Tom X. Chao: Difference between revisions
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'''Tom X. Chao''' is a comedic [[playwright]], [[actor]], and [[musician]] based in [[New York City]] whose works have been produced in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. Chao regularly stars in his own work, usually playing an unflattering autobiographical character named "Tom." He is best known for his play ''Cats Can See the Devil'', which appears in ''Plays and Playwrights 2004''. |
'''Tom X. Chao''' is a comedic [[playwright]], [[actor]], and [[musician]] based in [[New York City]] whose works have been produced in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. Chao regularly stars in his own work, usually playing an unflattering autobiographical character named "Tom." During the 1990s, Chao was a member of New York City's [[Art Stars]] alternative performance scene whom ''[[The New York Times]]'' called "a dryly funny downtown comedian."<ref>{{cite news|last1=McKinley|first1=Jesse|title=The Festivals Come Thick, Fast and Wild|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/09/theater/newsandfeatures/09FEST.html|work=The New York Times|issue=July 9, 2004}}</ref> He is best known for his play ''Cats Can See the Devil'', which appears in ''Plays and Playwrights 2004''. |
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== Notable Plays == |
== Notable Plays == |
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=== ''Callous Cad'' === |
=== ''Callous Cad'' === |
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A 2009 autobiographical work in which Chao starred as a man who, after a lifelong search, enters his first romance only to find it unsatisfying.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dixon Place Presents Tom X. Chao's CALLOUS CAD, Opens 12/4|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Dixon-Place-Presents-Tom-X-Chaos-CALLOUS-CAD-Opens-124-20091117|website=BroadwayWorld.com|accessdate=25 September 2015}}</ref> It received a 2011 revival that '' |
A 2009 autobiographical work in which Chao starred as a man who, after a lifelong search, enters his first romance only to find it unsatisfying.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dixon Place Presents Tom X. Chao's CALLOUS CAD, Opens 12/4|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Dixon-Place-Presents-Tom-X-Chaos-CALLOUS-CAD-Opens-124-20091117|website=BroadwayWorld.com|accessdate=25 September 2015}}</ref> It received a 2011 revival that ''The New York Times'' called "intriguing... droll and ruminative."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Webster|first1=Andy|title=Support From a Love Sprite and Some Fractured Friends|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/theater/reviews/cheerful-insanity-here-arts-center-review.html?_r=1|work=The New York Times|issue=October 10, 2011}}</ref> |
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== Acting == |
== Acting == |
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Revision as of 16:45, 16 October 2015
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Comment: This is a start but still needs more available sources overall. Cheers, SwisterTwister talk 06:41, 13 October 2015 (UTC)
Tom X. Chao | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Playwright, writer, actor, musician |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California New York University |
| Notable works | Cats Can See the Devil |
| Website | |
| www | |
Tom X. Chao is a comedic playwright, actor, and musician based in New York City whose works have been produced in the United States and Canada. Chao regularly stars in his own work, usually playing an unflattering autobiographical character named "Tom." During the 1990s, Chao was a member of New York City's Art Stars alternative performance scene whom The New York Times called "a dryly funny downtown comedian."[1] He is best known for his play Cats Can See the Devil, which appears in Plays and Playwrights 2004.
Notable Plays
The Negative Energy Field
Chao's first production, an experimental one-act play in which he also starred. The lead character spends the entirety of the show delivering existential monologues while lying under a large piece of black cloth, until he is challenged by an otherworldly woman in a white dress. Chao created The Negative Energy Field as part of his Masters thesis in performance art at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, premiering it in 1996 at Pink, Inc. in New York City, with Shawn Sides originating the role of the Woman in the White Dress.[2] It was subsequently produced at Dixon Place, the New York International Fringe Festival, and elsewhere.[3]
Summer, Deepening Then Gone
Chao's first produced work to include a full cast and the only in which he has never played a role, Summer, Deepening Then Gone involves a teenage girl who magically summons an unwitting poet to protect her from the unwanted advances of a suitor. It premiered in 1999 at HERE in New York City[4] under the original title The Universe of Despair before being retitled for later productions.
Can't Get Started
A one-act play in which a young woman tries to help a hapless King Crimson fan understand relationships, Can't Get Started premiered at the St. Marks Theater in 2000[5] as Chao's first work as an artist-in-residence at New York's Horse Trade Theater Group. An early performance of the play was included in the video archive series of New York City experimental theater NotPerformanceArt.[6] Can't Get Started later saw multiple productions in Canada, one featuring Chao at the 2006 Edmonton International Fringe Festival,[7] and a revival with a new cast for the 2011 Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival.[8]
Cats Can See the Devil
An absurdist comedy in which an experimental theater production—involving a puppet show in which all the characters are abstract shapes—devolves into a scathing deconstruction of its creator and his failed romantic life as he's confronted and ridiculed by a series of women. Cats Can See the Devil premiered in 2003 at the New York International Fringe Festival[9] in a production starring Chao and directed by John Harlacher, with choreography by Tony Award nominee Alex Timbers.[10] The play was published in the 2004 edition of the Plays and Playwrights anthology series, and monologues from it were excerpted in several books, including The Best Men's Stage Monologues of 2004.[11] The original working script for Cats Can See the Devil is in the collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Callous Cad
A 2009 autobiographical work in which Chao starred as a man who, after a lifelong search, enters his first romance only to find it unsatisfying.[12] It received a 2011 revival that The New York Times called "intriguing... droll and ruminative."[13]
Acting
Chao frequently appears in his own plays, usually as himself. Aside from his own work, Chao's acting appearances include Deb Margolin's Critical Mass,[14] a recreation of the lost 1932 film Charlie Chan's Chance,[15] and in the radio comedy Special Relativity.[16]
Music
Tom X. Chao composed and performed original songs for several of his plays. In 2008 he released a four-song EP of original music, The Only Record.[17] It was followed by singles in 2010 and 2012.
Education
Chao attended the University of Southern California, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and Television and a Master of Professional Writing. He also attended New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where he studied under Obie Award recipient Deb Margolin and received a Master of Arts. His thesis included a study of stillness in performance art.[2]
List of works
Full-Length Plays
- The Negative Energy Field, New York, Pink Inc., 1996.
- Summer, Deepening Then Gone, (nee The Universe of Despair), New York, HERE, 1999.
- Can't Get Started, New York, The St. Marks Theater, 2000.
- The Scientists, New York, Surf Reality, 2001.[18]
- Cats Can See the Devil, New York, UNDER St. Marks, 2003.
- Callous Cad, New York, Dixon Place, 2009.
Short Plays
- "Please Don't Eat My Lucky Pear," New York, Dixon Place, 1998.
- "Tom Chao's Sketch Comedy Troupe," New York, DTX, 2001.
- "The Relationship Expert," New York, The St. Marks Theater, 2002.
- "How to Invoke Pan" (with Craig Heimbichner), New York, Brick Theater, 2004.
- "Jaded Individual," New York, Prospect Theater, 2004.
- "Freak Out Under the Apple Tree," Montreal, CFCF-CTV Stage, 2005.
- "The Peculiar Utterance of the Day," New York, The Red Room, 2007.
- "The Alternative Lifestyle Fair," New York, Ontological-Hysteric Theater, 2008.
Music
- The Only Record, 2008.
- "Woman, I'm an A*****e," 2010.
- "I Wish I Were Pretty," 2012.
Podcasts
- The Peculiar Utterance of the Day, libsyn, 2006–2008.
- Tom X. Chao's Podcast, Soundcloud, 2013–2014.
References
- ^ McKinley, Jesse. "The Festivals Come Thick, Fast and Wild". The New York Times. No. July 9, 2004.
- ^ a b Chao, Tom (September 1996). "The Uses of Stillness: A Postmodern Performance Technique".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Tanzer, Joshua (January 24, 2001). "The brother's grim". OffOffOffTheater.
- ^ "Tom X. Chao". doollee.com: The Playwrights Database. Julian Oddy. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ Tanzer, Joshua (October 13, 2000). "Some more Chao fun". OffOffOffTheater.
- ^ "Can't Get Started". NotPerformanceArt. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- ^ Wuensch, Yuri. "By all means, get him started". Edmonton Sun. No. August 22, 2006.
- ^ St. Germain, Pat. "Fringe Show Reviews – Can't Get Started". Winnipeg Free Press. No. July 7, 2011.
- ^ Lewonczyk, Jeff (August 15, 2003). "Cats Can See the Devil". nytheatre.com. The New York Theatre Experience, Inc. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ Denton, Martin (February 2004). Plays and Playwrights 2004. New York: The New York Theatre Experience, Inc. ISBN 0-9670234-5-9.
- ^ Lepidus, D.L. (2004). The Best Men's Stage Monologues of 2004. Hanover, NH: Smith and Kraus. ISBN 1-57525-403-4.
- ^ "Dixon Place Presents Tom X. Chao's CALLOUS CAD, Opens 12/4". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ Webster, Andy. "Support From a Love Sprite and Some Fractured Friends". The New York Times. No. October 10, 2011.
- ^ Marks, Peter. "Gently Turning the Tables on Critics". The New York Times. No. March 8, 1997.
- ^ Charlie Chan Collection, Volume 3 (DVD). 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. August 14, 2007.
- ^ "Special Relativity: A Radio Comedy Starring Alex Borstein". Special Relativity. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- ^ "The Only Record by Tom X. Chao". Spotify. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- ^ Tanzer, Joshua (December 6, 2001). "Aural gratification". OffOffOffTheater.