Bay Area actors! The Chinese Historical Society of America is looking to cast actors for a unique live lecture/performance project with artist and photographer Eddie Wong, based on 1935's "Broken Blossoms" case. The one-time only performance, to be held on Saturday, March 5 in San Francisco, will tell the true story of four Chinese women forced into prostitution in San Francisco's Chinatown.
Here are some more details about the project:
Project Title: The Broken Blossoms Case of 1935 in San Francisco Chinatown
Project Description: This is a lecture/presentation on the story of four Chinese women who were forced into prostitution in San Francisco Chinatown in the 1930s. Actors will portray the four women as an U.S. immigration inspector interrogates them. The script is drawn directly from testimonies found at the National Archives in San Francisco.
Date: The one-time only performance will be on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 1 pm at the Chinese Historical Society of America, 965 Clay St., SF, CA 94108. The entire program will be 90 minutes.
Producer: Eddie Wong and the Chinese Historical Society of America
Pay Rate: An honorarium of $50 will be given to each performer.
Character breakdown:
Character #1: Female, Chinese (could be portrayed by any Asian nationality) between the ages of 18 to 26 years old. Jeung Gwai Ying was 19 years old when she escaped from her slave owners in SF Chinatown. She testified against her slave owners in a federal trial in 1935.
Character #2: Female, Chinese (could be portrayed by any Asian nationality) between the ages of 18 to 26 years old. Quan Gow Sheung was 21 years old when she testified to immigration inspectors about being forced into prostitution for two years. She also testified at the Broken Blossoms trial of 1935.
Character #3: Female, Chinese (could be portrayed by any Asian nationality) between the ages of 18 to 26 years old. Wong So was 20 years old when police apprehended her in Salinas, CA. She had been forced into prostitution after her arrival in the U.S. in 1933. She was a key witness in the Broken Blossom trial of 1935.
Character #4: Female, Chinese (could be portrayed by any Asian nationality) between the ages of 18 to 26 years old. Leung Louie Gin was one of three women brought to the U.S. and sold into prostitution when she was 19 years old. Her testimony was used at the deportation hearings of one slave owner.
Character #5: Male, Chinese (could be portrayed by any Asian nationality) between the ages of 20 to 30 years old. Wong Gwong Hing accompanied Jeung Gwai Ying to the U.S. and later married her after the Broken Blossoms trial.
Character #6: Male. Anglo American. Immigration Inspector. This part has already been cast.
Auditions will be held on Saturday, January 23 and Sunday, January 24 at the Chinese Historical Society of America in San Francisco. For further information about the project, and how to audition, go here.
Learn more about the Broken Blossoms case: Four Chinese Women and their Struggle for Justice - The Broken Blossoms Case of 1935