Layla, on their quest for knowledge and acceptance through the walls of the Independence branch of the Free Library – an adventure of exploring your roots and finding your family. ​

    Best enjoyed by children ages 5 to 10 & their adults.
  • They Belonged to the Sunlight by Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: deconstructed fairy tale, feminist
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy, fable/folktale, fantasy, political
    Keyword: deconstructed fairy tale, feminist
    An adaptation of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's SNOW WHITE & ROSE RED.

    Follow the sisters’ journey through the pages of fairylore and into the brothers’ reality; one that might prove bleaker than their princess tower.