yellow text over a plaid background with red, green, and blue; with an outline of a white badminton racket with shuttlecock. text reads: No One Plays Badminton in America

NO ONE PLAYS BADMINTON IN AMERICA
by Ankita Raturi
directed by Rebecca Wear

Alexander Chard as Pak Jojo, Coach Q
Joan Cheam as Female Voiceover
Will Choi as Jae Min, Michael
Ruy Iskandar as Male Voiceover
Anjani Joshi as Nayna, Tisha
Pranshu Mishra as Anuj, Kartik
Chelsea Sik as Citra
Savira Windyani as Melati

#AAPBadminton #AAPReadings


PLAYWRIGHT

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Ankita Raturi (Playwright) is a bisexual, bicultural, bilingual writer currently living in Southern California. She grew up in and around New Delhi, Jakarta and Washington D.C., and has spent many years living and working in New York City. Ankita writes in Hindi/Urdu and English about the impossibilities of language, living between cultural identities and the ongoing legacies of colonialism. Her plays are often populated with queer characters navigating new and unfamiliar territory. Ankita is the inaugural recipient of the Asian Pacific American Friends of the Theater & Artists at Play Emerging Playwright Commission. She is also the recipient of a Sloan Commission with Ensemble Studio Theatre. Her audio play, Backwaters, is available to listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts as part of the 2021 Wagner New Play Festival. Ankita has developed new plays through UCSD, NYU, Artist at Play, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The COOP, Atlantic Pacific Theatre, Theater Masters, The Hearth Theater, Hypokrit Theatre Company, New York Shakespeare Exchange, Pete’s Candy Store and Natyabharati. Her devised work with co-creator Charlotte Murray has been seen at Fresh Ground Pepper, Corkscrew Theater Festival and Dixon Place. Ankita has a BFA in Drama from NYU. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Playwriting at UC San Diego with the guidance and mentorship of Naomi Iizuka and Deborah Stein. Instagram: @ankitawrites

DIRECTOR

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Rebecca Wear (Director) Select directing credits include Tea (Hero Theatre/Inner City Arts, Los Angeles); Hometown Boy (Actor’s Express, Atlanta, World Premiere); Mongrel (Know Theatre of Cincinnati, World Premiere); The Chinese Lady (Artists at Play/Greenway Court, Los Angeles, West Coast Premiere); Obedient Steel (HERE Arts Center, New York, World Premiere) and site specific locations. Associate directing credits include Sweat (Oregon Shakespeare Festival /Arena Stage, World Premiere, 2017 Pulitzer Prize Winner). Recent awards include: 2022 Kathryn Davis Fellowship for Peace (Middlebury College), 2019 National Directing Fellow (O’Neill Theater/National New Play Network/The Kennedy Center/SDC), 2019 Critical Refugees Studies Arts Grantee. Affiliations: HERO Theatre Resident Director.

CAST

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Alexander Chard (Pak Jojo, Coach Q) is an Indonesian Australian actor and writer. Born in Australia and raised in Jakarta, he moved to London to study and work in contemporary theatre. Alexander’s multicultural background and upbringing deeply informs his work. He often explores themes of loss, outsiders, spirituality and cultural overlaps. Now based in Los Angeles, he has appeared in Vida (Starz), the indie film The Blackout (Daniela De Carlo) and in commercials for leading brands. Alex’s screenwriting has been recognized by the WeScreenplay Feature Comp ’22 (Winner, Fire Over The Hills; Finalist, X or the Ascension of Gold Mountain), Nicholl Fellowship Top 10%, and Austin Film Festival. It has been recommended by The Blacklist, and currently sits in the top 1% on Coverfly’s Red List.

headshot of a woman with tan skin, brown eyes, and dark brown hair that falls below her shoulders, looking at the camera; in the background is and out-of-focus grassy lawn, palm trees, and blue sky

Joan Cheam (Female Voiceover) is a second-year economics and BFA acting double major at UC Santa Barbara. She has portrayed Ajumma in Acetone Wishes and Plexiglass Dreams and Exotic Deadly in Exotic Deadly or the MSG Play, both from the BIPOC Reading Series Festival at UCSB. Most recently, Joan also portrayed #8 in The Theater Group at Santa Barbara City College’s production of The Wolves.

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Will Choi (Jae Min, Michael) is an actor and voice actor, best known for his voice-over roles on Bob’s Burgers (FOX), BoJack Horseman (Netflix), The Casagrandes (Nickelodeon), Tokyo Revengers (HBO Max), Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) and many more. He is the creator of the hit Asian American variety show ASIAN AF in Los Angeles and New York. Aside from acting, Will is also the proud owner of ORANGE CARPET, a flooring and carpeting business. Hit him up if you’re looking to change your floors!

headshot of a man with golden brown skin, dark eyes, and short black hair, wearing a brown shirt/jacket in front of a brown background, looking at the camera.

Ruy Iskandar (Male Voiceover) Film/television: Upcoming: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Yes Day (Netflix), Benders (IFC), Sneaky Pete (Amazon Studios), The Blacklist (ABC), Gotham (FOX), The Rookie (ABC). Broadway: Macbeth (Lincoln Center). Off-Broadway: The Tempest (LA Philharmonic); The Witch (The Geffen Playhouse) Dance and the Railroad (Signature Theatre); Measure for Measure (Public Theater); The Hunters (Cherry Lane Theater); Purim Play (Classic Stage Co.); You for Me for You (Ma-Yi Theater); Hamlet, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, The Storm, Hot l Baltimore (NYU Grad). Regional: The World of Extreme Happiness (Goodman Theatre), American Night: Ballad of Juan José (Denver Center Theatre), Twelfth Night, King Lear (Pennsylvania Shakespeare).

headshot of a woman with dark brown hair that goes below her shoulders, brown eyes, and light brown skintone, wearing a black tank top underneath an off-the shoulder grey sweater, looking at the camera in front of a green background

Anjani Joshi (Nayna, Tisha) is thrilled to be a part of Artists at Play’s presentation of No One Plays Badminton in America! Currently, she recurs on ABC’s hit comedy The Goldbergs as William Penn Academy’s Home Economics teacher, Andrea Hooper. She recently had the privilege of playing Leena in Jasmine Sharma’s Cancelled/Cancel Me, as a part of The Road Theatre’s Under Construction Playwrights Group which highlights up and coming playwrights. When not acting, Anjani can likely be found in her kitchen testing out new cookie recipes with a cup of chai in hand.

headshot of a man with brown skin, long wavy hair that goes below his shoulders, dark eyes, and groomed facial hair, wearing a white and grey patterned collared shirt, looking at the camera in front of a lavender background.

Pranshu Mishra (Anuj, Kartik) is an actor, writer and producer based in Los Angeles. With a degree in theatre from UCLA, Pranshu has performed on-stage with Coeurage Theatre Company and behind the mic for games like Amazon’s New World. When he’s not performing, Pranshu is exploring new food in LA with his girlfriend Praji (@prajiprasana), rolling around the floor with his cats or tinkering away at his latest script. You can find him on social media @pranshuland or at his website, www.pranshumishra.com.

headshot of a woman with tan skin, long straight dark brown hair, dark eyes, wearing a black sleeveless top, looking at the camera in front of a grey/green background.

Chelsea Sik (Citra) is an actor and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles but born and raised in Malaysia. She arrived in the States at age 15 in pursuit of mastering the craft of acting, attending intensive acting programs at Idyllwild Arts Academy, The Art of Acting as well as graduating with a BFA in acting from USC. You can catch her making comedic sketches and short videos on her socials as well as she produces her own short films. She hopes to link with you!

headshot of a woman with brown skin, dark eyes, long black hair in a braid that goes over her left shoulder, wearing an olive tank top, looking at the camera in front of a grey background.

Savira Windyani (Melati) is an Indonesian-born and Malaysian-raised classically trained actor. Based in Los Angeles, Savira is known for her principal role in the Blumhouse film, Unfriended: Dark Web. Starting off with a musical theater and sketch comedy background, she moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17 to further her studies at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Over the short course of her career, she’s appeared on several award-winning short films, Lifetime movies, commercials and won the LDB Monologue Challenge in 2020. Next she will be seen on the Netflix limited series, Boo, Bitch.

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Julia Cho (Stage Directions) was born and raised in Los Angeles. Through her work with Artists at Play – which encompasses producing, acting, and casting – she has helped develop and produce numerous works created by and featuring Asian American artists. Upon graduating from UC Berkeley, Julia starred in the Word for Word production of Amy Tan’s Immortal Heart which had an extended award-winning run at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, then toured domestically and in France. Julia has since performed and toured shows with East West Players, Will & Company, Lodestone Theatre Ensemble, hereandnow, as well as readings for Boise Contemporary Theatre, The Blank Theatre, Circle X Theatre, Playwrights’ Arena, Pasadena Playhouse and Center Theatre Group. For UC Santa Barbara’s LAUNCH PAD program, she was invited to direct a new play by Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters for their 2022 BIPOC Reading Series Festival.

CREATIVE AND PRODUCTION TEAM

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Katherine Chou (Dramaturg) is a Taiwanese American writer, filmmaker and theatre artist. A graduate of L’Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, she is an alumna of Visual Communication’s Armed With a Camera Fellowship, the BIFAN Fantastic Film School in South Korea and Imago Theatre’s Artista program in Montreal. Theatre credits include The Chinese Lady at Denver Center for the Performing Arts, as well as Artists at Play’s 2019 co-production with Greenway Arts Alliance; In Search of Mrs. Pirandello and The Tashme Project in Montreal; and AAP’s presented readings of Three Women of Swatow and Non So Più Cosa Son. @kacawcaw

Nicholas Pilapil (Stage Manager) is a Filipino American playwright and producer, and has been an Artists at Play producing member since 2013.

ARTISTS AT PLAY
Artists at Play produces theatrical programming that explores the Asian American experience. In the presentation of these multifaceted stories, we provide resources and a platform for underrepresented theatre artists while serving  audiences within Los Angeles and beyond. Through our mainstage productions, new play development and other events, we advocate for and collaborate with diverse communities of artists.

Founded in 2011, our productions have achieved box office success and critical acclaim including Ovation Award and GLAAD Media Award nominations. Artists at Play has developed artistic partnerships with The Latino Theater Company, East West Players, USC Pacific Asia Museum, Chinese American Museum, USC Visions and Voices and Center Theatre Group. We have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, KPCC, Angry Asian Man, Hyphen Magazine and @This Stage Magazine, among others. Artists at Play is a member of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists, Greater Los Angeles BIPOC Artistic Directors Cohort and Theatre Producers League of Southern California. www.ArtistsAtPlay.org

Producing Artistic Leaders and Co-founders
Julia Cho
Stefanie Lau
Marie-Reine Velez

Producers
Katherine Chou, Nicholas Pilapil

Producing Associate
Naomi Horibe

Interns
Sandy Nguyễn
Jocelyn Shek
Victoria Shum Vourkoutiotis
Emi Yoshino

Let us know what you thought of the show with #AAPBadminton and #AAPReadings!

ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE THEATER (APAFT)
The Asian Pacific American Friends of Theater is dedicated to the promotion of casting Asian Pacific American actors to play non-ethnic specific American roles in American plays on main stage theaters. APAFT encourages the development of the theater arts skills of APA actors, writers, directors and other performers; and strives to educate the public and advocate for changes in access to the main stage theaters. www.APAFT.org

SPECIAL THANKS
Michele Selene Ang
B Bastian
Jennifer Chang
Arjun Dhawan
Sara Haider
Soma Helmi
Justin Huen
Christopher Komuro
Alejandro Joewono
Abby Latip
Gavin Lee
Armando Molina
Wayne Nakasone
Sara Rahman
Jeanne Sakata
Arnold Setiadi
Yoshi Sudarso
Jes Vu
Ryun Yu

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