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Vichet Chum

@vichetchum

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👑 @kweenplay x @merrimackrepertorytheatre
Feb 25-March 15

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So grateful to @damianthompsonactor and Stephanie Olmsted for bringing me along to the 2026 MacDowell National Benefit Gala! Such a special evening celebrating incredible artists, making meaningful connections, and connecting with University of Evansville Theatre alumni from my alma mater.

Having just moved to the city, being part of an evening like this was truly life-changing. It reminded me why I’m so excited to be here and how powerful it is to find community. Feeling incredibly inspired, grateful, and thrilled for all the possibilities ahead.

📸: Amir Hamja, Bre Johnson, & Kevin Czopek

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Two tremendous events tonight. So many people I love- old friends and new.
@macdowell1907 benefit and @hortonfooteprize ceremony. Queen and inspiration @sade1111 honored with @asherald giving an astounding speech, @waterwell_org and @talenemonahon receive well-deserved praise. Here is to supporting and making art that matters . Thank you to all tagged and Laurel J. Richie, Christine Fisher, Andi Bernstein Cathleen Murphy for the great conversation. Onward with rigor and love.

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Today is my last day at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

When I first interviewed at Steppenwolf back in 2022, I asked Jen and Elise what their favorite part about working here was. They both replied, “the people”. And it’s true. The people who work at Steppenwolf are the best of the best.

I’ve learned so much here over the past 4 years. I started out as the COVID Safety Manager, swabbing noses and checking in with cast and crew every day to see how they were feeling. I didn’t anticipate how close we’d all get. These show companies quickly became family.

Then in 2023 I was asked to be the Company Manager (in a very normal way). The next couple of years proceeded to be the most intense and fulfilling boot camp I’d ever experienced. Steppenwolf truly changed my life and shaped me into the person I am today. And I’m forever grateful for that.

I worked with performers I admired growing up, watched my friends live out their dreams on and offstage, and learned what it really means to care for a company of artists.

The ensemble became my family; they’re my aunts, uncles, sometimes children, and always friends. They taught me valuable lessons about community. How to build it, how to nurture it, and how to hold it together.

Getting to sit in on meetings, tech, and rehearsals for the past four years has been an honor and a privilege. The Steppenwolf staff are really unlike anyone else I’ve ever met. No one works harder than these folks (s/o stage management especially, I love you 🫶🏻).

I’m famously very bad at goodbyes. I hate them. I’m excited to start my next chapter in Minneapolis, but I’m equally sad to walk away from such a formative period here in Chicago.

Thank you, Steppenwolf, for everything. To quote my friend, the late, great, Wai Ching Ho in Bald Sisters, “Don’t cry like a bitch” ❤️

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Two weeks. Six playwrights. Six new plays.

Playwrights Jaclyn Backhaus, CA Johnson, Vichet Chum, Rogelio Martinez, Sanaz Toosi & Lucy Thurber, joined by our amazing guest playwright Shayan Lotfi, spent two weeks writing, reading new pages aloud, and giving one another generous, rigorous feedback—artist to artist, peer to peer.

Facilitated by Krista Williams & John Baker, the group made room for risk, experimentation, big questions, great conversation, and, naturally, snacks.

This is the third NYC Writers Group we’ve gathered, and we’re deeply grateful to these playwrights for trusting us with their work. And to Emily Shooltz, Emily Chackerian, Jeremy Ehlinger, Debby Lau, and everyone at @signatureinnyc for the extraordinary generosity that makes this time together in Midtown Manhattan possible.

As Sun Valley Playwright’s Residency celebrates five years, we’re proud to keep making room for playwrights to gather, make new work, and support one another. ❤️

📷: Krista Williams
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#writersofinstagram #theatre #newplays #offbroadway #broadway

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Huge thanks to all who joined us for our second annual Summer Reading series!

Each of these seven bold plays was written by a talented playwright from our Relentless community, and we were thrilled to provide the space and opportunity for such a crucial step in their developmental process. We can't wait to see what's next for these plays!

Standstill
by Vichet Chum
Directed by Ryan Dobrin
Featuring BD Wong, Ted Guzman and Gray Caro

club bathroom
by Philip Santos Shaffer
Directed by Sam Morreale
Featuring Clew, Temidayo Amay, Carter, Syd Island, Hallie Samuels, Genevieve Simon, Jae W.B. and Vianca Perez

the hierophant
by Justice Hehir
Directed by Knud Adams
Featuring Gabriel Ebert, Sam H. Levine, Mia Mooko, Mark Nelson, Anna O'Donoghue, and Felix Teich

Thank You For Holding
by Tommy Heleringer
Directed by Jay Stull
Featuring Tommy Heleringer, Johanna Day, Samy Nour Younes Figaredo, Carolyn Kettig, Amy Staats, Akyiaa Wilson, and Carolyn Best

Please Wait
by Ariana Venturi
Directed by Keira Naughton
Featuring Ariana Venturi, Mary Bacon, Stella Baker, Christopher Geary, Tom Pecinka, Sophie Von Haselberg, and Arielle Goldman

Virgil & GVS
by Charlotte Ahlin
Directed by Danielle Cohn
Featuring Nate Betancourt, Brandon Bogle, Jack Corcoran, David Lee Huynh, Blair Lewin, Cassia Thompson, and Colleen Litchfield

Expected Value
by David Rosenberg
Directed by Adam McCoy
Featuring David Rosenberg, Griffin Dunne, Kathryn Erbe and Lambert Tamin

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Dear @waichinghohknyc -

I was waiting for you to return my text about seeing Ragtime. I thought, “She’s probably asleep, that responsible b*tch.” I knew you’d text back because you always did. I could always count on your friendship. The last text from you in the Bald Sisters group chat was last week: “Miss ya!!!”

A glowing smile, a deep conversation with your hands in my hands our ears turned towards each other’s voices, a box of Portuguese egg tarts for Sunday rehearsals. You brought exuberance, joy, and ceaseless dedication to your craft everywhere you went, any room that had the honor of witnessing all your many gifts.

We were rescheduling our date because you had booked another gig and we were looking for other days to be together and maybe have dinner with @vichetchum, too. Always booked and blessed, and if not booked about to be, going from adventure to next adventure fully present and game.

Thank you for being the first living example for me that a long, abundant, playful life as an actor (and a mother, wife, friend to all) is possible. Thank you for always being ready to eat some delicious food in good company. Thank you for always texting back. It is an honor to have been in your orbit.

Some video filmed @steppenwolfthtr that we ended up not using for the show because ultimately @jescajane wanted Wai on stage. I keep watching them though. Photos from @liachangphotography @kyleflubacker @joel_m @renavision

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Featured in this recap are our incredible student projects!, Our educators facilitated the students' creation of board games, articles, playlists, fanart, slideshows, alternate covers, letters, and even food to share with authors during their visit! 85% of our educators are previous participants of the program, and many of them include us as part of their curriculum year after year 🥹 From librarians to GSA advisors to school social workers and even parent coordinators, their continued enthusiasm and dedication allows us to keep the program running. #bookstagram, #DiverseReads, #lgbtq, #pride, #OwnVoices Graphic with the title "May" at the top and "53 visits this month: 41 class visits, 3 poetry workshops, and 9 large group visits" underneath. There are pictures of Sarah Moon, Mark Oshiro, Kyle Lukoff, and A.M. Wild at school visits.

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#PLAYWRIGHTS

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Good afternoon, Bibliophiles! 𝐐𝐎𝐓𝐃: Have you read any books, fiction or otherwise, about the immigration experience?

For Immigrant Heritage Month last year, I put a reel together of queer books discussing deportation and undocumented immigrants. In light of recent ridiculousness by the United States government, I decided to revamp it for this month, and threw in a couple of nonfiction novels too.

If anyone knows of any other books like this, let me know! I was having a bit of a hard time finding fiction books especially.

Featured here:
- THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OCEAN by @jdnetto
- THE BROPOSAL by @sonidoreyes
- ANDER & SANTI WERE HERE by @jonnyinstas
- INDIVISIBLE by @danaleman
- KWEEN by @vichetchum
- THE GRIEF KEEPER by Alexandra Villasante
- COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN by Javier Fuentes
- PATSY by Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn
- DOCUMENTS by @janhyphenhenry
- ABOLITIONIST INTIMACIES: QUEER AND TRANS MIGRANTS AGAINST THE DEPORTATION STATE by Eithne Luibhéid
- QUEER AND TRANS MIGRATIONS: DYNAMICS OF ILLEGALIZATION, DETENTION, AND DEPORTATION edited by Eithne Luibhéid and Karma R. Chávez
- "Beyond Identity: Coming Out as UndocuQueer" by Maria Liliana Ramirez, from WE ARE NOT DREAMERS: UNDOCUMENTED SCHOLARS THEORIZE UNDOCUMENTED LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES edited by Leisy J. Abrego and Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales
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Books about Deportation Books About Undocumented Immigrants #QueerBooks #LGBTBooks #QueerReads
#BookRecommendations

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It’s Pride Month, which means I’m legally allowed to shove queer books down everyone’s throats 🤗

❓See any favs?

Love ya, UH ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🩷🖤

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#bookrecs #rainbow #queerbooks #happypride ; queer book recommendations for Pride

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Happy Pride Month🌈

So happy to finally share a list of queer books written by Southeast Asian authors based on books that I’ve read, I’m currently reading and on my ever growing TBR📚

Here are my thoughts on the books that I’ve already read💬

I loved reading Bellies and The Magic Fish and I absolutely recommend them both!!😍

Smile as They Bow is a very interesting and immersive read! I really enjoyed all the cultural insights about the natkadaws and Taungbyon festival in Myanmar🇲🇲

Happy Stories, Mostly is so heartbreaking! Even though the shorter stories of this collection went over my head, I found most of longer ones deeply emotional😭

Last year I finally read Supernova which is the translation of the first of a popular Indonesian six books series. Although I liked the lyrical writing, I found it too cerebral at times and I struggled to get through the more descriptive and scientific parts of the narration🫠

Do you know any of these books? Any other rec to add to my TBR?? Let me know in the comments and follow for more!

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Racing for AANHPI representation on NYC stages! ✅ ✅ ✅

Big thanks to the @aapi5k organizers and volunteers for gathering our community, our fab runners repping #TeamAAPAC, and everyone who donated to our campaign to raise funds for our work. We are incredibly grateful and charged for the work we continue to do. 🏃🏻‍♀️🏆🏁

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