the korean drama addict’s guide to losing your virginity

She’s a Hmong personality coach addicted to Korean Dramas (Korean soap operas). He’s the heir to a Korean manufacturing giant banished to the new Midwest office. Will she find a man before the magic hour of her 30th birthday? Will he buck tradition and embrace his musical dreams? Fantasy collides with reality in this romantic comedy about fate, cultural clashes, and the art of losing one’s virginity.

Premiered at Theater Mu to a sold-out run.

hmong-lao friendship play /lao-hmong friendship play

Co-Written with Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay

Directed by Scotty Gunderson

How did the daughter of a provincial governor and the daughter of a buffalo-riding gangster become BFFs? The Friendship Play (also known as Hmong-Lao/Lao-Hmong Friendship Play) is a comedy-turned accidental musical about playwrights, foodies, and real-life BFFs May Lee-Yang (a Hmong refugee) and Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay (a Lao refugee).  Set to the backdrop of karaoke music and Little House on the Prairie fantasies, Lee-Yang and Vongsay hack their way through stories about refugee life, American pop culture, and empowering their brethren through the Hot Asian Man project.

cONFESSIONS OF A LAZY HMONG WOMAN

A lazy Hmong woman is not supposed to exist. A lazy Hmong woman is like a vegan omelet, a virgin Long Island Iced Tea, or perhaps a poor person of color who is a Republican. But just as these things exist, so does a lazy Hmong woman. This performance piece charts one woman’s journey as she discovers The Rules for Being Good Hmong Girl, how to balance being a feminist and having a relationship with a Hmong man, as well as lessons learned from the not-so-lazy women in her life.   

CONFESSIONS OF A LAZY HMONG WOMAN is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund project co-commissioned by OutNorth Theater in partnership with Kaotic Good Productions and NPN. It has been toured to sites including OutNorth Theater (Anchorage, AK), Intermedia Arts (Minneapolis, MN), University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, MN), the Minnesota Fringe Festival (Minneapolis, MN), St. Cloud State University (St. Cloud, MN), and others. 

ten reasons why i’d be a bad porn star

In "Ten Reasons Why I’d Be a Bad Porn Star", May Lee-Yang employs comedic storytelling, on-site sex toy demonstrations, and some cultural competency training as she explores marriage, porn, romance novel fantasies, and how to talk about sex in the Hmong culture (a definite no-no).  

TEN REASONS WHY I'D BE A BAD PORN STAR was originally developed through and featured at the Illusion Theater's Light's Up Series. It was also featured at the 2011 National Asian American Theater Festival in Los Angeles, CA and the 2011 Minnesota Fringe Festival.