Henry Ong was an internationally produced playwright whose works have been produced at the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego; Singapore Repertory Theatre; Latchmere Theatre, London; Queens Theatre in the Park, NY; Bailiwick Theatre, Chicago;, Whitefire Theatre, Los Angeles; Grove Theater Center, Los Angeles, and Company of Angels, Los Angeles. His fully produced plays include The Blade of Jealousy, Sweet Karma, Fabric, Legend of the White Snake, People Like Me, and Madame Mao's Memories. His other completed works include Ascent, Rachel Ray,Nina Balata, and The Masseur.
Early life
Born in Malaysia in 1949, Ong attended school in Singapore before migrating to the United States to attend Iowa State University.
Works
Ong was a 16-time recipient of the City of Los AngelesDepartment of Cultural Affairs Artist-in-Residence grants. He has worked on many oral history projects in several underserved communities—notably Asian American—resulting in presentation of stories not often portrayed in mainstream media. These include Chinese American Stories, Thai American Stories, Pinoy Stories, and Sikh American Stories, among others. In 1998, Ong received a DramaLogue Award for Excellence in Writing for his play, People Like Me. In 2014, he was recognized with the Lee Melville award by Playwrights' Arena for Outstanding Contribution to Theater in Los Angeles. in 2018, he was awarded the Dean's Arts and Humanities Award from College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University, in recognition of distinguished alumni who have enhanced appreciation of the arts and humanities at the local, state, national or international level. Ong was an Active Member of the Dramatist Guild.
Death
Ong died September 29, 2018 following three years of cancer.
Playwriting Credits
Full-length plays:
Madame Mao's Memories, Theatre/Theater, Los Angeles ; Latchmere Theatre, London ; TheatreWorks, Singapore ; Edinburgh Festival ; Old Globe Theatre, San Diego
People Like Me, Playwrights' Arena
Fabric, Singapore Repertory Theatre ; Nomad Theatre, Surrey, England ; Company of Angeles
Dream of the Red Chamber, Central Library, commissioned by Library Foundation of LA; Action Theatre, Singapore. Awarded an Inglewood Growing Artists Performed Projects grant for 2017; full six-hour staged adaptation presented in Edward Vincent Jr Park and Willie Agee Playhouse.
The Legend of the White Snake, Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock
The Old Lady Who Popped Out of the Sidewalk and Became a Christmas Tree, Theatre East
Short plays include: Winter; The Valley of the Bones; Legit; Seppuku!; Who's F***ing the Horse?; Stella!; Leonardo Doesn't Live Here Anymore; Sunset in Silver Lake; Dim Sum and Then Some; The Birth of Narcissus; The Saga of Lulu Wong; Four Walls. Youth Plays : Golden Flower Princess ; The Fire Boy ; Lady White Snake ; The Marriage of Bolak Sonday Writing/oral history workshops :
Pinoy Stories, Eagle Rock City Hall
Chinese American Stories, Chinese Historical Society of So. California
Korean American Stories, Korean American Youth & Community Service Center
Stories of the Visually-Impaired or Deaf, Braille Institute
Thai American Stories, Palm Village Senior Housing
Sikh American Stories, Sikh Gurdwara of Los Angeles,
Middle Eastern/North African Stories, The Markaz
Teaching Experience
Haque Center for Creativity and Acting, Singapore,
Youth Drama Workshop, TeenScape, LA Public Library
