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Eva Hwang – 2024 Pilot Winner (Hour)

The Tong

Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman in 1850s America, joins an underground organization of Chinese femmes who empower immigrants by teaching English.

As the child of a mixed-race theater family from Brooklyn, NY, I grew up acutely aware of clashes between the self and performance, whether it be on stage or “passing” in social situations. THE TONG was my first script, inspired by the untold story of Afong Moy that I encountered in a single paragraph of an Asian American Studies textbook. She came to America as a living advertisement for oriental wares with a translator named Acong and disappeared in 1853. I thought there must be more to the story. THE TONG imagines what happened after her escape from her white handlers as she finds community in San Francisco’s burgeoning Chinatown, weighing the price of assimilation and the power of language.

My writing is inspired by the culture-clash of my second-generation Chinese American father and white Midwestern mother. I explore passing through characters who must confront the limitations of their charades. As a teen cancer survivor, I’m always looking to deepen the imperfect victim, whose external circumstances clash with their inner lives. I use history as a jumping-off point for dramas where multicultures butt heads and my protagonists must carve out their own place in the world.

Instagram: @evahwang

For more info, visit: evahwang.com