Kate Rigg: Plays and Publications

Photo by Misa Martin Writing Projects

Click HERE for kate rigg's writer's bio and production history

At the University of Toronto Kate won 2 Norma Epstein Creative Writing Awards before visiting Australia to finish her honors degree in culture and creative writing at the University of Melbourne where she graduated in the English program with Honors and won their Experimental Writing Award. While in school there, she also won an Australia Council Creative Development Grant to create her first multimedia play, mOTHERland, a Best of Fringe Award, and Melbourne International Comedy Fest Monologue Award.

While in the acting program at the Juilliard School of Drama (Dip. Acting) She won the Interarts Award, a Summer Projects Grant and Interarts Grant to finish mOTHERland. She also published Sinta of Jakarta, a verse play with Prism Press in Vancouver, and had mOTHERland produced at the Tarragon theater in Toronto and at Studio 301 at the Juilliard.

In school the first workshop of her full length musical Pictures of Dorian Gray premiered written with Julliard colleague, composer Lance Horne, and it was invited to the National Music Theater Conference at the ONeill Playwrights Center, and received a full workshop at Manhattan Theater Club. Their two short operas, A Suite for Fat Girls and Club Kid Cantata premiered at the Clarke Studio Theater at Lincoln Center. Dorian Gray is in development with Second Stage Theater and most recently the team completed the new musical Back In the Day for the 2007 Cape Rep Theater Season in Cape Cod.

Based on her performances in comedy clubs around the USA and Canada, Kate's ChinkORama premiered in 2001 at Here Theater Center, then played at the NY Fringe Fest, Buddies in Bad Times Theater in Toronto, the HBO Time Warner Workspace in L.A., Joe's Pub at the New York's Public Theater, the Brava Theater Center S.F. and continues to tour the country. Birth of a nASIAN, a cycle of monologues and songs was part of the Jerome Foundation's New Work Series was workshopped in Minneapolis, Toronto, at La Mama ETC, and in readings at Asian Theater Workshop's Summerfest at Mark Taper Forum L.A, before going on to being performed at New World Theater in Massachussetts, the Vancouver Comedy Festival, the Women in Theater Conference Toronto, ConWorks in Seattle, OutNorth in Anchorage, MACLA, CCE Portland and the Comedy Central Theater L.A as part of their 2007 season. This year it will be performed as a special event for the Smithsonian Institute's 2008 Asian Heritage Month Programs.

Her play about Asian Adoptees, The Phoenix Rides a Skateboard was commissioned by Theater Direct Canada, was produced at Theater Passe Muraille in Toronto and was published by Schillingford Press and excerpted for a monologue book called Shakin the Stage for young actors. It was also produced in Romania in 2005 By Nottara theater and is a popular play produced in high schools.

A New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow and NEA award winner, she is developing The Urban Tao, a play based on oral history interviews with 81 Asian North Americans collected while on tour as a performer. Insights from these interviews were also shared at New York University's APA Center's 30th Anniversary Tribute to Maxine Kingston where Kate was a keynote panelist, and at her 2007 performance at the Smithsonian Institute during Asian Heritage Month with Slanty Eyed Mama. She has received writing fellowships from The Asian American Arts Alliance, The Asian Women's Giving Circle, The Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, The Patsylu Fund for Women in Music, the National Performance Network, The Mark Taper Forum, The Australia Council, The Canada Council and the Urban Arts Initiative amongst others.

In 2006/07 She was commissioned by the Center Theater Group/Mark Taper Forum P.L.A.Y. program to write Dinner 101, a multimedia play for high school age actors which was produced by CTG at Birmingham high school's Arts Center

Her observations on Asian American youth and pop culture, 25 Things you should know about Asian American Youth, were the centerpiece for Time Warner's Asians in Media's Annual Conference and Panel, and were carried in dozens of National media marketing and advertising publications in an abridged version called 10 Things You Should Know About Asian American Youth.

In 2007 she was the keynote speaker and performance at the Smithsonian Institute's Freer Sackler museum of Asian America for A/PI Heritage month as well as the Time Warner Companies annual A/PI Awareness Panel. She is also part of the Playwrights Lab 2007-8 at the Center Theater Group, Mark Taper Forum.

Kate's film and TV projects include The Naughty Show comedy revue filmed at Hollywood's historic Ivar Theater and distributed on DVD with Eagle Rock Entertainment (exec prod.) Gonzo Girlz released in 2005 on Time Warner On Demand and a number one show on Faslane's mobile media as top performer as RIPE TV's VOD, (exec. Producer), Boomer Humor a DVD and tour (exec prod.), and several screenplays in development.

Selected Articles

A Magazine, 2000 "I chink Therefore I am"
THIS Magazine, Cover story 2002 "10 Things You Shouldn't say to your Asian friend.."
BUST Magazine 2002 "Best in Cho"
On and Off Magazine "The Reclamasian of the Broadway Musical"
Newswire/PRO Hip Hop/AdWeek "Ten things every brand should know about Asian Youth."
RICE PAPER Magazine Cover Story Slanty Eyed Mama
She also maintains a blog on API issues


Writing Projects Click HERE for kate rigg's writer's bio and production history At the University of Toronto Kate won 2 Norma Epstein Creative Writing Awards before visiting Australia to finish her honors degree in culture and creative writing at the University of Melbourne where she graduated in the English program with Honors and won their Experimental Writing Award. While in school there, she also won an Australia Council Creative Development Grant to create her first multimedia play, mOTHERland, a Best of Fringe Award, and Melbourne International Comedy Fest Monologue Award. While in the acting program at the Juilliard School of Drama (Dip. Acting) She won the Interarts Award, a Summer Projects Grant and Interarts Grant to finish mOTHERland. She also published Sinta of Jakarta, a verse play with Prism Press in Vancouver, and had mOTHERland produced at the Tarragon theater in Toronto and at Studio 301 at the Juilliard. In school the first workshop of her full length musical Pictures of Dorian Gray premiered written with Julliard colleague, composer Lance Horne, and it was invited to the National Music Theater Conference at the ONeill Playwrights Center, and received a full workshop at Manhattan Theater Club. Their two short operas, A Suite for Fat Girls and Club Kid Cantata premiered at the Clarke Studio Theater at Lincoln Center. Dorian Gray is in development with Second Stage Theater and most recently the team completed the new musical Back In the Day for the 2007 Cape Rep Theater Season in Cape Cod. Based on her performances in comedy clubs around the USA and Canada, Kate's ChinkORama premiered in 2001 at Here Theater Center, then played at the NY Fringe Fest, Buddies in Bad Times Theater in Toronto, the HBO Time Warner Workspace in L.A., Joe's Pub at the New York's Public Theater, the Brava Theater Center S.F. and continues to tour the country. Birth of a nASIAN, a cycle of monologues and songs was part of the Jerome Foundation's New Work Series was workshopped in Minneapolis, Toronto, at La Mama ETC, and in readings at Asian Theater Workshop's Summerfest at Mark Taper Forum L.A, before going on to being performed at New World Theater in Massachussetts, the Vancouver Comedy Festival, the Women in Theater Conference Toronto, ConWorks in Seattle, OutNorth in Anchorage, MACLA, CCE Portland and the Comedy Central Theater L.A as part of their 2007 season. This year it will be performed as a special event for the Smithsonian Institute's 2008 Asian Heritage Month Programs. Her play about Asian Adoptees, The Phoenix Rides a Skateboard was commissioned by Theater Direct Canada, was produced at Theater Passe Muraille in Toronto and was published by Schillingford Press and excerpted for a monologue book called Shakin the Stage for young actors. It was also produced in Romania in 2005 By Nottara theater and is a popular play produced in high schools. A New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow and NEA award winner, she is developing The Urban Tao, a play based on oral history interviews with 81 Asian North Americans collected while on tour as a performer. Insights from these interviews were also shared at New York University's APA Center's 30th Anniversary Tribute to Maxine Kingston where Kate was a keynote panelist, and at her 2007 performance at the Smithsonian Institute during Asian Heritage Month with Slanty Eyed Mama. She has received writing fellowships from The Asian American Arts Alliance, The Asian Women's Giving Circle, The Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, The Patsylu Fund for Women in Music, the National Performance Network, The Mark Taper Forum, The Australia Council, The Canada Council and the Urban Arts Initiative amongst others. In 2006/07 She was commissioned by the Center Theater Group/Mark Taper Forum P.L.A.Y. program to write Dinner 101, a multimedia play for high school age actors which was produced by CTG at Birmingham high school's Arts Center Her observations on Asian American youth and pop culture, 25 Things you should know about Asian American Youth, were the centerpiece for Time Warner's Asians in Media's Annual Conference and Panel, and were carried in dozens of National media marketing and advertising publications in an abridged version called 10 Things You Should Know About Asian American Youth. In 2007 she was the keynote speaker and performance at the Smithsonian Institute's Freer Sackler museum of Asian America for A/PI Heritage month as well as the Time Warner Companies annual A/PI Awareness Panel. She is also part of the Playwrights Lab 2007-8 at the Center Theater Group, Mark Taper Forum. Kate's film and TV projects include The Naughty Show comedy revue filmed at Hollywood's historic Ivar Theater and distributed on DVD with Eagle Rock Entertainment (exec prod.) Gonzo Girlz released in 2005 on Time Warner On Demand and a number one show on Faslane's mobile media as top performer as RIPE TV's VOD, (exec. Producer), Boomer Humor a DVD and tour (exec prod.), and several screenplays in development. Selected Articles A Magazine, 2000 "I chink Therefore I am" THIS Magazine, Cover story 2002 "10 Things You Shouldn't say to your Asian friend.." BUST Magazine 2002 "Best in Cho" On and Off Magazine "The Reclamasian of the Broadway Musical" Newswire/PRO Hip Hop/AdWeek "Ten things every brand should know about Asian Youth." RICE PAPER Magazine Cover Story Slanty Eyed Mama She also maintains a blog on API issues
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