American Theatre’s Anti-Asian Problem

Invisibility and Objectification Can Kill: American Theatre’s Anti-Asian Problem

by Diep Tran

Published by American Theatre

A few years ago, I was walking down the street in Portland during the 2017 TCG National Conference. I was speaking on the phone to my mother in Vietnamese. I walked past a group of young men, and behind me I heard what sounded like the word “chink.” I didn’t turn around, I walked faster. I started shaking.

Maybe I misheard it, I thought. Maybe I was just being paranoid. Even now, I tell myself that maybe I didn’t hear what I thought I heard. But if it wasn’t what I thought I heard, why do I still think about it?