By APA Staff
Interview with Eddie Shin, David J. Lee, Nancy Lee, Tim Chiou, Rick Lee, Randall Park, Naoya Imanishi, and Samantha Quan.
Interviewed by Ada Tseng and Anne Lee
APA: So, how do you guys come up with the names for the shows?
Tim Chiou: Well, starting from "Fertilizing Eggy," that theme was kind of about love. And then "A Burning Thing" was about passion and fire. And, this show ["Everybody Dies"] is kind of about death. It was actually kind of a joke. What the hell are we going to call the show? And it's like, why don't we just say everybody dies, because that was the joke for when you promote the show -- to give away the ending that everybody dies. But, thematically, it worked.
APA: Can you describe the characters you play?
Nancy Lee: I play Jermaine Park's mom ["Night of the Living Dead"], and I play Carol the female ostrich ["Seize the Day"].
Tim Chiou: I play Golo ["Wang Chung"] and the Cheetah ["Seize the Day"].
Samantha Quan: I play Amy ["In Life & In Death"] and Tallahassee ["Imminent Collision"]. They're both neurotic. One of them is in between the afterlife and going to be reincarnated into her next life. And one of them is about to die.
Naoya Imanishi (director): If you see the show, you'll see the tie, how her character [in "In Life & In Death"] becomes another human, which is the later character [in "Imminent Collision"].
David J. Lee: I'm playing three characters. I'd like to say that I'm playing three vastly different characters, 'cause in a lot of ways they are... but they all just end up screaming a lot. I always scream in my scenes for some reason.
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Samantha Quan and Randall Park as Tallahassee and Templar. Photo courtesy of propergander.net. |
This group is kind of like a super-hero team. Everyone has their special talent. Rick's not a professional actor, but we use Rick because there's a certain thing that he does really well. And that's his superpower. And we've got Tim, who's a great comedic actor. And a really big guy, which is very useful. Randy has his little quirks. Sami and Nancy do their things really well. And literally, it's like, we have the guy with the claw, the really fast guy, and the woman that burns things, etc.
APA: What would be your superpower?
David J. Lee: My superpower is the old guy. I have this super ability to portray old men. So any time there's an old guy in the scene, guess who's playing him? And it's just a joke now. They're always going to make me play the old guy. I mean it's great. I get to play the old guy, I get to play the ostrich, and I get to play the messed-up, underdeveloped son with an oppressive mother.
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APA: So where do you guys get the inspiration for these skits, and what were your favorite parts of the show?
Randall Park: Well, I wrote three of them, so they all came from different inspirations. In the first one, "Seize the Day," I wanted to write a sketch where humans could play animals. In "Night of the Living Dead," I wanted to make commentary on fear and the way in which fear controls us. Fear of the media, media-based fear, and also fear from within our families. Because my mom is similar to the character that Nancy plays. [pauses, perhaps realizing the character Nancy plays is kind of crazy] No, actually she's totally different [laughs], but she is very protective of me.
APA: What did you use to get into the character of the overprotective mother?
Nancy Lee: My mom [laughs]. Every funny Korean mom I've ever met. Mainly my mom. She's seen me do this character before and she got really mad. Not really, really mad, but she was embarrassed. She hit me, in front of everyone.
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Nancy Lee and Eddie Shin in "Night of the Living Dead." Photo courtesy of www.propergander.net. |
Samantha Quan: I liked watching Nancy kick the apple out of Dave's hand.
Nancy Lee: Every time I get to hit David Lee and smack him on the head -- those are my favorite moments. [laughs] I'm not joking. I'm violent. I'm Korean.
APA: Was there choreography for the ostrich scenes in "Seize the Day"?
David J. Lee: That was Nancy Lee. And originally, I don't know if that was supposed to factor that much into the story. But, she's a trained dancer. And me and Eddie aren't. [laughs] But we take it seriously. OK, Eddie can actually dance but I'm about as flexible as concrete. And I can't dance, so that required so much work. But I take it so seriously! It was so important to me.
Nancy Lee: I taught them some very basic simple dance choreography. Eddie is an excellent student. Dave was a little more difficult. [laughs] He likes to tell me he's not flexible, but he's excellent. Didn't you see him? He was very good. He wasn't so easy at first, but he's the best student now.
APA: What about the cheetah moves? Were they choreographed too?
Tim Chiou: Yea, Nancy choreographed them. But, I put in the extra flare [growls]. I watched Cats for 30 hours straight. And totally didn't use any of it at all. I just came up with my inner cheetah. Everybody has an inner cheetah, right?
APA: Was it different than the last time that you played the cheetah -- in "A Burning Thing?"
Tim Chiou: It was very similar. But, I felt like this time, I was less sassy, and more cheetah. Originally, my concept for the cheetah was that the cheetah was so in love with himself that he was essentially sexually ambiguous. You might make the misconception that he's a gay cheetah, but no, he's just in love with himself. Because who isn't in love with me, really? That's the question for the ages.
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(L to R)Tim Chiou, Eddie Shin, David J. Lee, Randall Park, and Rick Lee. Photo courtesy of www.propergander.net. |
Eddie Shin: My favorite is "Wang Chung." That one is so ridiculous. We've done it so many times now, that really, we're just trying to make each other laugh onstage, so we're doing weird stuff. So that's my personal favorite, just because I have such a good time.
Randall Park: "Wang Chung." I... I just wanted to see some guys kissing. [laughs] That was the source, I wanted to see some guys kissing.
David J. Lee: I think the source was that a lot of people think you're gay.
Randall Park: Oh right. Actually, that scene started out at UCLA at L.C.C., but it was totally different. It was a lot more political and a lot more Asian-American, but now, as I've grown up and changed and became....
David J. Lee: ...more about your repressed homosexuality
Randall Park: ...more about my repressed homosexuality. I decided to make that more the issue. Take away the political angle, and speak more about... being gay. Oh my God, this is on camera. You know what I mean. Not about being gay. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but that's not the message. The message is that it doesn't matter. It's about family first.
Tim Chiou: My favorite part is.... when I make out with Rick.
APA: Really. Did you guys rehearse a lot for that?
Tim Chiou: Well, originally, we got naked and started copulating. But, suddenly Rick said, 'You know? I can't do this anymore. I'm straight. Really, I am. I have a girlfriend.' And I was like, 'I do too. It's OK. It's OK to swing that other way. For the art. Because that's all that is.'
APA: Are you a method actor?
Tim Chiou: I have methods... let's put it that way.
APA: How was Tim as a kisser?
Rick Lee: He's alright. I've kissed better.
Tim Chiou: WHAT?
Rick Lee: I kissed his dad. His dad's a better kisser. Mr. Chiou, I call him. Sorry Tim.
Tim Chiou: It's alright. My dad is a better kisser than me.
APA: Tim, what was your inspiration for playing Golo?
Tim Chiou: You know, that was really tough. Cause I'm so smart. SO smart. I really had to watch... a lot of... um... people... that were.. not as... smart.. .as me. Like seriously, um...
David J. Lee: Tim's not drunk, he's just always like this.
Naoya Imanishi: I have a lot of favorite scenes. In "Wang Chung," I like it when Eddie has his little huffy face.
Samantha Quan: I like watching the other scenes. I would say, watching the fight scene in "Wang Chung."
Randall Park: I liked fighting Rick.
Rick Lee: I liked that part too. And, I like the part where I'm unconscious on the ground as Lung Tsu. Sometimes I can nap for a little bit, get some shut-eye in.
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Samantha Quan and Randall Park. Aren't they just adorable. Photo courtesy of www.propergander.net. |
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APA: OK, now we have a couple questions for you that go along with the theme "Everybody Dies." First question [courtesy of Inside the Actors Studio] "If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?"
Eddie Shin: "Half-hour." Half-hour is a saying in theater when you're half an hour away from the show starting. The stage manager comes backstage and announces half hour. So when I'm in heaven, I'd want to be able to put on a show. So when I get up there -- "half-hour."
David J. Lee: You did a good job, and you're not a bad person.
Nancy Lee: Hello, come in. And everyone who was mean to you while you were waiting tables is in Hell now. I'm sort of kidding, but I'm not. I wait tables, and let me tell you, people are cheap and rude. I'm just saying...
Tim Chiou: I would want God to say, Holy sh*t, I didn't believe you'd make it. But I guess you did.
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APA: OK, second question. If you all were trapped on a desert island, what would happen and who would die first?
Eddie Shin: I think I would die first. It's sad to say, but I think I'd annoy everyone, and they'd just take me out. We actually had this discussion, like, if we were stranded on a desert island and you start eating people? And I'm the one who started this conversation and kept asking people: Would you eat me? So, I think, out of spite, they'd just take me out first.
David J. Lee: I think Rick because he's the smallest, so we'd probably just kill him and eat him.
APA: Who'd be in charge of that decision?
David J. Lee: Naoya. I wouldn't organize it. But if they roasted him and and put him in front of me, I'd probably be desperate for life. So, yea I'd take a few bites. Rick looks succulent.
Nancy Lee: What would happen? Dave would make a home-made computer from some tree or coconuts. That's talent. And who would die first? Tim! Tim, do you hear me Tim? You know why? Tim needs to eat every two hours! He would die of hunger. Eddie Shin would eat human flesh, even if he weren't dying. He would eat it as a delicacy. [Eddie Shin denies this.] But no, seriously. Tim would die first. And then we would survive for a whole month, because Tim's big.
Tim Chiou: You know, in Lord of the Flies, how Jack kind of becomes the bastard? I would have killed Jack and became an even bigger bastard. I would kill them all.
APA: Who would die first?
Tim Chiou: You know, it depends. But probably, I'd get really hungry and eat Rick. I mean, have you made out with him? He tastes so good.
Randall Park: A deserted island... I'd probably be scared.
APA: Right, but who do you think would die first?
Randall Park: Are you serious? I don't understand the question. So, I'm not going to answer.
Rick Lee: I think we would find our way off the island somehow.
Randall Park: I think I would die first. Um... no actually, Naoya.
APA: Why Naoya?
Randall Park: 'Cause I just saw him walk by right now.
Samantha Quan: Nancy would definitely be at the very end.
Naoya Imanishi: Yea she's tough. Who would die first? I think I'd do all right. Seriously, I think I'd do alright. 'Cause I can swim.
Samantha Quan: Actually, I think Randy would go first. Cause something weird would happen, and he couldn't swim, so he'd probably just walk into the water... and keep on walking.
Randall Park: Yea, I can't swim very well.
Samantha Quan: So maybe Randy?
Naoya Imanishi: I don't know. Randy's pretty creative. He'd probably make some makeshift boat. [Laughs] But, then he'd forget the oars or something, so he'll just like die. Yea, I would say Randy.
Samantha Quan: I'd survive. Because I could just eat a leaf, and it'd last me the whole day.
Eddie Shin: Yea, she doesn't eat anyway.
Nancy Lee: I'm telling you, it's Tim. He has to eat every two hours.
Naoya Imanishi: That's a good point.
Samantha Quan: Yea, but he might eat Randy.
[Final Tally: Eddie-1; Rick-2; Tim-1; Naoya-1; Randall-2]
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APA: Well, thank you guys so much for answering our questions.
Randall Park: What? This interview's not over. I'm not leaving until you ask more questions.
APA: Um, ok. So....what other projects do you have coming up?
Randall Park: Three movies. One with Bill Cosby.
APA: Really?
Randall Park: No.
...
Randall Park: No, I'm just playing. We have a full-length play we're working on called The Eight Samurai. I'm writing it. You saw the trailer. It's... nothing like the trailer. [laughs] I wanted to write a play about honesty and loyalty. And Bushido: the Samurai code.
David J. Lee: It's our first full-length play in four years. We're really excited about the script. Randy's written a really good script. And other than that, Abraham Lim, the award-winning short film-maker is producing Michael Giamco's The Achievers, an original Propergander play. Sami Quan, Tim Chiou, Randall Park, and I are all in the cast. It's currently under production.
Watch The Eight Samurai trailer at www.propergander.net (http: //www.propergander.net).
Back to Meet Propergander (Part I) (http: //www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=28398)