The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin
By Jessica Huang
Directed by Jeffrey Lo
“A fascinating, surreal journey awaits” – East Bay Times
“The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin is must-see theatre at its finest.” – Broadway World
“In [this] beautifully written, time-traveling play … Jeffrey Lo directs an all-star cast.” – San Francisco Chronicle
PLAY DETAILS
Based on a true story. During the Chinese Exclusion Act, Harry Chin, a Chinese national, entered the U.S. by buying forged documentation. Like other “Paper Sons,” Harry lived the rest of his life keeping secrets – even from his daughter. Told through the eyes of a middle-aged Chin, The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin reveals the complicated loves and regrets of this Chinese immigrant. Through dreamlike leaps of time and space and with the powerful assistance of ghosts, the story of the Chin family reveals the personal and political repercussions of making a group of people “illegal.”
THE CAST
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association. This theater operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.GALLERY
![Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) relives a memory with his wife, Laura (Carrie Paff*) in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0495/2000455380.jpg)
![Poet (Will Dao*, front) and Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) plan for their arrival in America in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0567/3337323878.jpg)
![Poet (Will Dao*) and Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) memorize the backstories of their paper identities in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0593/3394919854.jpg)
![Boss (Michael Torres*) admonishes Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) for being distracted at work in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0609/3969128594.jpg)
![Poet (Will Dao*), immigrating to the United States as a paper son, worries about being found out by the authorities in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0612/1620676056.jpg)
![Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) prepares for arrival in the United States in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0621/654434898.jpg)
![Poet (Will Dao*) and Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) memorize the backstories of their paper identities in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0642/273377166.jpg)
![Harry's (Jomar Tagatac*) memory is interrupted by his daughter, Sheila (Kina Kantor*) in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0692/295621749.jpg)
![Yuet (Sharon Shao) and Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) relive a memory in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0723/251102351.jpg)
![Yuet (Sharon Shao) and Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) relive a memory in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0757/507949840.jpg)
![Laura (Carrie Paff*) works at a restaurant in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0778/592409231.jpg)
![Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) and Laura (Carrie Paff*) meet for the first time in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0782/2645357882.jpg)
![Interrogator (Michael Torres*) asks probing questions in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0794/469430557.jpg)
![Laura (Carrie Paff*) and Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) relive a memory in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0857/1926236875.jpg)
![Harry's past and present collide in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse. L-R: Jomar Tagatac*, Carrie Paff*, Will Dao*, Kina Kantor*, Sharon Shao.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A0926/2543090834.jpg)
![Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) welcomes the return of Poet (Will Dao*) in the Seventh Month in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A1012/3880971787.jpg)
![As the Seventh Month arrives, Harry welcomes faces from his past in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse. L-R: Sharon Shao, Will Dao*, Jomar Tagatac*, Kina Kantor*.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A1040/624908172.jpg)
![Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) is consoled by figures from his past (Sharon Shao, Will Dao*, Carrie Paff*) in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A1054/1184111001.jpg)
![Sheila (Kina Kantor*) consoles her father, Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A1058/2943330641.jpg)
![Poet (Will Dao*), Yuet (Sharon Shao), and Laura (Carrie Paff*) visit Sheila (Kina Kantor*) and Harry (Jomar Tagatac*) in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A1061/2033703443.jpg)
![Sheila (Kina Kantor*) savors her father's cooking in 'The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin' at San Francisco Playhouse.](https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/wp-content/uploads/cache/2022/05/048A1067/1971791905.jpg)
THE CREATIVE TEAM
^ Member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Jessica Huang is a playwright based in New York, from Minnesota. Her work has been commissioned by Audible, History Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Mixed Blood Theatre, Timeline Theater, Theater Masters and Theater Mu, and includes The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin (Barry and Bernice Stavis Award, Kilroy’s List), Mother of Exiles (Rosa Parks Playwriting Award, Paul Stephen Lim Playwriting Award, Kendeda Prize Finalist), Transmissions in Advance of the Second Great Dying, and Purple Cloud. She has been a member of the Civilians R&D Group, Page 73’s Interstate 73 and Ars Nova Play Group, and has had fellowships at the Playwrights’ Center and McDowell. She is a graduate of the Playwrights Program at Juilliard. More: Jessica-Huang.com
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