(2)
Outside People
Zayd Dohrn
No Foreigners Beyond This Point
by Warren Leight
Off-Broadway
Highlights
120 mins 1980s Role(s) for Asian Actor(s) Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
Awards & Recognition
Drama Desk Award
Nominee: 2006 Drama Desk Award for Best Play
Synopsis
Paula and Andrew, two twenty-something Americans, arrive in China right after the Cultural Revolution, when the country is just starting to open up to foreigners.
Paula has come to teach English and Andrew has come to spend a semester close to Paula.
Their naiveté is astounding as they blunder into the heavily socialist and guarded community of the school.
They are spied on by everyone, obliquely threatened, mystified by local customs and generally fish out of water.
Will they be pushed past their breaking point?
Press Reviews
"This play will prove a godsend for theaters looking to provide more roles for Asian actors."
— Variety
Characters
| Character |
|---|
| WIDOW WAN probably in her 70s. Well fed, long term survivor, few words (all in Cantonese, usually commands), much power. |
| VICE PRINCIPAL HUANG late 20s, Northern Chinese, educated, vital but guarded. An outsider in Canton. |
| TEACHER CHEN 30s but worn for her years, Cantonese, anxious, kind. |
| ANDREW BAKER (bai ke) – 20s, New Yorker, very urban, glib. Wears glasses, no fashion sense. |
| PAULA WHEATON (wei tan) - 20s Waspy New Yorker, striking. |
| PRINCIPAL WANG 40s, Cantonese, formal, nervous. The bureaucrat who lives in fear. |
| LAO WAN older long-term survivor; few words, much power. |
| XIAO WAN 19, but acts younger; assigned to be the American teachers’ maid. |
| SHERMAN 20s, smart-ass student; city kid, privileged, General’s son (can be doubled by Principal Wang). |
| LINCOLN student, late teens, Sherman’s sidekick, cynic (doubled by Vice Principal Huang). |
| XIAO DA 20s, Northern (Hubei) student, female. Studious, serious: a believer (can be doubled by Xiao Wan.) |
| PEARL Straight, initially shy student, female, Cantonese (doubled by Teacher Chen). |
| TEACHER MING old lady, long hard life; nominal chair of language department (doubled by Widow Wan, her opposite). |
| YING late 30s, peasant; school maintenance man/worker/electrician (doubled by Principal Wang). |
| CUSTOMS MAN Young, modern (doubled by Vice Principal Huang). |
Publication
No Foreigners Beyond This Point is a play written by Warren Leight and published by Samuel French .
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Performance Rights
Available for Licensing
Amateur & Professional
Fee: Minimum Fee: $120 per performance
Restrictions: Major Markets Only (US) / Standard Restriction (UK)
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