Theatre Maker
Zinc Tong (they/them) is a theatrical director, scenographer, producer, performer and teaching artist based in New York City.
As a queer liberationist, Zinc devotes themselves in crafting mission-oriented new work that are subversive and audacious, as well as exquisite and sensitive. Their work are both political and personal, and they love getting their hands on the intersection of our identities through the most personal lens possible. Past work include queer coming of age, mother & daughter relationship, generational trauma on self-expression, etc.
As a director and a scenographer, Zinc specializes in telling stories from a multi-sensorial perspective, including set and sound design, immersive experience, as well as meta theatre devising. Zinc is a collaborative maker who emphasizes a great deal on collective ownership, equity and representation of truth in the rehearsal process. They see themselves as a guide and supporter who’s there to help create the collective and uplift the ensemble’s story.
Evolutionist
The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don't see.
- James Baldwin.
必须敢于正视，这才可望敢想、敢说、敢做、敢当。
- 鲁迅
As an artist, I create to make people conscious of the hidden truth that there is a huge power imbalance in this world that deserves to be better. I invite people to dare to see, to think, to speak, to act, and to be held accountable. I uplift those with lesser voice, and subvert those with too much voice.
I make theatre in the same way writers write, soldiers fight, politicians speak, painters paint. My theatre incorporates all of them in one form. My voice. My people’s voice.
I ought to always use my voice, Always speak out. That, is the real consciousness that I will never lose. The consciousness of a Chinese queer soul.
Friend
“Zinc” was born in Hefei, Anhui Province, China, and spent their first 18 years immersed in traditional Chinese education, namely math, physics, Chinese history, communist politics and so on. Once in a while, they got to watch BBC drama and Hollywood films as their only way of taking a peek at western culture. Their love for sci-fi, detectives, superheroes provides Zinc with a sanctuary place, where they can be themself; and it also opens a window to the outside world, an adventure that has been so enticing to Zinc since then.
From very early on, Zinc is aware of their non-binary gender identity, which has led them to go though countless struggles but also empowered them at the same time. As Zinc experiences their gender (dis)euphoria, they come to the realization of the liminal state they exist in, which involves their gender, cultural, national, and ideological sense of being all at once.
It’s these continue learnings and unlearnings that bring Zinc into the world of theatre. In storytelling, they’re interested in exploring the dynamic between the world and the marginalized communities (QTBIPOC+ and Neurodivergent). They believe that to see one’s story play out on stage or screen is the best way of receiving affirmation and acknowledgement. Zinc experienced that in their early age, so they want to give back to the communities through dedicating themself in telling the stories of the less seen and heard.