Tourist Trap

Grace, Deborah, and Shu-Ling are tourists on a mission to find the world's largest Applebee's before it gets too late. However, as they grow delirious with hunger and exhaustion, they struggle to find meaning in their own lives as the whirlwind of Times Square becomes otherworldly and strange. In the midst of the city that never sleeps, they end up confronting their own varying degrees of disassociation as Asian American women caught between culture, time, and place – with the help of a mysterious tour guide, a pizza rat, and an off-brand Elmo.

Written by Elijah Guo

Directed by Dylin Taylor

Produced by Qingan Zhang

Stage Manager: Melvin Yen and Damayanti Lu Wallace

Costumes: Celeste Samson

Performed by Eurkeka Nakano Grimes, Marsha Yuan, Misako Yamagishi, and Anthony Naranjo

Production History: Ars Nova ANT Fest (June 2024), Chain Theater Winter One Act Festival (February 2024), Cellunova Productions staged reading at Theaterlab (October 2023)