Tickets sold at https://pork-filled.ticketleap.com/vietgone/

JOIN US on August 15th after Vietgone for a post-show discussion with Susan Lieu, author of her new memoir, The Manicurist’s Daughter!

Cover photo by Jenny Crooks. 

SUSAN LIEU is a Vietnamese–American author, playwright, and performer who tells stories that refuse to be forgotten. She took her award-winning autobiographical solo show 140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother on a ten-city national tour, with sold-out premieres and accolades from the Los Angeles Times, NPR, and American Theatre. Her debut memoir, The Manicurist’s Daughter, is an Apple Book of the Month, Apple Book Must Listen of the Month, and has been featured on The New York Times, NPR Books, Elle Magazine, LA Times, and The Washington Post. Creator of The Vagina Monologues, V (formerly Eve Ensler) calls The Manicurist’s Daughter “a stunning, raw, brave memoir that wouldn’t let me go.” She is a proud alumnae of Harvard College, Yale School of Management, Coro, Hedgebrook, and Vashon Artist Residency. She is also the cofounder of Socola Chocolatier, an artisanal chocolate company based in San Francisco. Susan lives with her husband and son in Seattle, where they enjoy mushroom hunting, croissants, and big family gatherings. The Manicurist’s Daughter is her first book.

BOOK SUMMARY

An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery.

Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers. About her family’s past and about her own future. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Susan’s family escaped to California in the 1980s after five failed attempts. Upon arrival, Susan’s mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons and orchestrating every success―until Susan was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. After the funeral, no one was ever allowed to talk about her or what had happened.

For the next twenty years, Susan navigated a series of cascading questions alone―why did the most perfect person in her life want to change her body? Why would no one tell her about her mother’s life in Vietnam? And how did this surgeon, who preyed on Vietnamese immigrants, go on operating after her mother’s death? Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon’s family, and enlisting the help of spirit channelers, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty.

The Manicurist’s Daughter is much more than a memoir about grief, trauma, and body image. It is a story of fierce determination, strength in shared culture, and finding your place in the world.

BOOK ORDER LINK
https://www.susanlieu.me/the-manicurists-daughter

NATIONAL TOUR DATES
https://www.susanlieu.me/events

SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: @susanlieu, @celadonbooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanlieuofficial

TikTok: @susanlieuofficial

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanlieu/

For the Deaf community Pork Filled Productions and SIS Productions is offering closed captioning for four performances of Vietgone by Qui Nguyen (author of Raya and the Last Dragon presented in association with and at the Theatre Off Jackson (409 7th Ave. S., Seattle, WA).

This ribald, funny romantic comedy can be enjoyed by all audiences on theSaturday, August 10^thand Friday August 16^th at 7:30 pm and both performances on Saturday, August 17^th (2 pm and 7:30 pm). Patrons can use their personal devices (phone or tablet) to tune in to a special site for dialogue.

Deaf Audience members who are unable to make it those nights have other options. Upon request, audience members may use printed copies of the script along with a reading lamp and follow the action on stage. Both options will have special sections of the house so patrons can enjoy the show without being disturbed by the rest of the audience.

“Our experience with producing new work centering Deaf artists showed us the need for this,” says PFP Executive Director Roger W. Tang. “Many theatres are missing a vital part of the community by not providing for Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences and we wanted to bridge that gap.”

Tickets for all performances of Vietgone (running August 9^th to 27^th) are available at https://pork-filled.ticketleap.com/vietgone. Patrons wanting printed scripts to follow along may request them in advance at porkfilled@gmail.com (Name, number of scripts and for which performance).

It’s 1975, after the fall of Saigon. Two young survivors (who may or may not be the playwright’s parents) meet in Arkansas. Will this strange land of burritos, bikers, hippies and pot allow them to fall in love? Flipping stereotypes and remixing history, Vietgone cooks up a sexy, funny romp (with live music!) that’s a secret origin story for playwright Qui Nguyen (author of Raya and the Last Dragon)!

The show is rated PG-14 for sexual situations, swearing, redneck racism, nightmares of war, and badass kung fu fighting. For more information, contact PFP at oink@porkfilled.com, call (206) 486-0375 or go to their website, www.porkfilled.com.

TheThursday, August 22nd  performance at 7:30pm and will feature a sensory relaxed performance to increase access and equity by reducing intensity of lighting and sound to enable more audiences to enjoy the show.

SIS Productions is a production company that strives to create, develop and produce quality works that involve Asian American women, their themes, and Asian American issues. SIS Productions encourages opportunities and support for Asian American women to be involved in all aspects of the production of artistic endeavors. SIS Productions is supported by 4Culture, ArtsWA & Melvin Inouye.

The oldest Asian American theatre group in the Pacific Northwest, PFP centers Asian American and POC artists to imagine fantastical, inclusive, and FUN universes. Through the genres of science fiction, noir, fantasy, steampunk and more, we envision a bright universe informed by diverse experiences and perspectives, populated by larger-than-life characters, where everyone’s story can be told.

PFP’s season is supported by 4Culture, ArtsWA, ArtsFund and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. Pork Filled Productions is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike, the 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that provides independent arts groups in Washington with the services, resources, and opportunities they need to forge their own paths to sustainable success.

Pork Filled Productions and SIS Productions are pleased to announce that the August 22nd performance of Vietgone, by Qui Nguyen, at 7:30pm in association with and at the Theatre Off Jackson (409 7th Ave. S., Seattle, WA) will be a sensory relaxed performance.

  Tickets for this sensory relaxed performance, as well as all others, are https://pork-filled.ticketleap.com/vietgone-relaxed/.

What’s a sensory relaxed performance?

A relaxed performance is designed to make the audience more comfortable.  We tweak the performance just a bit to  help people with disabilities, disorders, or differences. They get to enjoy the experiences along with other patrons.

“Relaxed” implies that the experience can be more casual. But overall is more welcoming.  

People who experience sensory overload are more likely to seek out a relaxed performance.  For example, did you know over 1/3 of the population is more likely to experiences sensory overload?

“Overload” refers to being overstimulated and overwhelmed.  As a result, sensory overload occurs when one or more senses are receiving too much stimulation, typically from one’s surrounding environment.

What makes a performance sensory relaxed?

Mainly, we’re adjusting light and sound cues to make them more friendly to folks who can get overloaded. We’ll keep house lights at 30% to let folks adjust.

We’ll also keep the back two rows on the left hand side of the theatre (when you’re facing the stage) for folks who need to stand up during performances. Folks who need to use electronic devices (speech to text, or reading lights to read a script along with the play) also will have seats on the left side of the theatre.

As well, we are developing a guide for Vietgone for patrons to prepare themselves for what’s going to happen on stage. (For an example, check out the guide we provided for She Devil of the China Seas).

Why have a sensory relaxed performance?

Theatre is for everyone! And all it takes is a little tweak here and there to make it for everyone. It won’t take away from the experience of anybody else who doesn’t have problems with sensory overload, so why not have a performance for those who do?