Kyoung’s Pacific Beat’s “Whiteness on Fire” Long Table Discussion featuring scenes from NERO

On Tuesday, September 21, Kyoung's Pacific Beat presented Whiteness on Fire: Abolish the Empire, a long table discussion on demilitarizing America and defunding the police. What storytelling is necessary to advance abolitionist work in our community? The Long Table presented scenes from the latest workshop of Kyoung H. Park’s NERO as provocations for the discussion, which included Ariel as Nero’s mother Agrippina.

NERO is Kyoung’s epic play that reimagines the titular historical villain as an allegory for George W. Bush and his infamous War on Terror in response to 9/11, which only ended disastrously this past summer as America’s longest war. The play has undergone a year-long development process with workshops and accompanying long tables held over Zoom. A live production is planned for 2022-23, where Ariel will reprise the role of Agrippina.