ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
SNOW IN MIDSUMMER
A New Adaptation by Mai Lan Nguyen
Snow in Midsummer is a tragicomic and anachronistic experimentation on the original medieval Chinese play of the same title. Bridging the traditional Confucian past of China with the contemporary struggles of entering adulthood, the play deals with a conflict that weighs heavily on each of our lives: how do we love our close ones while honoring the needs, wants, and desires of our own?
Filled with absurdity, TikTok dances, and Chinese EDM music against the backdrops of Yuan Dynasty China, Snow in Midsummer is an exploration of generational divide, and familial obligations. It is a story about the struggle of amending the individual with the collective. How do you find your own voice and seek your own footing in a violently suppressing world that keeps trying to tell you who and what you are?
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR / PLAYWRIGHT
MAI LAN NGUYEN is a recent graduate of Stanford’s Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS) Department and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Computer Science. She has written and directed multiple short performance pieces and one acts, including Contract, Coffee, and Harmonized Code. She has worked as an assistant director to Haruna Lee’s Beyond the Wound Is A Portal and a production assistant in New York’s Target Margin Theater. Her most recent work includes writing and directing a staged reading of Snow in Midsummer. As an actor, she has performed in AATP’s peerless (M), TAPS’s The Seagull (Understudy for Arkadina/Masha) and Everybody (SOMEBODY), as well as Stan Shakes’s Measure for Measure (Duke Vincentio), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Moth/Snug). She is a recipient of the Louis Sudler Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts (2022).
PRODUCTION CREDITS
CREATIVE TEAM
Director/Playwright
Mai Lan Nguyen
Set Designer/Props Artisan
Kiki Hood
Costume Designer
Diana Khong
Costume Designer
Emilia Diaz-Magaloni
Lighting Designer
Espen Garner
Sound Designer/LED Video Designer
Michael Murakami
Stage Manager
Luke Lamberti
Assistant Stage Manager
Sid Zhang
Technical Director
Greyson Assa
Makeup Artist
Emily Schrader
CAST
DAUGHTER
Tiger Zhou
YOUNG
Bea Phi
OLD/FATHER/TOWNSPERSON #1
Brian Xu
MOTHER
Ishrita Pol
JUDGE
Nhu Pham
DOCTOR/TOWNSPERSON #2
Phong Nguyen
TICKETS
$5-$20 | Advanced Purchase Required
WHEN
THURSDAY through SATURDAY
MAY 04-06 at 8PM-9:30PM
There will be no late seating or re-seating while the performance is in progress.
WHERE
PIGOTT THEATER in MEMORIAL HALL
551 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford University Main Campus
RUN TIME
This production runs approximately 90 minutes and is presented without intermission.
SPONSORS
This production was produced in close partnership with Stanford Theater Lab.
Additional support provided by the Pigott Fund for Drama, the May Ellen Ritter Production Fund, and the Drs. Ben and A. Jess Shenson Fund.
IMPORTANT INFO
LATE SEATING / RE-SEATING
For safety reasons, we cannot accommodate late admission OR re-seating while the performance is in progress. Please plan on arriving with ample time to find parking, locate the theater, move through the box office, etc.
SPECIAL EFFECTS
Water-based haze/smoke and strobing light effects will be used during this production.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Electronic Assisted Listening Devices will be available for pickup at the Box Office on performance nights.
For disability-related accommodations, please contact: tapsinformation@stanford.edu. Requests should be made by April 27.
COVID-19 POLICY
Patrons should not attend events if they are experiencing symptoms of upper respiratory illness. If patrons should test positive for COVID-19 within ten days of being on campus, they should report using the General COVID-19 Case Reporting Form.
FILMING NOTICE
Performances of Snow In Midsummer will be recorded for future public viewing. Cameras in the theater may incidentally capture audience images and audio in the background. Ticket Purchasers must alert all members of their party to this possibility, and refrain from purchasing tickets before receiving their Party’s consent.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
TABLEWORK
TAPS’s video series TABLEWORK, hosted by PhD student Marina Johnson, is a behind-the-scenes look at the scholarly and artistic efforts behind each production. This episode features Snow in Midsummer playwright/director and TAPS alum Mai Lan Nguyen.