At the PWC this week: Qui Nguyen

Core Writer Qui Nguyen is at the Playwrights’ Center this week, workshopping his new play Begets: Fall of a High School Ronin with director Aditi Brennan Kapil and actors Christian Bardin, Cristina Castro, Ashley Rose Montondo, Tony Sarnicki, Emily Grodzik, Nathan Christopher, Darius Dotch, and Sun Mee Chomet. The workshop will conclude with a free public reading on Friday, January 15, at 2:30 p.m. Learn a bit about Qui in this mini-interview.

So, Geek Theater Poster Boy: What do you think attracts people to the Geek Theater aesthetic/movement?

Who doesn’t like seeing pretty people beat up monsters?

You’ve done some writing for young audiences. How does that differ from writing for adults?

Minus the F bombs and sex jokes, it’s basically the same…which clearly indicates that either the way I write for adults is slightly immature or the way I write for kids is super boring.

What tips do you have for playwrights who want to incorporate popular culture into their work?

Make sure it’s pop culture that you legitimately love yourself. Don’t add pop elements that just seem cool. If you don’t love Anime, don’t do Anime. Geeks can smell a faker. If you geek out over period dramas however, do period drama. Be you, don’t try to be cool.

Finish this sentence: If I weren’t a playwright I would be…

Not me.

What play do you wish you would have written and why?

Wicked. I mean, seriously, how rich are those guys now???

What else have you been working on this year?

A romantic comedy about how my folks met in a 1975 Arkansas refugee camp entitled Vietgone. It has productions this season at South Coast Rep and Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

What’s something about playwriting that you had to learn the hard way?

Writing plays to please other people will ultimately leave you feeling empty and those plays unproduced.

What’s something about you that may surprise people?

I’ve never read or seen Game of Thrones, or any of the Star Treks, and don’t own any gaming systems.