Guide to the Elizabeth Wong Papers CEMA 16

Finding aid prepared by Michelle Wilder, migrated to EAD by Callie Bowdish and Janet Chen (2013)

UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Collections

University of California, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California, 93106-9010

Phone: (805) 893-3062

Email: special@library.ucsb.edu; URL: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/special-collections

Title: Elizabeth Wong Papers

Identifier/Call Number: CEMA 16

Contributing Institution: UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Collections

Language of Material: English

Physical Description: 20.5 linear feet 45 document boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 diskette box

Date (inclusive):

Abstract: Elizabeth Wong is an award winning Chinese American playwright and a television screenwriter specializing in Asian American issues. The Elizabeth Wong Papers consists of personal and professional materials generated by Wong during the period 1980-2003. The collection consists of seven series contained in 48 archival boxes occupying approximately 21 linear feet of space. The bulk of the collection contains Wong’s literary works in journalism, television and particularly theatre and related correspondence, publicity and professional files

Location note: Del Norte (Boxes 46 and 47 are oversize)

Language of Materials: The collection is in English.

creator: Wong, Elizabeth, 1958-

Conditions Governing Access note

Service copies of audiovisual items may need to be made before viewing or listening. Please consult Special Collections staff for further information.

Conditions Governing Use note

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Donated by Elizabeth Wong, July 14, 1998

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Elizabeth Wong Papers, CEMA 16. Department of Special Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Scope and Contents note

The Elizabeth Wong Papers consists of personal and professional materials generated by Wong during the period 1980-2003. The collection consists of seven series contained in 48 archival boxes occupying approximately 21 linear feet of space. The bulk of the collection contains Wong’s literary works in journalism, television and particularly theatre and related correspondence, publicity and professional files. Also included are several folders of correspondence from fellow writers, friends, students, and the public.

The second largest component of the collection, Series VI: Subject Files, includes material about specific individuals and subjects as well as a large collection of scripts by notable writers in the fields of television and theatre. Also contained in this collection are 42 diskettes on which Wong saved drafts of scripts and correspondence; due to the significant differences between versions, the scripts have been printed and made available here. However, due to the considerable number of correspondence, it will be printed out as needed at the request of the researcher. Altogether, the Elizabeth Wong Papers provides critical insight into Wong’s creative, personal and professional life as a prominent contemporary Asian American playwright.

Biographical/Historical note

Elizabeth Wong is an award winning Chinese American playwright and a television screenwriter specializing in Asian American issues. Wong's plays include the Playwright's Forum Award winning play, Letters to a Student Revolutionary (1991), which premiered off-Broadway and has been produced both abroad and in numerous U.S. cities. Wong also was a staff writer for the ABC sitcom All- American Girl, the first network series to feature an Asian- American woman as its central character. Her plays have been published by Dramatic Publishing Company, and are included in anthologies such as Contemporary Plays by Women of Color, Women on the Verge: Seven Avant-garde Playwrights, and Unbroken Thread: Six Asian American Playwrights. Letters is about two women -- one Chinese, one Chinese American --whose lives converge around the Tiananmen Square massacre. It was produced by Pan Asian Repertory in New York and by theaters in Los Angeles and Seattle. Letters to a Student Revolutionary has toured both nationally and internationally, and was the only U.S. invitee to the 1992 Singapore Arts Festival.

Among Wong's latest plays are The Happy Prince (1997) and The Play Formerly Known as The Happy Prince (1996), which are both adaptations of an Oscar Wilde short story, commissioned by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Among her other works are the Explorator-yum (1997), China Doll (1995), The Concubine Spy (1992), and Kimchee and Chitlins (1990). Kimchee and Chitlins is a play concerning relations between Korean Americans and African Americans. It was premiered at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. Wong described her work best when she stated, "my work is about response." Every play Wong has written was in itself a response to issues she felt were ignored or needed attention. Through her plays she was able to bring to light issues ranging from the tragic events in China and the way women seek political meaning in today's society to the Black boycott of Korean stores in Brooklyn. Raised in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, Wong's childhood was harsh. She always dreamed of the world outside the ghetto and as a result, undertook as her role model Anna May Wong, America's first Chinese American actress. Hoping to learn from Anna May's journey as an artist, she began researching her extensively. She soon became intrigued in the Broadway success of a graduate from her high school, David Henry Hwang, and as a result, moved to New Haven. She started attending Katz's dramaturgical course and was encouraged to write by many Yale School of Drama graduate students. Determined to pursue her interests, she moved to New York and was accepted to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where her career as a playwright began.

Wong is a graduate of the University of Southern California and New York University. During the 1980's she worked as a field producer at KNXT-TV Channel Two News, and as a reporter for both The San Diego Tribune and The Hartford Courant. In the early 1990's, she worked as a writer for Walt Disney Studios, a dramaturg at the Actors Theater of Louisville, a playwriting teacher at David Hwang Playwriting Institute and as an op/editorial columnist for the Los Angeles Times, commenting on social issues and cultural experiences. Most recently, Wong has been an assistant professor at Bowdoin College and teaches playwriting at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Santa Barbara. She also serves as a member of the Circle Repertory Theater Playwright's Project, the Women's Project Lab, the Dramatist's Guild and is an advisory board member of Theatre Emory, Atlanta. She resides in Los Angeles.

Series Description

Series I: Biographical, 1991-2001, contains articles and profiles from various periodicals, such as USC Alumni, Chicago Sun Times, Asian Pacific Alliance for Creative Equality, Pararasis Magazine and the Los Angeles Theater Magazine. Also included are resumes and curriculum vitaes, personal calendars and a televised interview on Dateline. The material in this series is arranged chronologically, then alphabetically by title.

Series II: Awards, Fellowships and Residencies, 1990-2003, have been grouped together on the basis that these are experiences that are exclusive to Elizabeth Wong (as opposed to Series IV: Festivals, Retreats and Workshops, events that are particularly focused on multiple writers). Included here are two awards (Jane Chambers Award including drafts and recordings of Wong’s acceptance speech and Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival Award), three fellowships (Bush Foundation, Catawba College and Walt Disney Studios) and two residencies (Bowdoin College and University of Southern Maine). At Catawba College, Wong’s play China Doll was rehearsed and re-worked; both rehearsal and final drafts from this residency are located here (see also Series V for more material relating to China Doll). While at Walt Disney Studios, Wong worked on scripts for Roseanne, Colors United, and Seinfeld, drafts of which are also located here (see also Series V for more of Wong’s television scripts). This series is arranged alphabetically by title then chronologically within the same years.

Series III: Correspondence, 1990-2004, contains personal and business correspondence to and from Elizabeth Wong. Included is correspondence with various theater companies, as well as correspondence with various potential agents. In some cases correspondence grouped based on an event or organization (Women Who Write Plays, Center Theater Group) however a majority of the material here was grouped according to year. It is important to note here that Elizabeth Wong maintained correspondence in both analog and digital form. This series contains a large amount of correspondence still in the original digital format (3 ½” diskettes) with no corresponding analog version. This material will be made available to researchers upon request. This series is arranged chronologically then alphabetically within the same years.

Series IV: Festivals, Retreats and Workshops, 1992-2003, have been grouped together on the basis that these are events exclusive to playwrights (as opposed to Series II: Awards, Fellowships and Residencies, events exclusive to Elizabeth Wong). Included here are materials relating to two major festivals: Humana Festival of New American Plays and Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival (for material relating to the KCACTF Cohen Award, see Series II) as well as documents from retreats and workshops. This series is arranged alphabetically by title, then chronologically within titles.

Series V: Writings, 1980-2004, is the largest series in this collection. The series has been grouped into four sub series as follows: Journalism/Periodicals contains articles written for the Los Angeles Times, Headline Muse (a quarterly online magazine or “e-zine”) and Courant Paper (the first newspaper for which Wong wrote); Television contains materials (including reviews, story ideas, writer’s notes and drafts of scripts) relating to All American Girl (the first television sitcom to focus on an Asian-American family, it was produced by Walt Disney Studios and starred Margaret Cho and Amy Hill), Cybill and Divas Las Vegas (a collaborative project between Wong and Rodney Vance which never aired); Theater is comprised of materials (including correspondence, drafts of scripts, publicity, research, reviews and writer’s notes) relating to 21 different theatre productions including to 16 published works (such as China Doll, Letters to a Student Revolutionary, Kimchee and Chitlins, Dating and Mating in Modern Times, Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King); Miscellany contains two handbooks, a small selection of poetry and a speaking engagement at Pepperdine University in 1999. These sub series are arranged alphabetically; materials within sub series are arranged alphabetically and then chronologically by title.

Series VI: Subject Files, Bulk dates 1991-2004, is grouped into four sub series and is comprised of Wong’s collected research files including actor biographies and headshots, periodicals and scripts (for more scripts see Series VII: Teaching). Those materials that do not fall into one of these three categories have been grouped together at the end of the series and titled miscellany. Each sub series is arranged is arranged alphabetically; scripts are listed in bibliographic form and are therefore alphabetized by author’s last name.

Series VII: Teaching, 1988-2002, contains class handouts, teaching notes, and other teaching materials from classes Wong has taught at Bowdoin College, the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Southern California. Also included here are a number of television sitcom scripts that Wong had obtained specifically for the purpose of teaching (as opposed to those scripts in Series VI: Subject Files which Wong collected for her own research). These materials are arranged chronologically then alphabetically within the year.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

African American theater

African Americans -- playwrights

American drama -- Chinese American authors.

Series I: Biographical

Box 1, Folder 1

American Theatre Magazine “Miss Saigon” 1990

Box 1, Folder 2

Magazine clippings 1991-1992

Box 46, Folder 1

Clippings, USC profile “Alumni” 1992

Box 1, Folder 3

Asian Pacific Alliance For Creative Equality (APACE), Clippings on Wong 1992

Box 1, Folder 4

Chicago Sun- Times profile 1993

Box 1, Folder 5

Artistic Statements 1994

Box 1, Folder 6

L.A. Theatre Magazine 1994

Box 1, Folder 7

Dramatic Publishing

Box 1, Folder 8

Daily planner 1998

Box 1, Folder 8

Dateline interview 1998

Box 1, Folder 9

Correspondence

Item V1125/VHS

Ted Turner (E. Wong)

Item V1126/VHS

Unlabeled

Box 1, Folder 10

Updated biographies and interviews 1998-2001

Box 1, Folder 11

Curriculum vitae 1999

Box 1, Folder 12

Press clippings and releases, programs, flyers 1999

Box 1, Folder 13

Resume updates 1999

Box 44, Folder 1

Programs of Wong’s shows or mentioning her name

Box 1, Folder 14

Regarding Inside the Red Envelope- Michael’s first draft of his chapter and my notes January 2000

Box 1, Folder 15

Personal miscellany, calendar book 2000

Box 1, Folder 16

Resume

Box 1, Folder 17

Dramatic Publishing

Box 1, Folder 18

Organizer 2001

Box 1, Folder 19

Dictionary of Literary Biography 2001

Box 1, Folder 20

Pararasis Magazine Article 2001

Series II: Awards, Fellowships, and Residencies 1990-2003

Bowdoin College Playwright Residency

Box 1, Folder 21

Bowdoin College

Box 1, Folder 22

Correspondence and miscellany

Box 1, Folder 23

Personal correspondence, email, flyers

Box 1, Folder 24

Administrative syllabus, class 1996

Box 46, Folder 3

Bowdoin calendar 1996

Box 2, Folder 1

China Doll, Bowdoin draft 1996

Box 2, Folder 1

The Crayon Box 1996

Box 2, Folder 2

Correspondence and general information

Item V1124/VHS

Random House Entertainment, “The Crayon Box That Talked”, :90 :30 PSA For The Ad Council, Final Mix: VIEWING COPY

Box 2, Folder 3

Happy Prince, Luanne Nunes, director 1996

Box 2, Folder 4

Bowdoin, paperwork 1996

Box 2, Folder 5

Bowdoin College 1996

Box 2, Folder 6

Personal correspondence while in Bowdoin Aug.-Dec. 1996

Box 2, Folder 7

Bowdoin College miscellany

Box 2, Folder 8

China Doll programs

Box 2, Folder 8

The Happy Prince, drafts, research

Box 48, Folder 1

Diskette (“SCANUNDO.DAT”)

Box 2, Folder 9

Original documents

Bush Foundation

Box 3, Folder 1

Bush Foundation Fellowship

Catawba College

Box 3, Folder 2

Salisbury NC, Petersen Playwright Residency

Box 3, Folder 2

China Doll, Petersen Fellowship

Box 48, Folder 2

Diskette

Box 48, Folder 2

Diskette printouts

Box 3, Folder 3-6

Catawba working rehearsal draft February 1999

Box 3, Folder 7-10

Catawba draft December 7, 1999

Box 3, Folder 11

Cast list December 17, 1999

Box 3, Folder 12

China Doll cover December 17, 1999

Box 3, Folder 13

Cast list January 2000

Box 3, Folder 14-17

Final draft January 2000

Box 47, Folder 1

Pamphlet

Box 3, Folder 18

Script, Catawba draft, first version December 1999

Box 3, Folder 19

Script changes December 1999

Jane Chambers Award

Box 4, Folder 1

Jane Chambers Award, AFTHE, San Antonio 1998

Box 4, Folder 2

Jane Chambers Award, The Dramatist announcement 1998

Box 4, Folder 2

Acceptance speech 1998

Cassette A6767/CS

Audiocassette

Box 4, Folder 3

Drafts

Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival Award

Box 4, Folder 4

KCACTF XXXIII Award 2000

Box 4, Folder 5

KCACTF XXXIII Salutes the Millennium 2000

Box 4, Folder 6

KCACTF Cohen Award, August ATHE Conference 2001

Box 4, Folder 7

KCACTF Cohen Award, August ATHE Conference 2001

University of Southern Maine Playwright Residency

Box 4, Folder 8

Playwright residency at University of Southern Maine 2001

Box 4, Folder 9

Personal materials from Maine USM Residency 2001

Walt Disney Studios Fellowship Program

Box 4, Folder 10

Articles

Box 4, Folder 11

Sample Outlines 1991

Box 4, Folder 12

Correspondence 1992

Box 4, Folder 13

General Information 1992

Box 4, Folder 14

Staff and Casts Production Schedule 1992

Box 5, Folder 1

Fellows

Box 5, Folder 2

Primetime Schedule

Box 5, Folder 3

Bibles

Box 5, Folder 4

Campbell/ EGRI

Box 5, Folder 5

Correspondence, research, handouts, contracts

Box 5, Folder 6

Colors United, multiple versions

Box 5, Folder 7

Outlines, ideas, story pitches, scripts

Box 5, Folder 8

Colors United research, clippings, notes

Box 5, Folder 9

Memorandums

Roseanne, “Stamps of Disapproval”

Box 5, Folder 10

First version January 7, 1992

Box 5, Folder 11

Second revision December 1, 1992

Box 5, Folder 12

Third revision December 8, 1992

Box 6, Folder 1

Script drafts, notes, outlines, breakdowns 1992-1993

Box 6, Folder 2

First draft January 7, 1993

Box 6, Folder 3

First draft February 19, 1993

Colors United

Box 6, Folder 4

Beat outline September 3, 1993

Box 6, Folder 5

Notes 1993

Box 6, Folder 6

Script September 17, 1993

Box 6, Folder 7

Script October 11, 1993

Box 6, Folder 8

Script, first draft October 22, 1993

Box 6, Folder 9

Synopsis 1993

Item V1123/VHS

Watts Side Story

Seinfeld, “The Laundry”

Box 7, Folder 1

Outline March 16, 1993

Box 7, Folder 2

First draft April 2, 1993

Box 7, Folder 3-4

First draft May 28, 1993

Box 7, Folder 5

Revised first draft May 28, 1993

Box 7, Folder 6

First draft June 18, 1993

Box 7, Folder 7

Notes 1993

Box 7, Folder 8

Act one

Box 7, Folder 9

n.d.

Miscellany

Box 7, Folder 10

NEA Applications 2000

Box 7, Folder 11

NEA/ TCG 02/03 correspondence with Cincinnati Playhouse 2002

Box 7, Folder 12

NEA/TCG 2002

Series III: Correspondence

Box 7, Folder 13

Business

Box 7, Folder 14

Business, invoices pending 1991, 1993-1995

Box 7, Folder 15

Personal, Primary Stages Reading 1992

Box 7, Folder 16

West Coast Ensemble, production, playwrights

Box 7, Folder 17

Incoming and outgoing 1994

Box 7, Folder 18

Business

Box 7, Folder 19

Mailing list master

Box 8, Folder 1

Personal 1995

Box 8, Folder 2

Business 1998-2000

Box 8, Folder 3-4

Business 1999

Box 8, Folder 3-4

Business 1999

Box 48, Folder 3

(9) “My Documents” up to year 2000, business letters, backup disc

Box 48, Folder 4

(10) Business letters up to year 2000, backup disc

Box 48, Folder 5

(11) Business letters, resume year 2000, teaching syllabus, backup disc

Box 8, Folder 5

Original documents

Box 8, Folder 6

Christmas cards 1999

Box 8, Folder 7

Personal 1999

Box 8, Folder 8

Work related 1999

Work related, email on 7 diskettes 1999

Box 48, Folder 6

1998

Box 48, Folder 7

October 1998 – February 1999

Box 48, Folder 8

February – March 1999

Box 48, Folder 9

March – April 1999

Box 48, Folder 10

April 1999

Box 48, Folder 11

April – May 1999

Box 48, Folder 12

April, May, June 1999

Email on diskette 1999-2000

Box 48, Folder 13

May – Aug 1999

Box 48, Folder 14

Aug 1999

Box 48, Folder 15

Aug – Nov 1999

Box 48, Folder 16

Aug – Dec 1999

Box 48, Folder 17

Nov 1999 – Jan 2000

Box 48, Folder 18

Jan 2000

Box 48, Folder 19

Jan, Feb, March 2000

Box 48, Folder 20

Feb – April 2000

Box 9, Folder 1

Business

Box 9, Folder 2

Personal

Box 9, Folder 3

Women Who Write Plays 1999, 2001

Business, email on diskette 2000

Box 48, Folder 21, Box 48, Folder 21

January 2000

Box 48, Folder 22, Box 48, Folder 22

January – February 2000

Box 9, Folder 4

Personal 2000

Box 9, Folder 5-6

Business

Email on 12 diskettes

Box 48, Folder 23

March 2000

Box 48, Folder 24

April – May 2000

Box 48, Folder 25

May 2000

Box 48, Folder 26

May 2000

Box 48, Folder 27

June 2000

Box 48, Folder 28

2001

Box 48, Folder 29

Letters regarding Badass/ Kerma 2001

Box 48, Folder 30

Arena Stage, “Letters,” Brave New Works 2001

Box 48, Folder 31

HM Publications/DLB interviews 2001

Box 48, Folder 32

“Letters,” Maine UCM Residency 2001

Box 48, Folder 333

“Letters,” “Monkey King,” 2001

Box 48, Folder 34

“Stations,” H-Muse 2001

Box 9, Folder 7

2000-2002

Box 9, Folder 8

Business 2001

Box 10, Folder 1-3

2001

Box 10, Folder 4

Recommendations 2001

Box 10, Folder 5

Center Theater Group, Mark Taper Forum, Thank You Letters 2001

Box 10, Folder 6

Personal

Box 10, Folder 7

Professional

Box 10, Folder 8

Correspondence and miscellany

Box 10, Folder 9

Business 2002

Box 10, Folder 10

Personal 2002

Box 10, Folder 11

Business 2003

Box 10, Folder 12-13

2003

Box 11, Folder 1

2003-2004

Disk \\special-romanuscripts\CEMA\cema_016_Wong_Elizabeth

Digital Correspondence

Series IV: Festivals, Retreats and Workshops 1992-2003

Humana Festival of New American Plays

Box 11, Folder 2

Actors Theater of Louisville 1993-1994

Box 11, Folder 3

Miscellaneous: Flyers and Correspondence 1993-1994

General note