Lia Chang: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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{{short description|American actress, photographer and journalist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lia Chang
| image = Lia Chang in NY 2014.jpg|thumb|
| caption = Lia Chang in New York in 2014.
| birth_date =September{{birth 29,date and age|1963|09|29}}
| birth_place = [[San Francisco]], [[California]], U.S.
| occupation = ActorActress, Photographerphotographer, Journalist, Filmmakerjournalist
| years active = 1981–present
| | websites website = [http://{{URL|www.liachang.com|liachang.com]}}
}}
'''Lia Chang''' (born 29 September 29, 1963) is an American actress, journalist, and photographer.<ref name=Getting>[http://www.jademagazine.com/106me_chang.html "Getting Personal with Lia Chang and her Asian American Arts World"], ''Jade Magazine'', March–April 2014.</ref> After beginning her career modeling and acting in New York and on tour, Chang added parallel careers as a portrait and botanical photographer and journalist.
Chang's photographs have been exhibited in the United States and elsewhere and published in various media. In 2010, the "Lia Chang Theater Photography and Other Works Portfolio" was established in the Asian Pacific American Performing Arts Collection housed in the [[Library of Congress]]. She has written as a syndicated columnist and as a writer and editor for AsianConnections.com, is a writer for AsAmNews.com and maintains a blog about the arts, culture, style and Asian American issues.
==Early life==
Chang was born '''Kim Anne Chang''' in [[San Francisco]], California,<ref name=Yellowbridge>[http://www.yellowbridge.com/people/media.php "Famous Chinese-Americans in News Media"], Yellowbridge.com, accessed July 31, 2015</ref> the daughter of Russell Chang,<ref name=Getting/> an engineer, and Beverly Umehara, who was president of the national executive board of the [[Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance]] (APALA).<ref name=JDANG>Jdang, [http://www.asianweek.com/2000/07/20/people-in-the-news/ "People in the News"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923175312/http://www.asianweek.com/2000/07/20/people-in-the-news/ |date=2015-09-23 }}, ''[[Asian Week]]'', July 20, 2000, accessed July 31, 2015</ref>
==Acting and modeling==
Chang began her career as a model, eventually serving as a petite model for [[Liz Claiborne]] for nine years, among other accounts.<ref name=Faung>Lee, [https://booksarchive.google.comorg/details/asianamericanact00leej/page/books?id=FT34Zr2F7EIC&pg=PA6262 "Lia Chang"], pp. 62–68</ref>
Chang made her feature film debut in [[Berry Gordy]]'s ''[[The Last Dragon]]'' in 1984, followed by [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[Big Trouble in Little China]]'' in 1985.<ref>Yamamoto, J.K. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150716112310/http://www.rafu.com/2015/05/a-little-china-reunion/ "A ''Little China'' Reunion"], ''[[Rafu Shimpo]]'', May 7, 2015</ref> In 1986, Chang made her professional stage debut as Liat in a North American tour of [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]]'s ''[[South Pacific (musical)|South Pacific]]'', starring [[Robert Goulet]] and [[Barbara Eden]], and directed by [[Geraldine Fitzgerald]].<ref name=Nugent>Nugent, Patrick. [http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Pauletta-Pearson-Washington-and-Roscoe-Orman-Lead-Cast-in-Revival-of-Lorey-Hayes-POWER-PLAY-1018-20121016 "Pauletta Pearson Washington and Roscoe Orman Lead Cast in Revival of Lorey Hayes' ''Power Play''"], October 16, 2012, accessed August 1, 2015</ref> In 1990, she made her New York stage debut in Richard Caliban’s ''Famine Plays'' with Cucaracha Theatre Company.<ref>Gussow, Mel. [httphttps://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/03/theater/review-theater-dark-visions-of-america-in-a-modern-depression.html?scp=2&sq=lia%20chang&st=cse "Review/ Theater; Dark Visions of America In a Modern Depression"], ''The New York Times'', November 3, 1990, accessed August 6, 2015</ref> During her association with that company, she appeared in ''[[Two Gentlemen of Verona]]'' (1991)<ref>Holden, Stephen. [httphttps://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/12/theater/review-theater-a-politically-correct-two-gentlemen.html?scp=8&sq=lia%20chang&st=cse "Review/ Theater; A Politically Correct ''Two Gentlemen''], ''The New York Times'', December 12, 1991, accessed August 6, 2015</ref> and the late night theater soap opera ''Underground Soap''.<ref name=Nugent/> She played Angela in ''Waitin' 2 End Hell'', directed by [[Woodie King, Jr.]], at the New Federal Theatre, and starred as Jing-mei Woo in an adaptation of ''[[Two Kinds]]'', directed by [[Isaiah Sheffer]] at [[Symphony Space]], which she also performed for broadcast on [[National Public Radio]].<ref name=BackstageResume>[https://www.backstage.com/liachang/ "Lia Chang"], Backstage.com, accessed August 6, 2015</ref> In 1993, at [[La MaMa]] she played Princess Noel in Lonnie Carter’s ''Gulliver'' in 1993,<ref>Bruckner, D. J. R. [httphttps://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/13/theater/theater-in-review-782193.html?scp=6&sq=lia%20chang&st=cse "Review/Theater: ''Gulliver''"], ''The New York Times'', October 13, 1993, accessed August 6, 2015</ref> and she played Suzie in ''Hot Keys'', by [[Jeff Weiss]], with the Naked Angels Theatre Company with the [[Signature Theatre Company (New York City)|Signature Theatre Company]]. In 1996, she was Sally and Joy in [[Sam Shepard]]'s play ''Chicago'' at the [[Public Theater]].<ref name=Nugent/> In 2005 at the Billie Holiday Theatre she played Carole Barbara in Lorey Hayes' ''Power Play''.<ref name="nydailynews.com">McCallister, Jared. [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/boroughs/caribbean-week-set-kick-article-1.619401 "Caribbean Week Set to Kick Off"], ''New York Daily News'', May 29, 2005, accessed August 8, 2015</ref> She reprised her role in the revival of ''Power Play'' at the 2013 [[National Black Theatre Festival]].<ref name="News and Record">DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn. [http://www.news-record.com/go_triad/article_ca333bfa-f4a2-11e2-8338-0019bb30f31a.html "National Black Theatre Festival: NC Natives Bring ‘Power Play’ to the Festival"], ''News and Record'', July 25, 2013, accessed August 8, 2015</ref>
She has played the recurring character of Nurse Lia on the daytime soap operas ''[[One Life to Live]]'' and ''[[As the World Turns]]'', guest roles on other television shows and minor characters in several feature films.<ref name=Nugent/> In 2015, Chang co-produced, co-wrote and co-starred in the independent short film, ''Hide and Seek''.<ref name=Shootout>[http://www.prlog.org/12478513-the-winners-of-film-labs-11th-annual-72-hour-shootout-announced.html "The Winners of Film Lab's 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Announced!"], Prlog.org, July 25, 2015; [http://www.asianamericanfilmlab.com/72-hour-shootout/ "72-hour-shootout"], Asian American Film Lab, July 25, 2015, accessed August 3, 2015</ref><ref name=Nominee>[http://www.asamnews.com/2015/07/29/behind-the-scenes-with-actress-lia-chang/ "Playing Hide and Seek with Actress Lia Chang"], Asamnews.com, July 29, 2015; [https://liachang.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/hide-and-seek-final-copy.jpg ''Hide and Seek'' poster, showing awards], Bev's Girl Films, accessed August 8, 2015</ref> She is included in Joann Faung Jean Lee's 2000 book ''Asian American Actors: Oral histories from stage, screen, and television''.<ref name=Faung/>
;Selected filmography
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto align=left"
|! '''Year''' ||!! '''Title''' ||!! '''Role''' ▼
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="left"
▲| '''Year''' || '''Title''' || '''Role'''
|-
| 1985 || ''[[The Last Dragon]] ''|| ''Girl Student''
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==Photography==
Chang studied photography at the [[International Center of Photography]].<ref name=ChangAbout/> Since the 1980s, she has built a corpus of photographs of persons of color in the arts.<ref name=Getting/><ref name=Photos>Benson, Heidi. [http://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/summer-2014-apocalypse/enter-gotanda-ground-breaking-playwright-becomes-ground "Enter Gotanda: Ground-breaking Playwright Becomes a Ground-breaking Professor"], California Magazine, Summer, 2014; and Clement, Olivia.[http://www.playbill.com/news/article/victory-gardens-new-play-festival-to-feature-solo-show-by-andr-de-shields-350298 "Victory Gardens' New Play Festival to Feature Solo Show by André De Shields"], playbill.com, June 01, 2015; Chai, Barbara. [httphttps://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/10/10/why-david-henry-hwang-wrote-chinglish/ "Why David Henry Hwang Wrote ''Chinglish''"], ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', October 10, 2011, accessed August 1, 2015; Combs, Marianne. [http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/05/13/mcknight-foundation-honors-theater-mus-rick-shiomi- "McKnight Foundation honors Mu Performing Arts' Rick Shiomi"], mprnews.com, May 14, 2015; Piepenburg, Erik. [httphttps://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/theater/in-new-york-everywhere-a-writing-nook.html?_r=0 "In New York, Everywhere a Writing Nook"], ''The New York Times'', April 9, 2015; Reid, Kerry. [http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/November-2013/Staging-a-Second-Act/ " How Chay Yew Made Victory Gardens Feel New Again"], ''[[Chicago Magazine]]'', November 4, 2013; Hebert, James. [http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2014/mar/21/old-globe-theatre-richard-thomas-othello-vania/ "Globe taps Richard Thomas for 'Othello'"] ''The San Diego Union Tribune'', March 21, 2014</ref> In 1995, Chang was commissioned by the [[Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance|APALA]] to produce a photo essay, "Asian Pacific Americans in the Workforce". In 1996, she received a Murray and Isabella Rayburn Foundation Grant to produce three additional sets of related photos for her first solo exhibition, also titled "Asian Pacific Americans in the Workforce", which were on view for [[Asian Pacific American Heritage Month]] at the [[Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives]] at [[New York University]]'s [[Bobst Library]];<ref name=Yellowbridge/> and in Washington D.C. at the National AFL-CIO Headquarters, [[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]], and the [[U.S. Department of Justice]].<ref>"Photojournalist’s Exhibit on 'Asian Pacific Americans in the Workforce' on Display: Lia Chang's series is on view at four sites on the East Coast, including the U.S. Department of Justice," Rafu Shimpo, May 18, 1996</ref> In 2001, the West Charleston Library of [[Las Vegas-Clark County Library District]] in [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]], featured a retrospective of Chang’s work in "Asian Americans: At Home in the Galaxy", a multi-component exhibition which included Notable Asian Americans who have broken boundaries and have carved unique paths to success in their specialized field and "Asian Pacific Americans in the Workforce", ordinary women and men of diverse Asian/Pacific ancestry, working in a variety of fields and occupations. The third component included a fabric book art installation piece called "Coming to America" which detailed her grandmother’s experience of being detained at the [[Angel Island Immigration Station]].<ref>"Eye Openers: Asian Americans: At Home in the Galaxy", ''The Las Vegas Review Journal'', May 4, 2001.</ref>
Chang’s photographs are in the permanent collections of the Angel Island Immigration Station, [[Asian American Federation of New York]], [[Edna McConnell Clark Foundation]], the [[New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation]] Art Collection and the [[New York Historical Society]].<ref name=ChangAbout>Chang, Lia. [https://liachang.wordpress.com/about/ "About Lia"], ''Backstage Pass with Lia Chang'', accessed August 4, 2015</ref> Her portraits of notable Chinese Americans can be seen at the [[Chinese American Museum]] in Los Angeles, the [[Museum of Chinese in America]] in New York, the [[Chinese Historical Society of America]] in [[San Francisco]] (portraits of New York's Chinatown after 9/11), and the [[Japanese American National Museum]] in Los Angeles.<ref name=ChangExhibitsPublications>Chang, Lia. [https://liachang.wordpress.com/awards-exhibitions-and-published-work/ "Awards, Exhibitions and Published Work"], ''Backstage Pass with Lia Chang'', accessed August 5, 2015</ref>
In 2010, the "Lia Chang Theater Photography and Other Works Portfolio" was established in the Asian Pacific American Performing Arts Collection housed in the [[Library of Congress]].<ref>[httphttps://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2011/11-133.html "New Anthology of Asian American Plays Is Subject of Book Talk July 27"], Library of Congress, July 15, 2011, accessed July 31, 2015</ref> In 2011, ''In Rehearsal'', a display of 36 photographs drawn from that Portfolio were on view in the Asian Division Reading Room at the Library of Congress,<ref>[http://dc.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-Library-of-Congress-IN-REHEARSAL-Exhibit-20110726 "Photo Flash: Library of Congress' ''In Rehearsal'' Exhibit"], Broadwayworld.com, July 26, 2011, accessed August 6, 2015</ref> and her "Portraits of New York Chinatown After 9/11" were featured in a Post 9-11 Commemorative Display for the 10th Anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center.<ref>Lapid, Robin. [http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2011/09/remembering-911-events-and-resource-guide "Remembering 9/11: An Events and Resource Guide"], ''[[Hyphen (magazine)|Hyphen]]'' magazine', September 9, 2011, accessed August 4, 2015</ref> In 2015, in ''[[Playbill]]'', Laura Heywood picked Chang for her top ten list of "Most Useful Theatre Women on Social Media", writing: "Whether it's a live performance, on a red carpet, or behind the scenes at an awards show or opening night, Lia seems to always capture a moment of perfect realness between a star's planned poses. I always feel like I know the subjects more intimately than I did before viewing her photos."<ref>Heywood, Laura. [http://playbill.com/news/article/retweet-broadwaygirlnycs-picks-for-most-useful-theatre-women-on-social-media-355230 "Retweet! BroadwayGirlNYC's Picks For Most Useful Theatre Women on Social Media"], ''Playbill'', July 31, 2015</ref>
Portraits from Chang's Asian American Pioneer Series are published in ''Chinese Americans: The Immigration Experience'' (2000) by Peter Kwong and Dusanka Miscevic.<ref>Kwong, ''passim''. Portraits include [[Ang Lee]], [[David Henry Hwang]], [[Yeohlee]], [[David Chu (designer)|David Chu]], [[Maxine Hong Kingston]] and [[Ti-Hua Chang]].</ref> Portraits by Chang have been published in several other books.<ref name=ChangExhibitsPublications/> A photograph by Chang appeared on the book cover for ''But Still Like Air'' (2010) by Velina Houston.<ref>Houston, Velina. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3RCMjVFYpmEC&pg=PA515 "About the Contributors"], ''But Still Like Air'', Temple University Press (2010), p. 515 {{ISBN |1439906122}}</ref> Her photographs have also appeared in such publications as ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]], [[Women’s Wear Daily]], [[The Paris Review]], [[TV Guide]], [[Daily Variety]], [[Interior Design (magazine)|Interior Design]], [[American Theatre (magazine)|American Theatre]], [[Washington Post]]'', ''[[BackBackstage Stage(magazine)|Backstage]]'', ''[[New York Magazine]]'', ''[[Playbill.com]]'', ''Theater Mania'', ''[[USA Today]]'', ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[San Diego Union-Tribune]]'', ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', ''[[MinnPost]]'', ''[[The Independent Weekly]]'', ''[[The Villager (Manhattan)|The Villager]]'', ''[[Windy City Times]]'', ''[[MPR News]]'', ''[[Chicago Magazine]]'', ''[[Boston.com]]'' and ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.<!-- THE FOLLOWING REFS COVER ALL THE PUBLICATIONS LISTED INTHIS SENTENCE. --><ref name=PhotosChangAbout/><ref name=ChangAboutPhotos/><ref>Tran, Diep. [http://www.backstage.com/review/ny-theater/off-off-broadway/knock-me-a-kiss/ "Knock Me a Kiss"], ''[[BackBackstage Stage(magazine)|Backstage]]'', November 22, 2010, accessed August 1, 2015; Kachka, Boris. [http://nymag.com/arts/theater/features/55479/ "The Impressionist: André De Shields"], ''New York'' magazine, March 22, 2009, accessed August 1, 2015; Clement, Olivia. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/victory-gardens-new-play-festival-to-feature-solo-show-by-andr-de-shields-350298 "Victory Gardens' New Play Festival to Feature Solo Show by André De Shields"], ''Playbill'', June 1, 2015; [http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/05-2014/cori-thomas-and-daniella-topol-to-participate-in-t_68671.html "Cori Thomas and Daniella Topol to Participate in Talkback for ''When January Feels Like Summer''"], TheaterMania.com, May 27, 2014, accessed August 1, 2015; Freydkin, Donna. [http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-08-07-sarah-jessica-parker_N.htm "A sniff of 'Sex,' a spray of success for Sarah Jessica Parker"], ''USA Today'', August 8, 2007, accessed August 1, 2015; Wada, Karen. [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/08/bd-wong-plays-favorites-in-herringbone.html "BD Wong Plays Favorites in ''Herringbone''"], August 1, 2009, accessed August 1, 2015; Espeland, Pamela. [https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2015/05/couldnt-keep-media-all-over-mn-orchestra-cuba-trip-mondale-collection-northern-clay "Couldn't keep up? Media all over MN Orchestra Cuba trip; Mondale Collection at Northern Clay"], ''MinnPost'', May 19, 2015; Ariail, Kate Dobbs. [http://www.indyweek.com/artery/archives/2014/04/24/theater-review-playmakers-hold-these-truths "Theater review: ''PlayMakers' Hold These Truths''"], ''[[The Independent Weekly]]'', April 24, 2014, accessed August 1, 2015; Stiffler, Scott. [http://thevillager.com/2014/01/23/generating-black-theater-for-todays-generation/ "Generating ‘black theater’ for today’s generation"], January 23, 2014, accessed August 1, 2015; Morgan, Scott C. [http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Talking-with-Victory-Gardens-Chay-Yew/35928.html "Talking with Victory Gardens' Chay Yew"], ''[[Windy City Times]]'', February 1, 2012, accessed August 1, 2015; and English, Bella. [http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2009/09/04/andre_de_shields_is_a_one_man_history_lesson/ "A one-man history lesson"], Boston.com, September 4, 2009, accessed August 1, 2015</ref>
==Journalism==
Chang studied film and communications at [[Hunter College]].<ref name=ChangAbout/> She is an [[Asian American Journalists Association]] Executive Leadership Graduate (2000), a Western Knight Fellow at USC's Annenberg College of Communications for Specialized Journalism on Entertainment Journalism in the Digital Age (2000), a [[National Press Photographers Association]] Visual Edge/Visual Journalism Fellow at the [[Poynter Institute]] for New Media (2001), a [[Scripps Howard]] New Media Fellow at the [[Columbia Graduate School of Journalism]] (2002),<ref name=Lens>[http://v1.asianconnections.com/community/events/2002/05/22/lia.chang.exhibit/ "Through the Lens of Lia Chang"], AsianConnections.com, May 2002, accessed August 3, 2015</ref> and a [[National Tropical Botanical Garden]] Environmental Journalism Fellow (2003).<ref name=ChangAbout/>
She was a syndicated columnist for KYODO News, writing about arts and entertainment in her "What’sWhat's Hot in New York" column from 1995-20041995–2004.<ref name=ChangAbout/> In 1997 ''Avenue Asia'' magazine named Chang as one of the "One Hundred Most Influential Asian Americans".<ref name=Yellowbridge/> In 2000, she received an [[Organization of Chinese Americans]] Chinese American Journalist Award for an article entitled, "An Active Vision"," which detailed the life of her mother, Beverly Umehara, a secretary and mother of four, who became a labor activist and president of the national executive board of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance.<ref name=JDANG/> In 2001, she received the [[Asian American Journalists Association]] 2001 National Award for New Media for an article she wrote about her grandmother’s harrowing journey through the Angel Island Immigration Station.<ref name=Lens/>
Chang is an editor and writer for AsianConnections.com,<ref>Joe Kai, Suzanne. [http://www.asianconnections.com/about-us "About us"], AsianConnections.com, accessed August 5, 2015; [http://v1.asianconnections.com/life/features/2002/08/30/recovering.chinatown/ "Documenting a Community on the Brink, New York Chinatown Post-September 11"], AsianConnections.com, 2002, accessed July 31, 2015</ref> Arts and Entertainment reporter for AsAmNews.com<ref>[http://www.asamnews.com/tag/lia-chang/ "Posts by Tag: Lia Chang"], AsAmNews.com, accessed August 8, 2015</ref> and an arts reviewer for ''All Digitocracy''.<ref>Chang, Lia. [http://alldigitocracy.org/inside-china-through-the-looking-glass-at-the-met-part-2/ "Inside ''China: Through the Looking Glass'' at The Met, Part 2"], ''All Digitocracy'', May 26, 2015</ref> She maintains a blog about the arts, culture, style and Asian American issues, ''Backstage Pass with Lia Chang''.<ref>Chang, Lia. [https://liachang.wordpress.com/lia-chang-articles-archive/ "Articles by Lia Chang Archive"], ''Backstage Pass with Lia Chang'', accessed August 5, 2015</ref>
==Awards and honors==
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==Sources==
{{cite book |title= Chinese Americans: The Immigrant Experience by [[Peter Kwong (academic)|Peter Kwong]] and Dusanka Miscevic |year=2000 |isbn= 978-0-88363-128-7|last1=Mišṙevir̈ |first1=Duanka Duana |last2=Miscevic |first2=Dusanka |last3=Kwong |first3=Peter }}
*{{cite book|last=Lee|first=Joann Faung Jean|title=Asian American Actors: Oral Histories from Stage, Screen, and Television|publisher=McFarland|year=2000|isbn=0786407301|chapter=Aspiring Actors|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/asianamericanact00leej}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [{{Official website|http://liachang.yolasite.com/ Official website]}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0151762}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Lia}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]▼
[[Category:American people of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American women journalists]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from San Francisco, California]]
▲[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American women photographers]]
[[Category:AmericanPhotographers photographersfrom San Francisco]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]