Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman: The Hmong Remix

Are you ready, world? May Lee-Yang is back with another brilliant piece sure to leave you filled with love, laughter, and a deeper appreciation of the anomaly known as the Lazy Hmong Woman. In “experiencing the Hmong culture through a lazy eye,” Director, Producer, and Playwright May Lee-Yang re-introduces her hit show Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman, this time spoken in Hmong, with a larger cast.

A lazy Hmong woman is not supposed to exist. A lazy Hmong woman is like a vegan omelet, a virgin Long Island Iced Tea, or perhaps a poor person of color who is Republican. But today, Lee-Yang insists that lazy Hmong women thrive and prosper, rebelling against generations of patriarchal traditions by eating fast food, sleeping in until noon and speaking their minds. Lee-Yang revisits the non-traditional Hmong woman with her renewed version of Confessions, a witty, satirical, but deeply personal observation of what it means to be a feminist in the Hmong culture. It charts one woman’s journey as she discovers The Rules for Being a Good Hmong Girl, balances a relationship with a Hmong man, and learns from the not-so-lazy women in her life.

Lee-Yang’s original version of Confessions premiered in 2010 at Out North Theater in Anchorage. The show was re-mounted that same year at the Minnesota Fringe Festival to all sold-out performances. The original show included an English-speaking, two-person cast, of which Lee-Yang played the lead role. However, through a grant from the MN State Arts Board, the Confessions remix has allowed Lee-Yang to direct her own work, have the show be performed in the Hmong language, and to have an opportunity to cast others for what was once her role. “It’s interesting to see the show from a different perspective,” says Lee-Yang, “The [members of the] cast are young but very talented folks.”

So what are the biggest differences between this show and the English version? The remix into the Hmong language forced Lee-Yang to re-contextualize her original all-English script. “I had to think, ‘How can I re-context [the play] for the Hmong world?” she says. In order to ensure Confessions as a successful Hmong piece, Lee-Yang enlisted in the help of language interpreter Ka Zoua Xiong, who has taught Hmong language at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul. “The translating process was really interesting, it’s an art within of itself,” Lee-Yang says. “We had to think, ‘How would each character speak?’ Some people are going to say I used the wrong words, but I want the language to feel authentic, not so stiff. I also added some Hmonglish. I feel like they’re really two different shows,” Lee-Yang states.

And why dub into Hmong in the first place? Lee-Yang says she wanted to improve the accessibility of her work. In the past several years, many young Hmong adults have enjoyed her work but have confessed to her that, “they wished they could take their parents and elders to plays,” she states. Performing Confessions in Hmong is how she bridges that cultural gap and opens the door for a larger audience. “I wanted a Hmong-language version of the show to create more accessibility,” she says. “Hmong-American theater as we know it hasn’t been around very long—being birthed in 1994. Thus, we not only have to create theater, we have to also build audiences for it.”

Building this audience meant hiring people to provide outreach into audiences who typically don’t come out for events such as this, such as the elderly, those who speak limited or no English, new Americans and more. Confessions will give non-English speaking Hmong people the opportunity to experience her work in a mainstream setting. “I’m always asked what older Hmong people think of my work,” Lee-Yang says. “I think what people really want to know is if I’ve gotten in trouble with the more traditional sector of the Hmong community. Elders haven’t been able to answer me. Now, we’ll see what they say.”

Lee-Yang also challenges people who don’t ‘do’ theater and non-Hmong speaking audiences to come out and see the play. “It would be ridiculous to dismiss this show because one doesn’t speak Hmong,” she says. “I think it’ll be an interesting challenge for people to sit in the audience and experience what it feels like to not be the majority or not understand the language, because that is often how immigrants, refugees, and other marginalized people have had to navigate the world. I challenge people to come regardless of what their preconceived notions might be.”

Non-Hmong-speaking audiences can experience the show with headphones providing live English translations during the performance, engaging audiences in a unique cultural experience. “We are definitely working with people to make it accessible and [ticket] prices are negotiable,” urges Lee-Yang, “just contact the info line to make arrangements.” Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman: The Hmong Remix runs from Friday, Feb. 3 until Sunday, Feb. 12 at Saint Paul’s Neighborhood House (The Wellstone Center) on 179 East Robie Street. Tickets are $12 in advance. Seniors and students may also purchase them for $12. At the door, tickets are $15.

To purchase tickets online, go to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/219114 or call 651-233-9952. The performance is open to the public. For more information, visit www.LazyHmongWoman.com or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

In her nine to five life, Lee-Yang works as the Interim Executive Director of Hmong Arts Connection, a non-profit organization. She currently resides in St. Paul, MN with her husband.

By Elizabeth Thao

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