NuWorks Festival
June 14-22, 2025

Chasing the Butterflies by Myka Cue

Myka Cue (she/her) is a Filipino-Chinese actor, theatremaker, and fierce collaborator from Manila. Select Credits: Export Quality (HERE Arts), Sweeney Todd (Trinity Rep), Valor (Guthrie Theater), I'll be in my Hanukkah palace (Ars Nova ANT Fest), Wolf Play, Mr. Burns: a Post-Electric Play, Much Ado About Nothing, and Angels in America (Brown/Trinity Rep). She has participated in workshops and readings at New York Theatre Workshop, Manhattan Theatre Club, New Dramatists, Fiasco Theater, Ping Chong + Co., and Baryshnikov Arts Center, among others. Myka holds an M.F.A. in Acting from Brown/Trinity Rep and a B.A. in Multimedia Storytelling from NYU Gallatin. Love and gratitude to her family, friends, and collaborators who keep her going! mykacue.com

Your Movie Guide to Life by Bee Vang

Bee Vang, at 16, landed the leading Hmong American role of Thao Vang Lor in Clint Eastwood’s 2008 film Gran Torino. He went on to perform in independent films and on stage at Brown University, where he earned a liberal arts degree in 2016, studying international politics, philosophy, and cultural theory. He also trained in Chinese opera and Japanese performance techniques in China. Over several years of working in broadcast and print journalism, nonfiction writing, and policy research, he has continued to pursue acting, filmmaking, and other creative work both in Los Angeles and in Minnesota. In addition to his professional work and advocacy, Vang also serves on the board of the War Legacies Project, an international NGO supporting communities in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia still affected by toxic herbicides such as Agent Orange and unexploded ordnance. He is currently the inaugural artistic director of the Minnesota Asian American Film Festival.

Kotsu-Kotsu by Momo Akashi

Momo Akashi is a New York-based playwright and lyricist who creates East-meets-West stories that blend the aesthetic elements of Japanese anime such as reverence for nature, the omnipresence of the supernatural, and the search for beauty with American theatrical writing. 

New York City premieres include: Letter (Downtown Urban Arts Festival), Everest (NAAP Discover Musicals), VOICE (Time Capsule Project, Commissioned by Mai Ozeki), The Show Must Go On (The Sixth Festival), Serenity and Delight (Ren Gyo Soh), The Restaurant of Many Orders (MuSE), and MINORU: Scrape the Sky (The Tank). Akashi made her off-Broadway songwriting debut in Village Songs at the Rattlestick Theatre. As a lyricist, Momo released her first J-pop single, “Tokimeki,” with music by Zachary Catron and vocals by Joo Won Shin (Squid Game), which received nearly 20,000 streams within its first year of release.

She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and PlayPenn’s writers' cohort program.

Boat Noodle Burglary by Chacha Tahng

Chacha Tahng (she/they) is a Thai-American artist born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Theatre: This Is Not A True Story (Artists at Play, Latino Theatre Company). Seven Hoshi (CalArts), The Water Station (CalArts), Oedipus the King (CalArts). Film: Song Sung Blue (Focus Features) in theaters this Christmas. Training: BFA Acting, CalArts; Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). For grandma.

EVEN HERE by Aiyu Collective

Aiyu Collective is a multidisciplinary arts company founded by An-Li Bogan and ChiWen Chang. The NYC-based company was born out of the duo’s shared desire to create work that feels like the familiar, afterschool dessert your grandparent treats you to.

As individual artists, An-Li and ChiWen’s credits include: Ars Nova, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, Taipei Fringe Festival, Powerhouse Theater Festival, Soho Playhouse, Maihouse Studio, New York Asian Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, and Palm Springs Shorts Fest.

Formalized during our residency at Fresh Ground Pepper in 2024, Aiyu Collective is excited to premiere its first project “EVEN HERE” at Pan Asian Repertory’s NuWorks Festival! Later this summer Aiyu will shoot its first film, “Vivi”, in New York City.

IG @aiyu.collective

Where I’m From by Howard Ho

Howard Ho is a Chinese-American playwright, composer, and Youtuber. WHERE I’M FROM was previously produced as part of Center Theatre Group’s Community Stories. His play PARITY was performed in last year’s NuWorks Festival. He sound-designed and composed music for Pan Asian Rep’s MY MAN KONO. He is a 2024 winner of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival for BEETHOVEN’S THIRD. His full-length play RESET was produced at Moving Arts and is published by Next Stage Press. Other works include VARIOUS EMPORIA (2017 O’Neill Finalist), END OF THE LINE (currently licensed by MTI), and PRETENDO THE MUSICAL (CTG Library Reading Series). His design work has earned multiple nominations from the Ovation Awards and SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. His Youtube channel (youtube.com/HowardHoMusic) has over 130,000 subscribers and was recognized by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jon M. Chu. He holds degrees from UCLA and USC. Rehearsal support provided by MOCA.