Fresh ON the Boat

About the Project

Fresh ON The Boat* is a story about Ho-Jung, an Asian-American freshman at a college she is attending to appease her overbearing mother. She starts to rebel by joining the rowing team and loves that her parents will not approve. It turns out that she is born for the sport and finds a joy she has never experienced before. However, this joy is extremely short-lived, as the challenge of being the only person of color in a very white sport starts to endanger her mental health. Bullying and microaggressions start to wear her down and she tries her best to cope. It’s sink or swim time: will she manage to stay afloat? 
[*This is a staged reading of the play “Fresh ON The Boat”]
This project was born from the amazing opportunity that the historical and legendary East West Players extended to playwrights of all levels: commission of a play involving a sport and centered on the AAPI experience, to be performed during the 2028 Olympics. The ideas that came to the playwright because of this special opportunity are presented here. The incredible support from the amazing LACC theatre department for which she is so grateful, and the opportunity to present at Hollywood Fringe Festival inspired her to finish “Fresh On the Boat.” She is also extremely grateful to have the support of the ground-breaking and legendary East West Players, that LACC comrades and EWP alumni are in the cast, and she hopes that people watching this work will be inspired like the whole world was inspired by the great Alysa Liu! SuZen might even perform an original song inspired by Alysa Liu :)