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Target Margin (TM): P*SSYC*CK KNOW NOTHING has been explained in so many different ways. From your own perspective (aka the perspective of someone who has been working with the material over the past few months) how would you explain it?
David Huynh(DH): To be as simple as I can, it’s an exploration. It’s an exploration of a story from 1,001 Nights, an exploration of how it’s been filtered through different cultural lenses over centuries, how it resonates now, and an exploration of what a piece of Theatre can be.
TM: What drew you to a piece like P*SSYC*CK KNOW NOTHING?
DH: Honestly, I’d also be answering why I was drawn to Target Margin.
The community here feels welcoming and tight knit. It’s clear that it’s invested in collaboration and honoring the contributions of everyone that’s a part of the process. I think about one of the last workshop cycles I was a part of. Performers were encouraged to contribute to the lighting design and sound while we were shaping the piece. Designers and administrative staff were a part of the devising of the performance. When we got to the point where we were sharing our work with an audience, it felt like something that was greater than the sum of its parts.
It’s a unique process that I was new to. I’m eager to jump back in.
TM: How does P*SSYC*CK KNOW NOTHING fit within the telling of “The One Thousand and One Nights”? Were you familiar with the work beforehand or is this a fresh start for you with these stories?
DH: This one is new to me. How it fits is a very good question – I’m not sure and I’m looking forward to hearing others’ thoughts on it as we work.
One thought after a pass through the story is how it’s actually multiple stories folded together into one. Literature has a different form from live performance and it’ll be challenging keeping the separate stories clear, but supporting the central narrative.
I’m also interested in how these stories are characters’ personal histories. For some, it’s both a burden and a means in which to save their own lives. There’s something rich in that juxtaposition that I can’t articulate, but I’m very attracted to.
TM: What are you most excited for audiences to see with this new adaptation of the Silk Road stories?
DH: It’ll be a unique experience. We’re given a chance to digest this text and then give it a shape with our bodies and voices in a way you don’t usually see when you go to a play. It’s an experiment and I’m so eager to see what people make of it.
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David Huynh is excited to be back at Target Margin! Off-Broadway, he has appeared in the National Asian American Theatre Company’s Henry VI (Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Revival), Transport Group’s The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, Pan Asian Repertory’s No-No Boy and Emperor’s Nightingale, and Classic Stage Company’s Play On! Festival. Regionally, he has performed at the Alley Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mixed Blood Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, TheatreSquared, Houston Shakespeare Festival, and the Moscow Art Theatre among others. Film: Children of the Dust. He spoke on institutional racism within the industry through a TEDx Talk entitled “Asian Enough?” He is a co-founder of The Sống Collective. MFA: University of Houston Professional Actor Training Program www.david-huynh-actor.com Cho má, ba, và Katie.