Joe Ngo, actor/performer, “Cambodian Rock Band,” 2023

Joe Ngo, who plays the role of Chum, the father, in “Cambodian Rock Band,” by Lauren Yee, and won an Obie for his performance at the Signature Theatre in New York, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Joe Ngo is an actor and musician, and has been performing in “Cambodian Rock Band” since its origins at the Ground Floor, Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work in 2016 before moving on to Houston and New York. Previously he acted in regional theatre in both “King of the Yees” and “Viet Gone,” as well as other plays.

In the interview, he discusses how “Cambodian Rock Band” evolved, his own development as a musician, his relationship to the material in the show — both his parents lived through the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields era in Cambodia before migrating to America — and his career as an actor.  Photos: Berkeley Rep; Joe Ngo. Recorded via zencastr due to ongoing Covid protocols on March 8, 2023.

 

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