MARLBORO — Theater artist and storyteller Leng Wong will bring her original piece 99 Facts About an Immigrant to The Colonel Williams Inn Saturday, Oct. 19, in a fundraiser for the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP).
Leng emigrated from China at a young age and is based in Austin, Texas, where she founded Lucky Chaos Productions and the People of Color Comedy Festival. 99 Facts was born from her experiences leading what she calls her double (or triple) life:
“Who you are at home, who you are at work, who you are shopping in a mainstream store, who you are shopping in your local 'ethnic' grocery store, etc.,” she explained in a news release.
Nominated multiple times for the Austin B. Iden Payne theater awards for her work in Stop Kiss and for her portrayal of Yoshiko in the award-winning play “The Feather House,” Leng has also appeared in independent films, commercials, and a television show, writing and performing personal works.
“Being an artist is about putting your soul out there, in spite of all the fears and doubts because it's those fears and doubts that make us human and compel us to create,” she said. “The goal of 99 Facts is to encourage the discussion of the small within communities, the mundane and sometimes boring stories of the individual behind the political status of 'immigrant.'”
Leng's performance will benefit the current six families of asylum seekers who are dealing with their own fears and doubts as they seek a safe haven in southern Vermont with the help of CASP volunteers.
CASP provides them with basic needs by finding host homes, supporting them with food, shelter, and other daily needs, assisting them in navigating the asylum claim process, and helping them achieve eventual independence.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the performance at 8 p.m. Generous hors d'oeuvres will be served, and there will be a cash bar. Coffee, cookies, and a discussion of how to help those seeking asylum will follow the performance.
There will be a raffle of a photographic triptych by local photographer Brent Seabrook and a two-night stay at The Colonel Williams Inn.