By snoadmin
Kristina Wong, a writer, actress, activist and filmmaker, performed and participated in discussions with Cal State Long Beach students on Thursday.
At her performance at CSULB, Wong presented two excerpts from “Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” a commentary on depression and suicide rates among Asian-American women.
“It had a personal resonance with the family and friends I had,” Wong said. “It was an issue that was personally resonant and definitely an issue that was not being talked about … I feel because it was not being talked about, people were dying.”
The event was sponsored by the Asian and Asian American studies department, the Women’s Resource Center, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and the women’s studies department.
When Wong first began performing the piece at colleges, members from audiences would share their own experiences with her. Many of these experiences dealt with traumatic subjects such as molestation and divorce. Wong now requests that members of campus psychological services be present at shows.
Dr. Ferdinand Arcinue, a psychologist with CAPS, said Wong’s performance was important in raising the issue of mental illness and hoped that students would receive the message that “you don’t need to be crazy, or mentally ill, or at the point of crisis to use our services.”
Women’s studies lecturer Gitanjali Singh said she felt her U.S. Women of Color class would benefit from seeing the act.
“I thought Kristina’s performance would be relevant,” Singh said. “Plus, she’s an amazing performer.”
Wong will continue to perform her piece across the country, but already has plans for future projects.
“This show was so stressful,” Wong said. “I just want to do something that’s not so emotionally exhausting. I want to do something about being a cat lady, and try to transition into more meaningless [work].”
At the end of March, Wong will be traveling to San Antonio to present “Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” She will be back in the Los Angeles area to perform the show in September.
According to Wong’s website, KristinaWong.com, she was born and raised in San Francisco but now lives in Los Angeles. She takes an offbeat artistic approach to activism in her presentations and performances, and as a community activist and educator, Wong teaches performances and writing workshops for youth and people of color.
She has won many awards including the most recent, a Creative Capital Award in Theater, and a Creation Fund from the National Performance Network to help her create “Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest,” her third full-length solo show.
