MOCA PERFORMS - Echoes of Arrival: Becoming

Early Bird General Admission: $20 General Admission: $25 | MOCA Member Admission: $15 Immigration is never a single arrival but an ongoing process of becoming. Beyond legal status and paperwork, immigrants navigate displacement, alienation, adaptation, and the long, sometimes complicated journey toward belonging. What did you have to learn to survive and build a life in the United States? What did you choose to carry with you from the culture you came from? What was lost in translation? And what new part of yourself emerged along the way? Echoes of Arrival returns to the Museum of Chinese in America for a new iteration, Becoming . Through a collection of personal stories, the ensemble explores the many ways immigrants remake themselves while making a life in a new country. These stories of change, resilience, loss, discovery, and belonging illuminate how immigration does not simply transform individuals. It continues to shape the rich and ever-evolving cultural fabric of the United States. CREATIVE TEAM Conceived by Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li Devised & Performed by Shan Y. Chuang, Nikkiesha N. McLeod, Timmy Ong, Pascal Phoa, Jeremy Rafal, Nedelka Sotelo, Fang Tseng PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Friday 10/2 Shan Y. Chuang, Nikkiesha N. McLeod, Pascal Phoa, Jeremy Rafal, Fang Tseng Thursday 10/8 Shan Y. Chuang, Timmy Ong, Pascal Phoa, Jeremy Rafal, Fang Tseng Friday 10/16 Shan Y. Chuang, Timmy Ong, Pascal Phoa, Jeremy Rafal, Nedelka Sotelo Thursday 10/22 Shan Y. Chuang, Nikkiesha N. McLeod, Timmy Ong, Nedelka Sotelo, Fang Tseng Friday 11/6 Nikkiesha N. McLeod, Timmy Ong, Jeremy Rafal, Nedelka Sotelo, Fang Tseng ABOUT ARTISTS SHAN Y. CHUANG Shan Y. Chuang is a Taiwanese queer multidisciplinary performing artist, actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, and immersive theater artist based in New York City. For over a decade, she has performed, collaborated, and created across the city’s vibrant arts community. In June 2026, she premiered her dance work Quiet Acts of Becoming at the Museum of Chinese in America, inspired by the stories of pioneering Chinese American lesbian women. Her work explores LGBTQIA+ identity, social justice, and self-discovery through theater, movement, and dance. She has performed at Prelude Festival ’23, PhysFestNYC ’25, and MOCA, and is a member of the New York Chinese Cultural Center. IG: @shanychuang | shanychuang.com DENNIS YUEH-YEH LI Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li is a director/playwright. His works explore sexuality, power structure and diaspora experiences, culminating often in devised, immersive and participatory theatre. Dennis excels at adapting modern classics, connecting them with timely sociopolitical issues . His directorial portfolio spans across plays, musical theatre, and opera. His playwriting focuses on queer and diasporic lived experiences, and has received support from organizations including Queens Council for the Arts. Master’s in Performance Studies, NYU. Dennis is an alumnus of Drama League's New York Directing Fellowship, Target Margin Theater's Institute Fellowship, and a member of Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. Dennis worked with The Living Theatre and is Al Límite Collective ’s founding member. Currently, Dennis is the Director of Performance, Storytelling & Community at the Museum of Chinese in America. www.dennisyuehyehli.com NIKKIESHA N. MCLEOD Nikkiesha Nicole McLeod is a queer, non-binary/trans Trinidadian singer-songwriter, drummer/percussionist and writer. They began playing the steel pan at the age of twelve when they convinced their parents to let them join the neighborhood steel­band orchestra, Panasonic Connection. Their debut EP, Quarrel, was released in 2018 that FRESH ON THE NET described as “unique to the ears and is a complete triumph”. In the summer of 2025, they released the steelpan driven singles “Fever to Touch”, and “Rush”. The single “Rush” was song of the day on the prominent radio station KUTX FM 98.9. “Rush” was described as “a brilliant microdose of McLeod’s affinity for flair and flourish”. Nikkiesha “Nikkie” played the drum kit for many bands in New York City, the most notable are Telenovela Star and Kenyon Phillips & The Ladies In Waiting. Nikkiesha's work has appeared in the literary journal [sic], and on the online literary and artistic expression of queer and trans* people of color forum Black Girl Dangerous, and the LGBTQ mental health anthology Headcase published by Oxford University Press. Nikkiesha also hosts and co-produces the podcast "When We See Each Other" which focuses on BIPOC queer/trans/non-binary musicians/singer-songwriters/artists. Nikkiesha’s website: https://nikkieshamcleod.com. IG: @nikkieshamcleodmusic TIMMY ONG Timmy Ong is a Malaysian theater artist based in NYC. As a performer, Timmy has originated leading roles on both Malaysian and US stages. Selected credits: Libao Gong in “Late Blooming” (world premiere), Lamont in "Mr. Holland's Opus: A New Musical" (world premiere), and Procopio in "The Sacrifice of Cassamba Becker" (nom…