Poesy = Noun; pronunication: po-e-sy
From the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary

def. a) a poem or body of poems; b) poetry; c) artificial or sentimentalized poetic writing;
1. poetic inspiration; 2. writing that uses rhythm, vivid language and often rhyme to provoke an emotional response

WORDS, SHAMISEN, BASS, CELLO and WOODWINDS

What happens when two pieces by longtime Chicago writer Marie Yuen (originally written in the 1980's) are set against the improvisational music of the great Tatsu Aoki on Shamisen and Bass; Jamie Kempkers on Cello and Mai Sugimoto on Woodwinds?

Join us at the eclectic but minimalistic Elastic Arts Foundation venue on March 11, 2023 in Chicago to find out!

Marie Yuen says that Poesy is a takeoff of poems and pictures. Her poems are an encapsulation of one poem and one emotion. She says that when she writes, she captures one emotion at a time.

Her "Infiniti," just a short four-line piece, is "another way of saying that you can't judge a person by just what you see, because underneath there are so many possibilities that you can't even begin to explain it," says Yuen. "It's very simple in that the potential is there, and you need to look past the surface of things."

"The Phantom Ship," originally written by Yuen in the 1980's about clouds, was one page in length at the time. Not satisfied with it, years later in 2016, it was reworked by Yuen over the period of a week. It then became an epic poem ten pages in length. “The Phantom Ship” is a story which is a blend of sci-fi and fantasy at the same time, and it has a lesson in there. Written from the male perspective, the story starts off with a man and his wife (the female protagonist) having an argument. He goes off. He attracts the attention of an entity who is female (the story's antagonist), who keeps trying to get him to want her. He keeps getting away from her. Thirty days later we find out why. Who does he end up with? Join us to find out!

Asian Improv aRts Midwest’s (AIRMW) mission is to build a vital, self-empowered Asian American Community in the Chicago area by advancing the understanding and profile of Asian American cultures through the traditional and contemporary cultural arts. Work at AIRMW is grounded in an understanding of tradition as an aesthetic lineage.

Through in-house programs and collaborative projects, AIRMW is dedicated to creating productive relationships with artists, communities and institutions. AIRMW continually strives to maintain the responsibility of professionalism as part of cultural preservation by producing high quality arts programs that accurately reflect the multicultural, multi-ethnic reality of Chicago and the nation. (www.airmw.org)

Elastic Arts Foundation provides a flexible space that fosters a community of musicians, artists, performers, and audiences, presenting diverse artistic explorations in multifaceted performances and exhibitions from our versatile Chicago venue, serving the Avondale / Logan Square neighborhoods of Chicago and beyond. (www.elasticarts.org)

Artist Bios

MARIE YUEN

Writer, Actress, Producer

Marie Yuen was trained at Chicago Dramatists Workshop, the Theatre Building Chicago Musical Writer’s Workshop and Artistic New Directions with Jeffrey Sweet (New York). A prolific writer, Yuen has about 19 pieces in various stages of development, including musicals, one-acts, scenes and shorter pieces. She also has written poetry. As a writer, her 10-minute play, “My Father’s Father” was named a finalist for the Theatre Resources Unlimited’s (TRU) TRUSPEAK Benefit for 2022. TRU is based in New York. (A record 131 plays were submitted last year and of these, only 10 were chosen to be finalists.) Marie Yuen was notified in March 2022 that she had been named a 2022 recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Agency - Individual Artist Support grant in the area of Theatre.

A Spring 2022 Reading of Marie Yuen’s adaptation of “Ye-Xian: The Chinese Cinderella" was presented at the Chinese American Museum of Chicago – Raymond B. & Jean T. Lee Center. This adaptation is based on “Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story From China,” as retold by Ai-Ling Louie from a story translated from The Miscellaneous Record of Yu Yang as written by Tuan Ch'eng-Shih. Marie Yuen has adapted this magical story for musical theater, serving not only as book writer but as a lyricist on the project.

An excerpt of Marie Yuen’s “Wingmen” sitcom pilot was read as part of Chicago's "Cold Reads, Hot Scripts" reading series as well as Los Angeles’ “The New Normal Reading Series” (2018). (She had previously also served as executive producer for the show’s screening at the Music Box Theatre (2007). “Wingmen” was originally written for the 2007 Chicago Comedy TV Pilot Competition, where it received finalist and runner-up designations.) Yuen’s one-act “Tourist Trap” was produced in New York City as part of the “Fourth Annual Radioactive Festival: A Festival of Female Playwrights” (2017).

It was also featured at the University of California, Berkeley’s “New Play Reading Series” (2017). Pearson Scott Foresman commissioned Yuen’s “Rosetsu’s Carp” for an anthology series of short stories and plays for students (2016). An excerpt from her one-act “Autumn Moon” was produced in conjunction with A-Squared Theatre Workshop’s sold-out run of “My Asian Mom” (2012). A concert reading of her full-length musical “Roxane, of Bergerac” (Book and Lyrics: Marie Yuen; Music: Dave Flippo) was produced at Theatre Building Chicago (2007). She was commissioned to write “Dreams Come True" and "The Boy Who Would Be Famous" (2005) for Scott Foresman Publishing’s 2007 Reading Series: Readers Theatre Anthology, a program for elementary school students.

Yuen’s “Too Many Cooks" (Book: Marie Yuen, Lyrics: Julie Pedersen, Music: Jill Marshall-Work) was workshopped in a 20-minute version presented by the Theatre Building Chicago (2000). Her one-acts, "Silk Scarf" and "My Father’s Father" were produced by North Avenue Productions (1996). Yuen is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. Onstage as an actress, Marie Yuen has appeared twice in “The King & I” (as “Little Eva” in Hong Kong and as “Topsy” in Chicago); as a platinum blonde tap dancing angel named “Virtue” in “Anything Goes” (Chicago); and as “Tommy the Cat” in “Dick Whittington and His Cat” (Hong Kong). 

Backstage, Marie Yuen has served as stage manager for YAMA Works’ production of “Hamlet,” and Pintig Cultural Group’s production of “Nanay Isog and her Children.”

Marie Yuen’s experience includes serving as a script reader for Victory Gardens Theatre (2004) and as a Box Office Associate and House Manager for Lifeline Theatre (2001-2005). She is winner of the South China Morning Post/Radio Television Hong Kong Short Story Competition (1993) and the Dalan Award by CITA for Excellence in Acting (1998).

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Marie Yuen holds a Bachelor of Science in Advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her early career advertising agency experience includes serving as a copywriter for BBDO Hong Kong and for Cycle Advertising Ltd. Yuen spent about five years living abroad in Hong Kong.

EDWARD W. LAI

Edward W. Lai appeared in the Spring 2022 Reading of Fiery Seahorse Productions’ adaptation of Marie Yuen’s “Ye-Xian: The Chinese Cinderella,” presented at the Chinese American Museum of Chicago – Raymond B. & Jean T. Lee Center. Lai began his career as as art director in the Point-of-Purchase and advertising industry. A graduate of the American Academy of Art in Chicago in advertising and photography, these days he focuses on creating 360 Virtual, Collaborative Interactive Team Environments. (See LinkedIn for more.)

$15 - Tickets Available at the Door