This in-person event featured a fireside chat with playwright David Henry Hwang and actor BD Wong, followed by valuable career advice from experienced and successful Asian Americans in different fields within the arts and entertainment industry.

During the networking session, there were multiple advisor tables hosted by experienced Asian American professionals. Participants received the advisor list in advance and chose tables that aligned with their interests, moving freely between them throughout the session.

From 5 PM to 6 PM, China Institute of America opened their new exhibition “The Dancing Goddess: Mei Lanfang in America” to event attendees, celebrating the legendary Peking opera star’s historic 1930 U.S. trip, which was sponsored by China Institute of America.

This format created unique opportunities to explore arts and entertainment careers with seasoned practitioners and build meaningful connections. Discussions were frank and informative. Advisors responded directly to participant questions and shared personal insights about their functional area, including both the upsides and the downsides.

We hope this event was particularly valuable for those just beginning or early-to-mid stages of their careers, helping them refine their career planning, overcome obstacles, and accelerate their professional growth.

David Henry Hwang
Playwright, Librettist, Screenwriter
Obie and Tony Award Winner

David Henry Hwang is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays “FOB,” “Golden Child,” and “Yellow Face.” He has one Tony Award (“M. Butterfly”) and three other nominations (“Golden Child,” “Flower Drum Song,” and “Yellow Face”), as well as a Grammy Award (“Ainadamar”) and one other nomination (“Soft Power”). Three of his works (“M. Butterfly,” “Yellow Face,” and “Soft Power”) have been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

BD Wong
American Actor and Activist

BD Wong won the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Theater World Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and Tony Award for his Broadway debut in “M. Butterfly.” Other Broadway includes the revivals of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” and “Pacific Overtures.” Off-Broadway and regional includes Atlantic Theater, Drama Dept., La Jolla Playhouse, American Conservatory Theater, Williamstown Theater Festival, McCarter Theater, The Public Theater.

He has appeared in more than 20 feature films, including “Bird Box,” “Focus,” “Seven Years in Tibet,” 4 “Jurassic” films, 2 “Mulan” films, and 2″Father of the Bride” films. On television, he has been featured on “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens,” “Mr. Robot” (Emmy and Critics’ Choice Award nominations), “American Horror Story: Apocalypse,” “Gotham,” 11 seasons of “Law & Order: SVU,” “Oz,” and “All-American Girl.”