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THE PLAY
Under the moonlight, six-year-old Eddie imagines a dragon eating moons and an imaginary friend teaching him English. His mother smokes as she prays to a statue of the Santo Niño. His father waits alone in Manila for their daily phone calls. Songs from a mythical giant turtle travel across oceans, but are drowned by the voices of Duterte and Trump on television. As fantasy and reality become indistinguishable, the family is forced to learn how to articulate unspoken truths that will either break them or heal them. How will the weight of living undocumented in New York City force them to reevaluate their understanding of “community", “dreams”, and "home"? To assist the actors, a new narrator (a fellow artist, community organizer, or elected official) joins the cast every night. The narrator reads the play aloud to the audience, having neither seen the play nor read the entire script. The cast performs original music and songs to help tell the story. The play is spoken in English and Tagalog with subtitles.
DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
Reading, produced by the Episcopal Actors Guild and Leviathan Lab, New York, NY 2022
PRODUCTIONS
Workshop Production, Leviathan Lab, New York, NY 2023
World Premiere, CHUANG Stage & Company One, Boston 2025
Fundraiser for University Settlement, Public Reading, NYTW, Leviathan Lab, University Settlement, New York, NY 2025
World Premiere, CHUANG Stage & Company One, Boston 2025
Fundraiser for University Settlement, Public Reading, NYTW, Leviathan Lab, University Settlement, New York, NY 2025
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Finalist - 2021 Bay Area Playwrights Festival
Finalist - 2021 Barbour Playwrights Award Finalist
EAG Open Stage Grant Recipient 22-23
Boston Theatre Critics' Association (BTCA) Critics' Pick, June 2025
Finalist - 2021 Barbour Playwrights Award Finalist
EAG Open Stage Grant Recipient 22-23
Boston Theatre Critics' Association (BTCA) Critics' Pick, June 2025
PRESS
'Learning How to Read by Moonlight' tells an Immigrant Story Through the Precocious Eyes of a Child, Boston Globe, May 2025 | READ HERE
A Truck Full of Props and Asian Joy, American Theatre, May 2025 | READ HERE
Immigration and Community Take Center Stage in New Play, WBUR, May 2025 | READ HERE
'How to Read by Moonlight' Has a Lot of Light to Go With the Darkness (Review), Boston Globe, June 2025 | READ HERE
Theatre Review, Stage & Cinema, May 2025 | READ HERE
A Truck Full of Props and Asian Joy, American Theatre, May 2025 | READ HERE
Immigration and Community Take Center Stage in New Play, WBUR, May 2025 | READ HERE
'How to Read by Moonlight' Has a Lot of Light to Go With the Darkness (Review), Boston Globe, June 2025 | READ HERE
Theatre Review, Stage & Cinema, May 2025 | READ HERE