Before their birth, I didn’t dive too deeply into writing about my identity—cultural or otherwise—beyond the movies, music, and comic books that I loved growing up. He holds a BA in English language and literature. Don’t worry, I’ll be back! Minneapolis, MN 55406-1099 Okay, let us now go back through time a bit. So Nguyen created Vietgone as an antidote to the “white savior” tale. Most of us still remember Qui Nguyen, the man who took the WSOP 2016 Main Event by storm, claiming the historic victory in a very tough competition. Will we see more of you in the future at the tables or do you see your life taking a different direction? However, you haven’t been around that much since your big victory. LISTEN NOW. I reveal all my secrets in the book, so go buy it! Reencountering Qui Nguyen’s “Vietgone” in the new East West Players production, I am struck once again by the originality of the playwriting. We’ve mentioned your new book that just came out, entitled From Vietnam to Vegas! In your new book, describing your Main Event journey, you mention No Limit $5/10 games that only allowed for a maximum buy-in of $100 at the time. And I think that that’s personally something that’s very relevant to what I’m going through in my own life right now. I used to gamble a lot, play a lot of baccarat – you don’t have to think to play that game. Director/Playwright Interview. I feel like I have been given a huge gift/opportunity here, and I want to do good with it. From Platoon (1986) to the Rambo series (1982–2008) to Miss Saigon (1989), “the main protagonist is always a white guy going to Vietnam and [the] Vietnamese are the bad guys being shot at or they are the people who need saving,” said playwright Qui Nguyen in a 2016 Rolling Stone interview. What did you feel when that final card hit the felt and you knew you had just become the next world champion? May Adrales and Qui Nguyen talk about the inspiration for the play and their collaboration. Again, it’s not going to be about you though.” Which of course was a complete lie. Now, in my thirties, I’m finding a new mission alongside my old one: to change the narrative of the Vietnamese paradigm, to illuminate their stories, but most importantly to bring the sex appeal of my Vampire Cowboys work into the work I’m now writing about my own cultural background. I always worry that when you come to see a Qui play you have a certain expectation about what I’m doing. So we make a great team together. Steve:  I predicted Qui would win the Main Event on my website AdvancedPokerTraining.com, and PokerNews covered the story, and it got a lot of hits. That’s why it was a great pleasure for us here at Beat The Fish to be able to briefly talk to Mr. Nguyen and his friend Steve Blay. In the interview, we asked the champ about his new book that was written in cooperation with Mr. Blay and used this opportunity to ask many other questions we believed our readers would be interested in. It’s not often that a romantic comedy picks a war as a setting, but MTC’s Vietgone does just that, setting the love story between Quang (Raymond Lee) and Tong (Jennifer Ikeda) in an Arizona refugee camp during the Vietnam War. "They aren't perfect, but I've been pretty happy with ACR overall. Today, more than a year later, how are these plans coming along? How come – there must have been numerous sponsorship offers? April 4, 2017 VIETGONE receives 3 Lucille Lortel noms including for Outstanding Play November 30, 2016 Episode 108 of SYFY'S INCORPORATED written by Qui Nguyen & Patrick Moss set to air January 18, 2017. How I Won the World Series of Poker Main Event (Amazon link). “Qui and I were always plotting to hatch a project together,” says Castañeda. I’m currently working on a five-play cycle about my parents’ marriage and immigration to the States beginning in 1975. An interview with Qui Nguyen The Playwrights' Center's 2014-15 Ruth Easton New Play Series continues January 12 and 13 with Dust, a new play by Core Writer Qui Nguyen. So they’re all trying to hide these secrets, trying to be something that they’re not. Back to poker – you’ve always said that, while the math plays a role in your game, you’re much more of a feel player who plays the opponent more than anything else. 10:50. (Driver, at the theater for this interview, always comes in through a different door and so was unaware of Vader’s spectral presence.) When Qui heard about it, he called me up and flew me out to Las Vegas to join his team. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for updates. Growing up in Saigon… it was really rough. In a 2017 interview with American Theatre, playwright Qui Nguyen says, “Everyone deserves a chance to see themselves on stage. So while I love the game, I wouldn’t recommend it! watch video >> More than 30 years ago, the war in Vietnam shattered Nguyen Qui Duc's childhood. The mom is having a current affair with her old lover. It certainly made you stand out from the crowd even before you won? And the rest is history! Qui:  The book tells the story from my point of view, and I review over 170 hands from the final table. How can you not like these guys? Episode 6 BOY FACTORY by Milo Cramer. When they talk about East Main Diner, that’s my mom’s diner. I also feel like the “theatrical-ness” that I usually employ isn’t present yet. I bought him a new house with a pool, which is what he always wanted. An interview with Qui Nguyen, the WSOP 2016 Main Event winner, talking about his victory, his latest book "From Vietnam to Vegas!" Episode 5 NIGHTNIGHT by Lucas Hnath. Although I had an opportunity to read about it in your book, I must ask for our readers – what was the significance of the famous raccoon hat? But I also have some other businesses I might want to start. Steve, you predicted Qui would win the Main Event? Qui Nguyen is a playwright, screenwriter, and co-founder of the OBIE Award-winning Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company of NYC. With Vietgone, I … Sometimes they show other nervous habits. It’s both the blessing and the curse of having people who follow my work closely and want to see it. Can you tell us what readers can expect to find inside the book and about the cooperation with Mr. Blay? Maybe so! Qui Nguyen, a native of Vietnam, defeated professional Gordon Vayo with a pair of kings on the 364th hand of the final table during the nine-hour heads-up session. Qui, when you won the Main Event in 2016, many of us believed this could be huge for poker. When do I get to see it?” That’s definitely motivating. Steve Blay gives his commentary on every hand, from a math and poker game theory standpoint. Lately she’s definitely appearing more and more in my work. I wear a lot of “animals” on my clothing — jaguars, tigers, snakes.  It intimidates my opponents. You can’t beat that game! It’s inspired by a New York Times article I read years ago about Amer-Asians and the number of “leftover children” that have grown up in Vietnam since the war’s end. I had the exciting opportunity to speak to Qui Nguyen of Vampire Cowboys about his recent production Soul Samurai , a blaxploitation, kung fu, vampire story featuring a lesbian protagonist and a whole lot of awesome. It’s not about you, I swear. Ivan first started playing poker in 2006 and played professionally from 2010-2013. Qui: I can’t even describe that feeling. Interview: Qui Nguyen of Vampire Cowboys Earlier this year, Vampire Cowboys was nominated for a GLAAD Media award for Soul Samurai. Castañeda was the artistic associate at Atlantic Theater Company, while Nguyen was writing for his downtown theater company, Vampire Cowboys. As well as my entire family. Qui Nguyen is one of the very few who have managed to reach the highest rung of the tournament ladder, winning the most coveted prize of all – the WSOP Main Event.Nguyen became poker’s world champion in 2016, and Somuchpoker decided to catch up with him for an interview, to see where his life is one year later.. Qui Nguyen – Photo Jayne Furman – Courtesy WSOP For now, I am still enjoying life, and especially spending a lot of time with my son Kyle. I plan to open a Vietnamese Restaurant, just for the experience. Tran takes over the role from Canadian actress Cassie Steele. I have to make it bigger, bolder, find different angles that they haven’t seen.” So it’s both pressuring and motivating. But, ultimately, I think it’s all good for my work in the long run. When someone is weak, you’ll know it. 'Vietgone': A Sex Comedy About Mom, Dad And Refugee Camps : Code Switch Playwright Qui Nguyen's latest work tells the story of how his parents met in … The theatre department has been hard at work on their upcoming virtual production of She Kills Monsters, Virtual Realms, which is set to premiere Friday, October 30 at 8 p.m. on YouTube.. She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms is a play by Qui Nguyen that tells the story of Agnes Evans as she copes with the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. The tournaments are big and I play fast fold all the time since they added it to mobile. What did your poker career look like after you moved to the States? There’s a specific narrative that people are comfortable with telling about the Vietnamese people, and it dawned on me that maybe this is my new mission as an artist. When I was in my twenties, I was driven to tell all these geeky stories of sci-fi battles and zombie attacks and samurai showdowns—to make theater for those who don’t go to theater. But it’s also fun and exciting, because you go through quick up and down swings. Qui, Quang insists, is Vietnamese, and just being born and growing up in America doesn’t change that. I think when I was much younger it was definitely the writers I was reading and seeing on the big stages, but now it’s more the people that I’m always in the room with, hanging out with, sharing coffees with, than the people that I used to look up to. That last day was such a marathon, it was 3 A.M., maybe 4 A.M. when I finally won? But there’s also the pressure of, “I have to live up to what I did before. But I will be back! If you are Deaf or hard of hearing, please email us to request access to episode scripts. Check out Director of New Work Ilana Brownstein’s great interview with playwright Qui Nguyen, in front of a live audience! The thing that interests me in Dust is the face that we want to show the world versus who we really are when we’re alone. So then they started telling me stories, because they didn’t feel like they were the ones under the microscope. You’ve mentioned on several occasions that your background helped you become a poker player you are today? Really honored to do this with Qui and Steve and wish them the best of luck with the new book. His plays include Vietgone (2016 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, 2016 LADCC Tim Schmitt Award, 2016 Edward M. Kennedy Prize finalist); War is F**king Awesome (Frederick Loewe Award); She Kills Monsters (2014 AATE Distinguished Play Award, 2012 … Episode 4 OUTTAKES by Qui Nguyen. I had to use my instincts to survive, every day. And I had to be tough, like a warrior. I first discovered poker when I was living in Alaska. When I first asked them about their lives, they were really hesitant to tell me any of it. So those are the two things that I’ll focus on in the workshop: character story and theatricality. 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