Visiting artist premieres one-of-a-kind work

“Undesirable Elements,” a performance created and directed by award-winning artist-in-residence Ping Chong, will be presented March 22-23.

Sponsored by the Arts Institute, performances are scheduled in the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space, Lathrop Hall, 1050 University Ave. Tickets are on sale at the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office, 800 Langdon St., (608) 262-2201 ($8 general, $5 students).

“Undesirable Elements” is an ongoing series of works by Ping Chong exploring the effects of history, race and culture on the lives of individuals. The performance is different and community-specific each time, with a script created from the participants’ own words and histories as told to Chong.

The Madison version includes university students, staff, and community members — none of whom are professional actors — from a variety of backgrounds including Pabitra Benjamin, a Nepali UW–Madison undergraduate; Angel Francisco Castelán Torres, a Mexican UW–Madison staff member; Qoua Her, a Hmong high school student; Claudia Tatinge Nascimento, a Brazilian UW–Madison graduate student; David Douglas Smith, a community member from Texas; and Yan Xu, a Chinese community member.

Chong, an award-winning theater director and performance-maker, is an Arts Institute interdisciplinary artist in residence this spring. In addition to directing “Undesirable Elements,” Chong is teaching a course entitled, “Vampires, Doppelgangers and Aliens — Resident and Otherwise.”