MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY
by Grace Yi-Li Tong in collaboration with the performers
ongoing, 2025-present
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY is a clown-like parody of the processes of assimilation, built as a triptych from cleaning ritual at the sites of:
the Asian femme body, childhood bath-time, and our atmosphere.
Through sound, character, costume, and dance, this newest work mimics the relentless whittling at the rough edges of the Asian, femme, and diasporic body by tides, winds, and voices.
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY was originally created with the support of the Performing Arts Salon Saturdays Residency program at Snug Harbor Cultural Center (Staten Island, NY). It has since been performed as a work-in-progress at the NOD Theater (Seattle, WA).
Sound and Performance by Colby Lamson-Gordon
Performed by: Hiroka Mori Nagai, Rachel Ha-Eun Lee, and Grace Yi-Li Tong
Photos by Rich Tong
Recent Press
“The work is actually an observation of a repetitive sea glass formation process in our everyday lives: Asian assimilation, growing accustomed to responsibility, listening to the constant sirens of the media, and simply growing up.”
— Grace Yi-Li Tong in interview with Andrew Hamlin for NW Asian Weekly
“Suddenly, the performers were not human; they were bodies in a landscape, tumbling forward in a haunted current, binding one foot and releasing, moving downstage. The audio built as bodies tangled and untangled, whittling away like sea glass.
Concluding on this somber note, MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY left me intrigued by the abundance within this whimsical work about wasting away.”
— ankita sharma for thinking dance
“Through zany worldbuilding and continuous care the dancers show for each other, the performers leave me questioning the role community plays in our assimilation, how we navigate agency, balancing individualism and collectivism, and how we show up for each other in the process.”