Join us for the Ping Chong Archival Symposium at Hunter College on Dec 6
The Ping Chong Archival Symposium will be a full day gathering exploring the archive and artistic legacy of the visionary artist and Pink Fang Artistic Director Emertius, Ping Chong. It will take place on Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 12pm - 7pm, at the Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College (CUNY).
This free, public event on December 6th marks a pivotal collaboration between Pink Fang and Hunter College Theatre Department, a semester-long partnership that includes a co-taught course called Multicultural Theatre Performance: Engaging Community Voices and Stories, class visits, an Artist Lunch for students with Ping Chong, a theater workshop available to the entire Hunter College community, and public screenings of Ping Chong’s archival works followed by talk-backs.
The day-long symposium event will bring together artists, scholars, students, and the public for conversation, panels, artistic activations, and a celebratory reception, illuminating the impact, evolution and future of Chong’s groundbreaking interdisciplinary practice that has transformed the landscape of performance in America and beyond.
This symposium is both a celebration and a continuation of Ping’s lifelong inquiry into how art can create understanding across differences and be the basis for pedagogical and intergenerational, community centered approaches. As we move forward as Pink Fang, the ongoing preservation and activation of Ping Chong’s archive is a key pillar of our mission and work. By including artistic responses, learning opportunities, and activation around Ping Chong’s archive, this event will illuminate all of the tenets of Pink Fang’s new mission.
Ping Chong Symposium Schedule
Keynote Conversation (12:00–1:30 PM): Ping Chong in Conversation with Mei Ann Teo, Artistic Director of New Work at Pink Fang.
Panel Discussion (2:00–3:30 PM): Ping Chong and Pedagogy featuring the following perspectives on the pedagogical influence and evolving study of Chong’s work: Victoria Abrash, MFA (Part-Time Assistant Professor, Theater, Eugene Lang College, New School University), Dong Shin Chang, PhD (Associate Professor, Theatre Department, Hunter College), Claudia Orenstein, PhD (Theatre Professor Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY), Yuko Kurahashi, PhD (Professor Emeritus, School of Theatre and Dance, Kent State University) and Christopher Totten (Assistant Director of Education / School Engagement, New 42/New Victory). The panel will be moderated by Priscilla Page, MFA/PhD (Associate Professor in Theater at University of Massachusetts Amherst, and affiliated faculty in the W. E. B. DuBois Department of Afro-American Studies and Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledge and Sciences).
Archival Activation (4:00–5:30 PM): Six artists present original creative responses to Chong’s archive and influence, Featuring: Nile Harris (Pink Fang Resident Artist), Tomi Tsunoda (Transdisciplinary Artist-Scholar and Dramaturg for upcoming Pink Fang production of The Table), Kate Freer (Projection Designer and Ping Chong Collaborator), Johnnie Cruise Mercer (Choreographer, Dancer, Educator and Former PCC Creative Fellow), Kirya Traber (writer, performer, and cultural organizer and Pink Fang Artistic Collaborator), and Tuce Yasak (An Artist Who Works with Light and Lighting Designer for upcoming Pink Fang production of The Table)
Closing Reception (5:45–7:00 PM): Hosted by Hunter College Theatre Department and Pink Fang.
Registration is free and open to the public.
Pre-Symposium Screenings and Workshop
In the weeks leading up to the symposium, Pink Fang and Hunter College will host a series of free public screenings of Ping Chong’s works, accompanied by discussions with artists from each production and faculty. These screenings will highlight the interdisciplinary aspects of Ping’s body of work, — from dance and puppetry to documentary theater — and to engage with the creative legacy that continues to inspire artists today. In addition, Pink Fang artists will also lead a workshop for the Hunter College community, where students, faculty and staff are invited to learn some of the process of Pink Fang's interview-based methodologies and community-engaged practices.
Tuesday, November 4, 2025 | Location: Baker Basement (Inside/Out) and Lang Hall, Hunter North 424 (Evening Screenings)
- 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM: Inside/Out: Voices from the Disability Community (2008)
Co-written and co-directed by Ping Chong and Sara Zatz, this heartfelt documentary theater piece presents the firsthand experiences of seven individuals living with disabilities while tracing the history of the disability rights movement in the U.S. (Run Time: 85 minutes)
Post-Screening Q&A: Sara Zatz (Pink Fang) & Zazel Chavah O’Garra (Cast Member) - 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM: I Will Not Be Sad in This World (1992) and Angels of Swedenborg (2011)
I Will Not Be Sad in This World is Ping Chong’s first pure dance work, focusing on the visceral and animal nature of human experience (Run Time: 20 minutes). Angels of Swedenborg reimagines spiritual and corporeal realms in a striking dance-theatre hybrid, originally premiered in 1985 and revived in 2011 for La MaMa’s 50th Anniversary Season (Run Time: 65 minutes).
Post-Screening Discussion: Led by Professor maura nguyễn donohue (Chair and MFA Director, Dance Department) with Perry Yung (Pink Fang Board Member and Performer in Angels of Swedenborg), Jeannie Hutchins (Performer in I Will Not be Sad in this World)
Thursday, November 20 | 11:30 AM -1:30 PM | Location: The Peggy Dance Studio, Thomas Hunter Hall
- Hunter College Community Workshop with Pink Fang artists
In this active workshop, students, faculty and staff are invited to learn some of the process of Pink Fang's interview-based methodologies and community-engaged practices, with the goal of activating skills around personal narrative, intercultural communication, and self-expression. Together we’ll explore generative techniques designed to build original theatrical performance from personal stories.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 | 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM | Location: Lang Hall, Hunter North 424
- Cathay: Three Tales of China (2005)
An epic puppet theatre work spanning China’s ancient past, wartime struggles, and modern transformation. Combining over 150 puppets, recorded soundscapes, and video projections, Cathay explores continuity and change across centuries (Run Time: 101 minutes).
Post-Screening Discussion: Led by Professor Claudia Orenstein (Theatre) and Stephen Kaplin (Cathay Puppet Artist and Co-Artistic Director of Chinese Theatre Works and Co-founding member of Great Small Works).
Registration for all film screenings are free and open to the public.