Pearl’s Beauty Salon
by Stefani Kuo
Directed by Mina MOrita
Carlotta Play Festival – May 2024
Pearl’s Beauty Salon is a love letter to Hong Kong. Maru is visiting Pearl’s Beauty Salon for her first Brazilian wax when she falls into the rabbit hole of what Hong Kong is to her – through history, fantasy, memory, nostalgia, and interrogations of colonialism, identity, ownership, and belonging, Maru takes us on an emotional journey in Pearl’s Beauty Salon through three different eras. This play moves in concentric circles: from Hong Kong to Continental Wax Land, USA, to the artifice of theatre, the audience is asked to question, participate, and engage with the constantly changing tides, as Maru does throughout the play.
CREATIVE
Production Consultant: Jisun Kim
Scenic Designer: Patrick Blanchard
Costume Designer: Caroline Tyson
Lighting Designer: Ankit Pandey
Composer & Sound Designer: Tojo Rasedoara
Projection Designer: Christian Killada
Technical Director: Cian Jaspar Freeman
Production Dramaturg: Shyama Iyer
Intimacy Director: Kelsey Rainwater
Stage Manager: Aura Michelle
CAST
Bells: Caroline Campos
Christine/Dramaturg: Shimali De Silva
Pearl/Edna: Wai Ching Ho
Dad: Kenneth Lee
Maru: Sarah Lo
FatCheeks: Emma Steiner
Production Photos by T. Charles Erickson
