Before she became an actual elected representative of Koreatown, Los Angeles, Wong was a scrappy performance artist with a bright future in reality television. The system she used to ridicule is now the one she's become. Is she more effective as a performance artist or a politician? Can she Abolish ICE? Is there actually a difference between performance art and politics?

Kristina Wong for Public Office is a 65-minute comedic performance that crosses the aesthetics of campaign rallies, church revivals and solo theater shows to tell the story of what it means to run for local office, the history of voting and the impact artists can have on democracy.

The show plays against a charming hand-sewn felt set designed and created by Kristina Wong. 

A conversation with the artist follows the evening performances on Friday, January 12 and Saturday, January 13. Wong will also take part in a talk about the role of the artist in political discourse with the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy.  

Credits:
Written and performed by Kristina Wong
Directed and dramaturgy by Diana Wyenn
Devised by Kristina Wong and Diana Wyenn
Sound design by Mark McClain Wilson 
Lighting design by Diana Wyenn
Scenic, Costumes, and Props by Kristina Wong

Funded in part by the Wetzel Family Fund for the Arts and the Nathan W. Pearson 1932 and Sons Fund and James and Virginia Giddens. Photo: Tom Fowler

About the Artist About the Artist

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Kristina Wong is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, comedian, performance artist, actor and elected representative in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Most recently, Kristina became one of six recipients in the nation of the very prestigious Doris Duke Foundation Award for excellence in her field. During her recent sold-out run at The Kirk Douglas Theater at Center Theater Group in Los Angeles, the LA Times, named her show, Kristina Wong: Sweatshop Overlord, a "Must See Show," which premiered at New York Theater Workshop and The New York Times called it a "Critics Pick." The show garnered a veritable awards sweep including The Drama Desk Award, The Lucille Lortel Award and The Outer Critics Circle Award. As a published writer, Wong's work is included in Routledge's Contemporary Plays by Women of Color. Wong wrote the introduction for The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide To Mask Making, Radical Care and Racial Justice published by University of California Press. She is currently developing a new work during her three-year Artist-in-Residence at ASU Gammage. Other career highlights include the Visionary Award from East West Players, "Local Hero Of The Year" nominee from KCET/ PBS, Asian Pacific Honoree from Fuse TV and the Best Of Arts Los Angeles issue from LA Weekly.