American Alien
A play written by Sida Chu
Directed by Luna Kwon
Produced by the SHADES Theater Collective
WestCo Café, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT. April 11–12, 2025. *sold out*
American Alien is a mind-bending romantic comedy that follows Lia, a quick-witted college graduate on the brink of deportation after her work visa falls through. Estranged from the place she once called home and hence desperate to stay in the U.S., Lia sees one last option: marry a stranger for a green card. But as if love and bureaucracy weren’t complicated enough, the joys, frustrations, and trauma of being trans are bound to catch up with her. With a heart full of humor, emotion, and magical realism, American Alien spins a whimsical tale of outcasts, chosen family, and those of us who are, as the Department of Homeland Security would have it, “aliens.”
Click here to view the program. Full script available upon request.
Crush! Crush! Crush!
An original Musical
Directed by April Schwartz & Sida Chu
Books and lyrics by Scarlett Long
Music by Ben Sulzinsky and various artists
Produced by the Department of Theater, Wesleyan University
Ring Family Performing Arts Hall, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT. May 8, 2023. *sold out*
Scarlett thinks crushes should be more than just eloping with the daughter of your family’s enemy after one balcony make-out, or hooking up with a French girl you met on the train before leaving Europe the next morning. That’s why she’s writing a musical about crushes for her senior thesis; it’s definitely not because she herself has a little crush on someone. As she interviews everyone around her for inspiration, she realizes how messy and confusing crushes can be and starts to question if the very concept of “crush” is worth writing about at all.
Click here to view the program. Full recording available upon request.
