STAR — STAR, PUPPETEER, CO-CREATOR

In STAR, a back-up dancer who dreams of singing lead comes up against the forces that try to keep her in her “rightful” place—even sewing her mouth shut to do so. When she meets a back-up-dancer-turned-puppet who convinces her the only way to avoid its fate and achieve her dream is by killing the lead singer and assuming their place, our protagonist struggles to find another way. STAR is a story about the many ways a vicious performance industry can turn Asian women performers into puppets and what it takes to dream beyond red string.

STAR was conceived, created, and performed as a component of my senior thesis on Anne Anlin Cheng's theory of Asian femininity ornamentalism as applied to the case study of pop star Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Girls—four Japanese/American backup dancers treated as human accessories.

The STAR team is currently pursuing additional developmental opportunities for this piece. Contact me if you would like to read a script or watch filmed documentation of this piece.

Production photos by Justin Barbin. Promotional photos by Melanie Ahn. Sketches by Sunnie Eraso.