Lily Tung Crystal Steps Down as Artistic Director of Ferocious Lotus

Lily Tung Crystal, Co-Founder and Founding Artistic Director of Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company, will be stepping down from her nine-year position in August to become the new Artistic Director at Theater Mu in the Twin Cities. Ferocious Lotus will be appointing a new artistic director later this summer. To support Ferocious Lotus and the new artistic director through this transition, Crystal will continue as the company's Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus.

"When we first founded Ferocious Lotus in 2010, we never imagined our little company would grow into a home for Asian American theatre artists-one that would lead to more representation on Bay Area stages; innovative, entertaining, impactful work; and far-reaching change. None of that would have been possible without the support of the theatre community we love so much here. I'm so grateful to our company, advisory board, all the artists who have worked with us, and all our fans and supporters." said Crystal. "Ferocious Lotus has given me a remarkable nine years, and I'm looking forward to doing the work I'm so passionate about in the Twin Cities and nationally. With its 27-year history, Theater Mu has been an important influence on the national theater scene, particularly among Asian American artists and the Asian American community at large. I'm humbled, honored, and grateful to be entrusted with its forward direction."

In 2009, Lily Tung Crystal won the Theatre Bay Area (TBA) Titan Award, which led to the development of the Bay Area Asian American Actors Collective and, the following year, the founding of Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company with Leon Goertzen. Crystal is also a 2016 YBCA 100 honoree, named by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as a "creative mind, maker, and pioneer making the provocations that will shape the future of American culture." She made her directorial debut in 2015 helming David Henry Hwang's CHINGLISH at Palo Alto Players, for which she was nominated for a TBA Award for Outstanding Direction. She directed the world premiere of Leah Nanako Winkler's TWO MILE HOLLOW at Ferocious Lotus, for which she was also a TBA finalist for Outstanding Direction, as well as the regional premiere of the musical ALLEGIANCE at Contra Costa Civic Theatre, FLOWER DRUM SONG at Palo Alto Players, and REVELATION at Those Women Productions. A longtime actor, she will be appearing this summer in THE GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAN at California Shakespeare Theatre. She hopes to continue contributing as a performer both in the Twin Cities and nationally. When she's not in the theatre, she's writing and producing for television and working as a leadership coach.

Founded in 2010, Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company gives voice to artists with diverse and international perspectives. Ferocious Lotus promotes not only diversity, but also reality-the reality that our neighborhoods comprise people of all races, cultures, genders and backgrounds, and that theatre should represent that reality. The company works with the top professional Asian American theatre artists in the Bay Area, presenting new plays and re-imagined established works, giving Asian American actors opportunities to perform roles not usually afforded them and taking risks to create work that is quintessentially Asian American yet also universal. By doing plays that break stereotypes, Ferocious Lotus is actively involved in changing the perception of what it means to be Asian or Asian American. They also offer artists support, training, networking, and mentorship.

Ferocious Lotus' past work includes the critically praised TWO MILE HOLLOW by Leah Nanako Winkler, the highly acclaimed CRANE by JC Lee, the co-production of the world premiere of Christopher Chen's MUTT, and along with the San Francisco Public Library, the long running one-woman play TYE about Tye Leung Schulze, the first Chinese-American woman to vote and advocate against human trafficking in early-1900s Chinatown.

Theater Mu is the largest Asian American performing arts organization in the Midwest. Founded in 1992, Theater Mu tells stories from the heart of the Asian American experience, presenting a fusion of traditional and contemporary artistic influences, which range from classics to up-and-coming voices. Theater Mu's continuing goal to celebrate and empower Asian American communities through theater is achieved through mainstage productions, emerging artist support, and educational outreach.

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