WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?
Written and Performed by Brian Quijada
Directed by Chay Yew
Presented by the Ensemble Studio Theatre & The Radio Drama Network
WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS? is an electric one-man show pulsing with Latin rhythms, rap, hip-hop, spoken word, and live looping. During a third grade lesson on the Civil Rights movement and Rosa Parks, a Latino boy raises his hand to ask, “Where did we sit on the bus?” and his teacher can't answer the question. This thrilling autobiographical production, written and performed by Brian Quijada, examines what it means to be Latino through the eyes of a child, turned teenager, turned adult.
“An explosion of energy, comic verve, playful sexiness, raw emotion, and irresistible storytelling.”
- HEDY WEISS, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
BRIAN QUIJADA (Playwright/Performer) is a Chicago-born, New York-based actor, musician, and playwright. As an actor, Brian has helped develop new work across the country. New York collaborations include: Ensemble Studio Theatre, Repertorio Español, The Lark, The Brick, Page 73, Atlantic Theatre Company, Up Theatre, Astoria Performing Arts Center, Primary Stages, TerraNOVA Collective, LAByrinth, New Georges, The Public, and Playwright's Realm. Regional: How We Got On (Actor’s Theater of Louisville’s Humana Festival), Beat Generation by Jack Keroac (Merrimack Rep), The Solid Sand Below by Martin Zimmerman (The Eugene O’Neill’s National Playwright’s Conference), No More Sad Things by Hansol Jung (Boise Contemporary Theatre), and Informed Consent by Deborah Laufer (The Baltic Playwright’s Conference in Estonia). Most recently, Brian was seen performing in his newest play development, Kid Prince and Pablo (a Digital Age, Hip Hop, American retelling of Mark Twain's The Prince and The Pauper) at Ars Nova's Ant Fest.
CHAY YEW (Director) New York credits include the Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Realm, National Asian American Theatre Company and Ma Yi Theatre. His regional credits include Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kennedy Center, Mark Taper Forum, Goodman Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Denver Center Theater, Huntington Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, Empty Space, Roundhouse Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Cornerstone Theatre, Geva Theater Center, East West Players, Teatro Vista, Playmakers Rep, Singapore Repertory Theatre, amongst others. Upcoming productions include the world premieres of Hannah and the Dread Gazebo at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Roz and Ray at Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Lady in Denmark at the Goodman and A Wonder In My Soul at Victory Gardens. His opera credits include the world premieres of Osvaldo Golijov and David Henry Hwang’s Ainadamar (co-production with Tanglewood Music Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Los Angeles Philharmonic) and Rob Zuidam’s Rage D’Amors (Tanglewood). He recently edited a new anthology of Asian American plays, Version 3.0, for TCG Publications. He is a recipient of the OBIE Award and Dramalogue Award for Direction. An alumnus of New Dramatists, he also serves on the Executive Board on the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. He is the Artistic Director of Victory Gardens in Chicago.