I knew I was Chinese, but growing up, it never occurred to me that that had any particular implication or that it should differentiate me in any way. I thought it was a minor detail, like having red hair. — David Henry Hwang Copy Share Image
I felt pretty good growing up. I didnt feel a lot of prejudice or racism. But I do remember, if there was going to be a movie or a television show with Asian characters, I would go out of my way to avoid them, because they portrayed all Asians as either ridiculously good or ridiculously bad; you know, the whole… — David Henry Hwang Copy Share
I visited a new cultural center in Shanghai in 2005 that was pretty much perfect, except for the really badly translated Chinglish signs: a… — David Henry Hwang Copy Share Image
My first plays were amazingly bad, but I had a teacher who thought I had promise, and he kept working with me. I finally… — David Henry Hwang Copy Share Image
I think that plays are probably the most personal, because it's just me in charge, but sometimes it's just really - I think that… — David Henry Hwang Copy Share Image
“And you wonder, what's wrong with me? Will anyone beautiful want me?” — David Henry Hwang Copy Share Image
As Asian-Americans, the charge that is often lobbed against us is sort of the least original: the idea that somehow we're perpetual foreigners, that we can't be trusted, and that even my father, who was patriotic to the point that it was kind of a joke among his children, would be accused of being disloyal to America. — David Henry Hwang Copy Share
Chinese culture in general is not very religious. Confucianism is more a code of ethics than a religion, and ancestor worship is a way… — David Henry Hwang Copy Share Image
My new play 'Chinglish,' which will go to Broadway, is about a white American businessman who goes to a provincial capital in China, hoping… — David Henry Hwang Copy Share Image
. . . I felt I was finally in a position to affect not only the artistic content of the American theatre, but also its institutional structures. This has been an important goal of mine, as there have always been a variety of issues - artistic freedom, author's rights, access by minority groups - which have concerned me and even… — David Henry Hwang Copy Share
Yes, I am one of those people who feels that most of my work is adaptation of one sort or another. For me, it's a way to jump-start the engine. For example, some people use the technique of basing a character on a friend. They start writing with his or her voice, then at a certain point, the character takes… — David Henry Hwang Copy Share
