Derek Nguyen and Tim Dang

SEASON PREVIEW CONVERSATIONS

A Missing Person and a Suspect Close to Home
This spring California’s East West Players will introduce Angelenos to Derek Nguyen’s psychological thriller Monster. The theatre’s artistic director Tim Dang has been shepherding the play through workshops and will oversee its premiere April 11–May 12. Nguyen twists the film noir genre by conjuring a Vietnamese detective who accepts a missing person’s case—only to discover that the wrong person is missing.

Derek Nguyen: The audience assumes that the play is a film noir–style detective story about a missing boy who is accused of beating up another boy, a Vietnamese student, outside a high school. It takes place in a fictional California city called Sun Valley. But as you embark on this conventional case, you begin to realize that something is askew: The play is actually taking place in the mind of Detective Tran, the main character. The story is a mixture of memory and fabrication. You notice that Tran’s line of questioning is sometimes unprofessional—he becomes more emotionally involved than a detective should.

Tim Dang: There are certain words that Tran says that make you think, “Is this a piece of the puzzle that will help solve the case, or is this a piece that will help illuminate the two levels of storytelling in the play?”

Nguyen: You know, writing a detective story is interesting. What’s important is how much information you give and how much you don’t…until later. That’s new for me. I’m used to being clear, up front. This play has taught me a lot about patience and not giving everything away too easily.

Dang: As we worked on Monster several times I said, “Wait a minute—who knows this information? Does the detective already know this? And why?” I’m trying to backtrack in my own mind, getting into the head of Detective Tran and Johnny, the accused kid.

Nguyen: That’s exactly what I want. The characters and scenarios are not realistically drawn, but they actually did exist at one point. The entire story, the audience eventually discovers, takes place in Tran’s memory. You know how memory operates—very selectively. All the characteristics, all the judgments you make of people are heightened.  The play is largely about isolation. Not only cultural and societal, but emotional isolation, too. Tran is unable to face his emotions—or he doesn’t understand how to deal with them until the play’s end. In order to get to that strength, you have to be vulnerable.

I also wanted to write a play whose ending could be interpreted in various ways. I started out as a visual artist and was very influenced by Cubism. When you look at a Cubist painting, you see form and structure, but everybody will see something different. I hope that is what Monster is.

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