Rya Szelong

Rya Szelong

Brooklyn, NY -based, from Bay Area, CA.
email: ryszelong@gmail.com
chinese, japanese, white; they/she.

2019 - 2020 Clubbed Thumb Early-Career Writers’ Group
2018 - 2019 University Settlement’s Performance Project
2018 LAMBDA Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices - (excerpt published in 2018 Anthology)
2017 Governor’s Island Public Works Department...
Brooklyn, NY -based, from Bay Area, CA.
email: ryszelong@gmail.com
chinese, japanese, white; they/she.

2019 - 2020 Clubbed Thumb Early-Career Writers’ Group
2018 - 2019 University Settlement’s Performance Project
2018 LAMBDA Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices - (excerpt published in 2018 Anthology)
2017 Governor’s Island Public Works Department – Resident Artist
BFA: NYU Tisch - Playwrights Horizons Theater School.

(photo credit: @queersilver)

Plays

  • Featured Dancers by Rya Szelong
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: trans, coming of age + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, period, political
    Keyword: trans, coming of age, musical theatre trauma, political cycles, gaytriarchy, dance, racial triangulation
    Three "ethnically-ambiguous" theatre-kids face a coming-(and going)-of-age while hanging out after rehearsal in the studio's female/gender-neutral/unisex bathroom in 2011...then 2021...then 2007.
  • interra-bang by Rya Szelong
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: biography, dark comedy + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: family, samurai + 4 more
    Genre: biography, dark comedy, drama, experimental, fantasy, movement/physical, period, political
    Keyword: family, samurai, 3 generations, biracial identity, assimilation, generational memory
    A pseudo-autobiographical, fractured portrait of the fragmented identities of a Chinese-Japanese-white family, and of the half-true ancestral curse that lurks under their kitchen sink. "interra-bang" hopscotches through time from 1877 to 2027, unearthing queerness(‽) and shame(!) and pride(?) in 3+ generations and their pet shih-tzu.
  • The Actors Roundtable by Rya Szelong
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, experimental + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: absurdism, acting psychology + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy, experimental, fantasy, parody/spoof, satire
    Keyword: absurdism, acting psychology, workplace trauma
    Seated at a roundtable, a moderator tries to facilitate a Q & A session between seven "Azn-American" actors nominated for Oscars™ in the same film (...or past life?). Questions include: what is your approach to acting?, what was your most difficult onscreen experience?, what is your favorite color?, was your performance Queer?, & what piece of advice would you offer to a picture of yourself as a baby?

  • Rovers by Rya Szelong
    Cast: 
    3–5
    ·
    Genre: experimental, movement/physical + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Science Based, existentialism + 2 more
    Genre: experimental, movement/physical, pageant, science fiction, young audiences
    Keyword: Science Based, existentialism, Avant Garde, Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    an educational pageant about 3 NASA Rovers on Mars: named "Opportunity" (played by actor 1), "Curiosity" (played by actors 2 & 3), and "Spirit" (played by a computer-manipulated actor's voice).
  • MUSEUMING by Rya Szelong
    Cast: 
    7–30
    ·
    Genre: commedia dell'arte, dark comedy + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: dance theatre, pantomine + 1 more
    Genre: commedia dell'arte, dark comedy, experimental, horror, immersive, movement/physical, pantomime, satire
    Keyword: dance theatre, pantomine, clowning
    A dance-theatre installation that parodies contemporary museum culture.
    Characters include: a devilish Curator, a greedy Socialite, an over-intellectual Academic, a camera-snapping & tap-dancing Tourist, a Model in love with a painting, an indignant Custodian with a secret... at a Gala for the newest Exhibition.