Figment of Manifestation
by Christine Hoang

SYNOPSIS

 

Figment of Manifestation is a reimagined Cinderella story centered on Andy, a single gay man in his 40s. As Andy and his “fairy godmother” Krystal manifest the man of Andy’s dreams, the audience is left to ponder whether this is true love or just a figment of manifestation.

 

PLAYWRIGHT’S BIO

 

Christine Hoang is a Vietnamese-American playwright, screenwriter, actor, producer and recovering lawyer based in Austin, Texas. She was born in New Orleans Charity Hospital and learned English by watching Sesame Street. When she’s not writing or performing, she’s busy loving on her husband and daughter. Christine’s achievements include: CineStory TV Writing Contest Semifinalist (2024), TOA Creative Change Fellow (2023), THRIVE Grant Winner (2023), WarnerBros Discovery 150 Artist (2022), Unlock Her Potential mentee of Brian Yorkey (2022), Yes And Laughter Lab Winner (2022), WarnerMedia 150 New Orleans Film Society South Pitch Winner (2021), Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive Fellow (2021), Meryl Streep’s The Writers Lab Fellow (2020) and Tribeca Film Institute Alumna (2020), AT&T and Tribeca Untold Stories Finalist (2020), FronteraFest Best of Fest Winner (2023, 2017, 2016), Austin Film Festival Pitch Finalist (2019, 2017), Austin Critics Table David Mark Cohen Best New Play Winner (2017).

 

A BIT ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

 

When did you start writing plays? If you had a moment where you realized you wanted to write, what was it?

In 2015 I wrote, produced and performed in my first play. It was a holiday comedy called People of Color Christmas: The White Elephant in the Room. Audiences really connected with it including the City of Austin Cultural Arts Department who, two years later, commissioned me to tour it throughout all of Austin’s four cultural centers. The ability to make audiences laugh, cry and connect has fueled me to write plays and screenplays ever since.

 

How did you come to write your OOB play? Was there a particular inspiration behind its creation? How has it developed?

Figment of Manifestation was inspired by a conversation I had with my friend Ammon Taylor – a composer, music director and Austin transplant now based in New York City. It was October 2023. I was visiting from Austin, Texas. Ammon and I were having lunch at Veselka in the East Village. Naturally, the topic of Ammon’s love life came up. In between bites of pierogi, I invented a romantic story about Ammon finding love on the subway. Ammon was tickled. The pierogi were delicious. And magic was cast. A few months later, Ammon would be the muse for my 10-minute rom com, which I further developed with ScriptWorks, a playwriting organization based in Austin, Texas. It’s now 2024. I am excited to return to NYC to present this staged reading nearly one year after that charmed conversation with Ammon in the East Village. What a magical, full circle moment.

 

What are five words that describe who you are as a playwright?

Character-driven comedy, dramatic hooks.

 

What/who are some of the major influences on your writing?

Brian Yorkey and Anne Lamott.

 

What’s one fact someone would never guess about you?

As an undergrad at Louisiana State University, I sang in the LSU Gospel Choir for four semesters. I was also an Ebony Dancer for one semester.

 

What are some of your favorite plays?

Dance Nation, The Wolves, A Strange Loop, Hadestown, In the Heights, Next to Normal.

 

Any new projects you’re working on or shameless plugs?

I hope to revise and remount my play A Girl Named Sue with the aim of getting it published. It won the Austin Critics Table David Mark Cohen Award for Best New Play, but I feel it deserves one more rewrite before I send it out to publishers.

Currently, I am writing a new full-length “coming-of-final-age” comedy inspired by my 83-year-old Vietnamese American immigrant mom called Just Say Yes. My mom agreed to read the lead role in an upcoming workshop.