Bridging Worlds: An Interview with GYACD Academic Mentor Yizhou Huang on Theater, Scholarship, and the Chinese American Stage
- Jacky Sun
- Feb 28
- 6 min read
Professor Yizhou Huang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre at Barnard College and serves as the academic mentor for GYACD’s 2024 Creative Initiative. With a background in English from Beijing Foreign Studies University (BA, 2013) and a PhD in Theater and Performance Studies from Tufts University (2021), her research spans theatre history and historiography, performance studies, modern and contemporary Chinese theatre, and Asian American theatre. Her scholarship has been featured in Asian Theatre Journal, Verge: Studies in Global Asias, and Performance Research, among others. Professor Huang has received international recognition for her work, including the Helsinki Prize from the International Federation for Theatre Research (2014) and the New Scholars Prize from the UK’s Society for Theatre Research (2020). In this interview, she shares her insights on the intersections of theater practice and scholarship, the evolving landscape of Chinese American theater, and the role of performance in shaping cultural narratives. For more about Yizhou Huang and her role in GYACD's 2024 Creative Initiative, see Academic Mentor.
Jacky Sun is GYACD's Student Ambassador from BASIS International School Shenzhen, China.
Introduction & Background
Jacky Sun: Professor Huang, as a scholar of performance studies, what led you to pursue this field?
Yizhou Huang: During my undergraduate years, I moved from a second-tier provincial capital to Beijing for university. The relatively flexible academic schedule gave me the opportunity to explore the city’s cultural scene, and that was when I started attending live performances. Later, I became involved in student theater productions at my university, which allowed me to experience theater from a perspective beyond that of an audience member.
In my junior year, I spent a semester in New York as an exchange student, where I took mostly theater studies courses and watched numerous performances. That experience gave me my first concrete thought of pursuing graduate studies in theater abroad. Since my undergraduate institution didn’t offer practical training in theater, and my major was in English literature, I naturally gravitated toward academic research—it felt like my comfort zone. If I could secure a funded PhD program, the financial burden wouldn’t be too heavy either.
At the time, my understanding of performance was still quite limited, as I had approached theater and performance studies primarily from a literary perspective. Looking back, I’d say my path into this field was shaped both by opportunity and practical considerations.
Jacky Sun: For aspiring theater makers and theater scholars, could you clarify the distinction between these two paths and give some advice for those who may be uncertain about which track to follow?
Yizhou Huang: I don’t think it’s necessary to draw a strict distinction between these two paths during the exploration phase, as they complement each other. Theater makers benefit from studying theater history and theory, while scholars gain valuable insights from hands-on stage experience—whether in directing, acting, design, playwriting, stage management, or even front-of-house work.
My advice is to explore as much as possible while keeping a clear understanding of your own trial-and-error costs, both financially and in terms of time. Be proactive in seeking out opportunities—apply for fellowships, workshops, internships, and other publicly available programs. Don’t hesitate to reach out to artists and institutions you admire to ask about apprenticeship or internship opportunities.
Theater communities tend to be relatively small in any country, so building relationships and engaging in conversations with others in the field is crucial. Networking and firsthand experiences will help you clarify your direction over time.
Scholarship & Practice
Jacky Sun: How do you actively engage with contemporary theater practices as a scholar?
Yizhou Huang: The most direct way is through dramaturgy and theater criticism. As a scholar engaged with both the English-speaking and Chinese-speaking theater worlds, I also hope to use academic research as a bridge to foster dialogue and exchange between the two.
Jacky Sun: What do you see as the most effective ways to bridge the gap between academia and the industry?
Yizhou Huang: The divide between academia and the theater industry isn’t something that can be resolved overnight. One effective approach is to encourage more practitioners to engage in academic research. For example, compared to studies on directing, acting, playwriting, and theory, research on stage technology remains relatively underdeveloped. This field could greatly benefit from scholars with backgrounds in design and theater technology.
At the same time, I hope to see the theater industry cultivate a healthier ecosystem. In this regard, Germany offers a valuable model, where dramaturgs and directors work in close collaboration.
Jacky Sun: How do you define “performance” in your research, and how does this inform your research or practice?
Yizhou Huang: Performance isn’t confined to the stage—it’s embedded in our everyday lives. Recognizing this allows humanities scholars, especially those in theater studies, to expand their research scope and perspective.
In teaching, helping students grasp the concept of performance is crucial, as it enables them to see that studying theater and performance studies is at the same time a way to understand society and human behavior within it.
Chinese American Theater
Jacky Sun: In what ways has the legacy of traditional Chinese theater, especially Chinese Opera, shaped today’s Asian American stage practices?
Yizhou Huang: The non-realist and highly stylized nature of Chinese opera has influenced Western modernist theater. While some of this influence can be attributed to Orientalist fascination, it has also gone beyond that framework, shaping Western theater artists' explorations of stylization and abstraction. This impact is particularly evident in Bertolt Brecht’s theories and theatrical practice. Given that Asian American theater is inherently part of the broader development of Western theater, it naturally exists within this lineage as well.
Beyond this broader influence, some Asian American artists have directly drawn from Chinese opera—especially Peking opera—for playwriting and stage aesthetics. Notable examples include David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and the Railroad, M. Butterfly, and his revised version of Flower Drum Song, as well as Chay Yew’s Red, among others.
Jacky Sun: How do you think Chinese American theater artists navigate the tensions between niche experimentations and mainstream expectations?
Yizhou Huang: This is a challenge that all theater artists face, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer—it ultimately comes down to personal choices and life circumstances. However, for minority theater artists, including Chinese American artists, the issue can sometimes be even more complex.
In the U.S., racial politics often place an added burden on minority artists, whether through self-perception or societal expectations, to “represent” their community. This expectation is, in itself, a reflection of systemic inequities in American society.
Jacky Sun: How does political theater function as a tool for social change within Chinese American communities, in New York, for example?
Yizhou Huang: The racial discrimination that Chinese Americans have faced throughout history is closely tied to the stereotypes perpetuated on the theatrical stage. Real-world politics shape theatrical works, and in turn, these works reinforce societal perceptions.
For Chinese American theater artists, authentically and positively representing Chinese American characters and their lives is crucial. Such representations help foster a more accurate and respectful understanding of the community among the broader public. At the same time, these works also serve an important role within the Chinese American community itself, helping individuals connect with the history of their ancestors in the U.S. and providing positive role models for the next generation of Chinese-Americans.
Jacky Sun: How do you see interdisciplinary approaches—such as critical race studies, performance studies, and history—shaping the future of Chinese American theater scholarship and practice?
Yizhou Huang: These perspectives are already present in Chinese American theater scholarship, as seen in the works of scholars like Esther Kim Lee and Josephine Lee, whose research engages with all three of these fields. The same applies to creative work—for example, Chay Yew’s A Beautiful Country integrates history, current events, personal interviews, and gender performance (one of the key characters is an Asian immigrant drag queen).
Personally, I believe that one of the great strengths of theater is its comprehensive and open nature—it is an art form that can absorb and incorporate influences from all directions.
Closing Remarks
Jacky Sun: Finally, as we enter the Year of the Snake, could you recommend three upcoming Sinophone theater productions (in any part of the world and in any language) that you are most excited about?
Yizhou Huang:
Jeremy Tiang’s Salesman之死 – This production, staged by Yangtze Repertory Theatre in New York in 2023, won the 2024 Obie Award. I’m looking forward to seeing more theater companies take on this adaptation and bring it to new audiences.
Qin Xu’s Water – A graduate student at Nanjing University, Qin Xu won first prize at the 6th Global Sinophone Young Playwrights Competition with this work. It premiered in 2024 at Nanjing University and National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan. I’m excited to see this play reach audiences beyond the university setting.
Wang Chong’s Lying Flat 2.0 – Premiered at the 2024 Wuzhen Theatre Festival, this production is set to tour several Chinese cities in 2025. With its integration of ChatGPT into the creative process, it’s definitely a work worth paying attention to.
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