Smelling “American” with Penelope Lowder and Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay
In this month’s hilarious episode of Writers Revealed, we hear from two prolific LA writers, Penelope Lowder & Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay, about how family, history, and culture affects our writing and vice versa. Also, there’s a lot of Jean Nate. Moderated by EDI coordinator & facilitator, L. Trey Wilson.
This Month
Penelope Lowder reads outloud from her book, ‘Three Seconds of Hell’ entitled ‘Sixth Floor Showdown’ which takes a look at how colorism is rooted in hatred and can lead to violence
Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay reads out loud from a collection of her own poems.
L. Trey discusses how each of the writer’s work really embodied their own share culture, both the good and the bad
Both writers discuss their experience with generational trauma and how their parents played important roles in their lives
Penelope discusses how her parents connected her to her shared history and culture at a young age. She also talks about how she feels called to share this information with the world.
Saymoukda discusses the power of laughter and how it helps BIPOC through trauma
Everyone discusses…
How racism is used as a weapon by most
How BIPOC use racism against other BIPOC as a trauma response
The places where people feel comfortable
Colorism and skin whitening creams
Saymoukda discusses how community and writing helped her deal with generational trauma
Penelope discusses how the pandemic turned a lot of her writing to the darker side. She discusses how a lot of her stories and characters lost hope. She turned to comedies to help get herself out of the funk.
Saymoukda discusses how the pandemic gave her a lot more inspiration and led her to writing more than she ever had
Both writers discuss their journeys into writing
Saymoukda talks about her organization the Faulk, an organization dedicated to giving a platform to Asian women
“I think all the immigrant families had [Jean Nate], because for my family that was like, ‘Oh, okay. We wanna smell American. Here’s how we do it. We, we splash ourself with this nasty smelling thing.’”
Pieces Read
Excerpt from “Three Seconds of Hell” by Penelope Lowder
Excerpts from a collection of Saymoukda’s poems
Penelope
Lowder
Playwright, screenwriter, and novelist
Penelope Lowder (@lowderpenelope) is a force to be reckoned with. She is a playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Her past on stage productions include 15 Minutes, The Follicle Prison War, and WEST ADAMS: which was selected as an LA Times Critics Choice! Her debut novel, Three Seconds of Hell, looks at her own father’s experiences in a 1950’s motorcycle gang.
Penelope was commissioned by Lower Depth Theatre to writer a 10-minute play, UNIT HOPE JUST WANTS TO VOTE, as part of our BIPOC Voting Plays in Oct. 2020.
With established relationships at CTG, Skylight, and SkyLAB, we are beyond proud to continue working alongside Penelope here at Lower Depth Theatre. We know her mission and vision will take her far. Welcome back Penelope!
Learn more about Penelope’s work here:
Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay
Playwright
Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay (@refugenius). Hailing all the way from Lao, Saymoukda is a “revolutionary” as quoted by CNN’s W. Kamau Bell. She is best known for her award winning play KUNG FU ZOMBIES VS CANNIBALS. Her first children’s book entitled WHEN EVERYTHING WAS EVERYTHING details her own experience in America as a refugee. She writes about ESL Classes and food stamps as a love letter to survivors who have also lost their homeland.
Saymoukda is currently an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence at Theater Mu, a McKnight Foundation Fellow in Community- Engaged Art, and a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow in playwright.
Check out more of her work here: