Moxie Arts NY
i know why iris chang died
September 4-7 2025
IN RESIDENCE: August 26 – September 8, 2025
i know why iris chang died is tragicomic play told from the perspective of May – a trans masculine Chinese-American graphic artist. In the wake the Atlanta Spa Shootings, May prepares to publish their debut graphic novel, a recounting of their family’s experience during the Rape of Nanking. As May hyper focuses on the past, their twin sister puts her attention into conceiving a baby through IVF. This heartfelt, dark, and deeply funny two-hander takes a look at legacy, family, suicide, genocide, and healing from generational trauma.
The workshop production stars Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars, Raya and the Last Dragon) as April and Sagan Chen (Survival of the Thickest) as May and is directed by Bibiana Torres (Roundabout Directors Group 2025-26). i know why iris chang died is line produced by Emma Y. Lai, and features illustrations and graphic design by May Wang, sound & projections design by Max Van, and lighting design by Ari Kim.
PERFORMANCES:
September 4, 2025 – Performance at 7:30pm
September 5, 2025 – Performance at 7:30pm
September 6, 2025 – Performance at 2pm and 7:30pm
RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes
PRICE:
$20 General Admission
$40 Premium ReservedAt IRT: 154 Christopher st. NYC #3B (third floor)
ADA Accessible
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About the Playwright
Esmé Maria Ng (they/he/she) is a Gaysian American playwright that seeks to embody the phenomenon of laughing at/through the pain. They look for joy in inappropriate moments, with often-understated-sometimes-surrealist aesthetics and complicated characters. Their plays have gained them recognition as a Eugene O’Neill Finalist, a Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow, and the 2024 June Bingham Playwriting Commission recipient. Plays include: FISH MEAT (SheNYC Theater Festival, O’Neill Finalist), i know why iris chang died (June Bingham New Play Commission, 2025 Moxie Incubator), THE JADE RABBIT IS CRASHING OUT OVER EL*N M*SK (Cosmic Cherry Festival) esmemariang.com @esmemariang
About Moxie Arts NY
Moxie Arts NY is a Lilly Award-winning nonprofit theatre company founded in 2017 dedicated to engaging audiences with stories centering women, created by artists of historically excluded genders (including women, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming artists). Our programming provides opportunities for artists at all stages of career development, building community from the page to the stage, and everywhere in between. For more information visit www.moxiearts.org
About the Moxie Incubator
The Moxie Incubator is an accelerated development program for new, unproduced works and aligns with Moxie’s mission of engaging audiences with stories centering women, created by artists of historically excluded genders. These pieces were selected through an open submission process to Moxie Arts NY and each received two rounds of development before these productions. Throughout this process, the nine cohort members rotated, so that all artists have worked together in different configurations across the three rounds.
IRT Theater is a grassroots laboratory for independent theater and performance in New York City, providing space and support to a new generation of artists. Tucked away in the old Archive Building in Greenwich Village, IRT’s mission is to build a community of emerging and established artists by creating a home for the development and presentation of new work.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council; A.R.T./New York’s NYC Small Theatres Fund made possible with support from the Howard Gilman Foundation & support for ASL interpretation provided in part through funding from Access A.R.T./New York.
ACCESS: IRT is a fully wheelchair-accessible facility. Please reach out to Kori Rushton if you have any accessibility questions or concerns, krushton@irttheater.org