can i touch it?

SEASON 26

Learning How to Read by Moonlight

a new play by Gaven D. Trinidad

directed by Natsu Onoda Power
dramaturgy & tour direction by Michelle M. Aguillon
music direction by Jeffrey Song

a CHUANG Stage & Company One Theatre co-production

May 16 - Jun 1, 2025

BCA Plaza Theatre (May 16 – 25)
Pao Arts Center (May 29 – June 1)
Third location to be announced

All tickets are Pay-What-You-Want!

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

While his mother struggles to earn money in New York City and his father waits alone in Manila for their daily phone calls, six-year-old Eddie learns English from his imaginary friend. Between the War on Drugs in the Philippines and the anti-immigrant movement in the United States threatening their humanity, will this undocumented family be able to pursue their dreams and address unspoken truths? A musical and multilingual journey of childlike wonder, Gaven D. Trinidad’s Learning How to Read by Moonlight is equal parts playful, poignant, and hella Pinoy.

 

To spotlight Boston’s own community leaders and activism, a new narrator (a fellow artist, community organizer, or elected official) joins the storytelling every night. Learning How to Read by Moonlight is spoken in English and Tagalog with subtitles.

Producing Partners

AMPLIFYING ACTION

Company One Theatre and CHUANG Stage are producing Learning How to Read by Moonlight to AMPLIFY:

  • the partnership between Company One and CHUANG Stage, and our shared value of activism through joyful, socially-engaged theatre that expands access through Pay-What-You-Want ticketing in Boston’s neighborhoods and cultural hubs beyond traditional theatres.

  • the Tagalog/English experience of this play as a way to center immigrant visibility in the arts and celebrate authentic, communal storytelling that speaks to people of all language fluencies and cultural backgrounds.

  • ongoing relationships with local and national community partners and organizations that support immigration and refugee justice, fight to end deportation, and work to build spaces of sanctuary for our neighbors who are navigating this country’s volatile immigration system at a time of mass deportation and separation.

  • the imaginative and playful perspective of an immigrant child, which can inspire creativity, joy, and responsibility for the next generation in our collective work toward a better future.

  • the voice of first-generation, gender non-conforming, moreno Filipinx American theatre artist Gaven D. Trinidad, whose community-centered work ritualizes civic responsibility, cross-cultural and intergenerational perspectives, and racial healing.

Connectivity Partners

Check back later for more!

RESOURCES & ACTION STEPS

Check back later for more!

ABOUT THE TEAM

CAST

Elijah Estolano Punzal

Elijah Estolano Punzal

Player 1/Eddie

Jude Torres*

Jude Torres*

Player 2/Jimmy

Christine Armenion

Christine Armenion

Player 3/Nanay

Alfredo Reyes

Alfredo Reyes

Player 4/Tatay

Nicholas Papayoanou

Nicholas Papayoanou

Player 5/Misc.

Jenine Florence Jacinto

Jenine Florence Jacinto

Understudy for Player 1/Eddie, Player 2/Jimmy

PLAYWRIGHT AND PRODUCTION TEAM

Gaven D. Trinidad, Playwright

Natsu Onoda Power, Director & Scenic Designer

Michelle M. Aguillon, Dramaturg & Tour Director

Jeffrey Song, Music Director

Becca Cottrell, Production Stage Manager

Yao Kuang Lee, Costume Designer

Ashley Yung, Lighting Designer

Anna Drummond, Sound Designer

Kelly Smith, Props Designer

Grace Kroeger, Projection Designer

BIOS

Elijah Estolano Punzal they/hi/siya

Elijah is incredibly honored to make their Boston acting debut and join the CHUANG family with Learning How To Read By Moonlight! Elijah is a S25 Company One Volt Lab alum where he wrote and developed Duma-Dara-Ting, or The Arrival for the Reshaping the American Theatre Showcase. Elijah is also a PhD student at Tufts University in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies researching contemporary Filipinx American theatre and performance. Elijah gives special thanks to the graduate students and faculty at Tufts TDPS, Prof. Ian Jay Sunio, and his family for all their love and support.

Jude Torres* he/him

Jude returns to C1 and CHUANG Stage having worked previously as an actor (Vietgone, Last Ship to Proxima Centauri, Acts of Joy, Ghost of Keelung, Chosen Family), songwriter (Resolve and Stories of Our Streets), teaching artist, and emcee! Other credits: actor (Dracula, Middleton Heights, and White Rabbit, Red Rabbit – Umbrella Stage), singer-songwriter/musician (Boston Symphony Hall, The Bowery Electric, The Big E!), voiceover artist (My Blood The Ink and The Legion Tapes), stage operator (Moby Dick – A.R.T), cultural consultant (South Pacific – Reagle Music Theater), Emerging Artist (DUNAMIS), Speech Language Pathologist (Spaulding Rehab), and Doctoral Candidate (MGH Institute of Health Professions). Love to Kuya Gaven, the ensemble + crew, his pamilya, and his wife + life, Kelly.

Christine Armenion she/her

A proud first-generation Filipino-American, Christine was raised by two resilient and inspiring immigrant parents. She is honored to join Chuang Stage and Company One for the first time in such a powerful and meaningful production, and to share the stage with this incredibly talented and passionate ensemble. Select credits include Serena in Legally Blonde (Actorsingers), Miss Sandra in All Shook Up (Majestic Theater), Cheryl in Evil Dead the Musical HD (Roshi Entertainment), Frank-n-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show (LALT), and Miriam in Hummingbird (Teatro Paraguas). Offstage, she is a Licensed Massage Therapist passionate about nurturing wellness, storytelling, and connection.

Alfredo Reyes he/they

Atlantis Theatrical: Waitress (Dr. Pomatter), In the Heights (Sonny), The Bridges of Madison County, The Band’s Visit, Spamalot, Aladdin. Tours: Avenue Q (Nicky/Trekkie), Saturday Night Fever. New York: Matawan, 12 Angry Men (Juror 3). Boston: Learning How to Read by Moonlight (Company One/CHUANG Stage). Film: Somewhere All the Boys Are Birds (Apa Agbayani). Alfredo was a lead in the original cast of the hit original Filipino musical, Ang Huling El Bimbo, which has spawned numerous reruns. A graduate of Atlantic Acting School’s 2.5-Year Acting Conservatory, he received their Practical Aesthetics Full Scholarship Award upon acceptance. Currently in New York City.

Nicholas Papayoanou he/they

Born and raised in Singapore, Nicholas currently attends Emerson College [BFA Theatre and Performance]. Boston credits: Moonbox Production’s Mermaid Hour (Jacob), Boston New Works Festival – The F&L at 1330 (Ensemble); Apollinaire Theatre’s The Suppliant Women (Men/Citizen’s Chorus). Emerson College credits include: I Love XXX (Ensemble Cast), 16 Winters… (Ghost of Dead Prince). In Singapore, he’s received training at the School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA), Singapore Repertory Theatre’s The Young Company, and SAF’s Music and Drama Company (MDC). Select credits: The Tempest (Caliban/Alonso), The Fall (ONE/A), and The Three Questions (Co-Director; Asian Youth Theatre Festival).

Jenine Florence Jacinto they/them

Jenine Florence Jacinto is a nonbinary California raised Filipino-Chinese American actor/creative now turned New England native. Most notably found on stage playing Luna Jaffe in The Interrobangers (Company One), Izzy/Boy in Middleton Heights (Umbrella Stage Company), Green in Skinless (CHUANG Stage), and Kit/Ellery in Lyric BackStage (Lyric Stage Company). Their voice can be heard in various audio dramas like The Bastard Presents, Beyond the Furthest Stars, and Thank You D6. When not on stage, you can find them producing Thank You D6, playing board games, or crafting! @jenine.florence jenineflorencejacinto.com

Gaven D. Trinidad they/he/siya

Gaven D. Trinidad is a first-generation Filipinx American dramaturg, playwright, director, and educator from NYC. Their artistic work explores the intersections of race, language, immigration, queerness, ritual, community, and futurity. They have collaborated in artistic and administrative roles at New York Theatre Workshop, The Juilliard Drama Division, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, National Queer Theater, Breaking the Binary, and more. Selected plays: Learning How to Read by Moonlight (BAPF Finalist 2021), novena (Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference Semi-Finalist 2024). Selected dramaturgy credits: The Duat (Philadelphia Theatre Company, PlayPenn), PreP Play, or Blue Parachute (National Queer Theater, NCTC), June is the First Fall (Yangtze Repertory Theatre), Collidescope 2.0 (Ping Chong + Company). Selected directing credits: Joker (National Queer Theater), Are You There Truman? (Pride Plays, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, The Parsnip Ship, Leviathan Lab), Sa Aming Puso (Global Forms Theatre Festival, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York Theatre Salon). Gaven holds a B.A. in American Studies from Dickinson College and an M.F.A. in Dramaturgy from UMass Amherst. They were named a 2021 Rising Leader of Color by Theatre Communications Group. Playwriting Groups/Fellowships: Orchard Project Greenhouse Lab, Ma-Yi Writers Lab. As someone living with bipolar disorder, Gaven is a passionate advocate for mental health awareness. In these challenging times, they encourage folks to support organizations like Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, United We Dream, and Make the Road NY. www.gaventrinidadtheatre.com

Natsu Onoda Power

Natsu Onoda Power specializes in adapting texts into new works of visual theatre, using techniques of comics/graphic novels, animation, and kamishibai (Japanese paper-placard storytelling form). Original works include Postcards from Ihatov (1StStage Tysons), Thumbelina (Imagination Stage), The Lathe of Heaven (Spooky Action Theater, Helen Hayes Awards for Best New Adaptation and Best Scenic Design), The T Party (writer/ director, Forum Theatre/ Company One), Astro Boy and the God of Comics (writer/ director, The Studio Theatre; Company One Theatre; Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Production Design). Favorite directing credits include Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone (The Studio Theater), David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face (Theatre J) and Mary Zimmerman’s The White Snake (Baltimore Center Stage), and the world premiere of Tennessee Williams’s lost play The Lady from the Village of Falling Flowers at Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival.

Natsu holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, and is the author of God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post World War II Manga (The University Press of Mississippi, 2009).

Michelle M. Aguillon she/her

Michelle M. Aguillon has directed, acted, designed, and produced in the Boston area for over 25 years. She is thrilled to be collaborating with the Learning How to Read by Moonlight production team and ensemble. Michelle has worked with Plays in Place, Footlight Club, Hope Rep Company, The Umbrella Stage Company, Chuang Stage, Company One, Central Square Theater, Emerson College, and Theater Uncorked, among others. Directing credits include The Kittie Knox Plays, Yellow Face, Natural Shocks, Middleton Heights (World Premiere), Dracula – A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Fences, The Joy Luck Club, Disgraced, Passion, Augusta and Noble, Vietgone, and Proof,  among others. Michelle is a playwright/producer/director for the Annual Asian-American Playwright Collective Annual Play Festivals (2020-2025). Michelle is the Executive Director at the Creative Arts School in Reading. She studied acting and theatre at San Francisco State University and the National Theater of London.

Jeffrey Song he/him

Jeffrey Song is delighted to return to Company One – and reunite with longtime friend and collaborator Natsu Onoda Power – as Music Director for Learning How to Read by Moonlight. Jeffrey is a musician, composer, music director, actor (AEA), and New England Foundation for the Arts grant recipient. Credits as composer/music director include Vietgone (Studio Theatre, DC) and Mary Zimmerman’s The White Snake (Baltimore Center Stage). He composed original music for Wild Goose Dreams (SpeakEasy Stage) and has been a music consultant for Imagination Stage (DC). Regional acting credits include work with American Repertory Theater, SpeakEasy Stage, Lyric Stage Boston, Fresh Ink Theatre, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, Company One, Greater Boston Stage Company, Central Square Theater (CST), Revels, and the NPR storytelling podcast Circle Round. Jeffrey has performed in theater pits (recently for the Front Porch/CST production of Next to Normal), and at music festivals around the globe. He appears on over a dozen recordings – his original music featured on radio, television, stage, and the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. As touring bassist for Ute Lemper, Jeffrey performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Istanbul Jazz Festival, L’Opéra de Vichy, and The Palermo Festival Di Verdura. He is also a passionate advocate for social justice in both corporate and performing arts spaces, and works as an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) consultant. www.jeffreysong.com

Becca Cottrell they/them

Bio coming soon!

Yao Kuang Lee she/her

Bio coming soon!

Ashley Yung she/her

Bio coming soon!

Anna Drummond they/them

Anna Drummond is a Boston-based sound designer specializing in live theatre and SFX curation for professional theatre companies and educational institutions. Credits Include: Front Porch Arts Collective – Chicken & Biscuits; The Huntington – K-I-S-S-I-N-G (Elliot Norton Award) and Dream Boston: 3 Miles; SpeakEasy Stage – BLKS and Pass Over; Company One (C1) – Leftovers, Black Super Hero Magic Mama, and can i touch it?; Fresh Ink Theatre – Shrike and Truth or Consequences; Trinity Repertory Company/Brown University – Eurydice, Prowess, soul tapes, and The Book of Lucy; Harvard University – Married or Made, Cells; Boston Conservatory at Berklee – Everybody, Machinal, and As You Like It; Northeastern University – Deferred, This Is Treatment, Problem Play, and Sisterhood of the Survivors; Emerson College – Paris. Anna holds a BA with Honors in Sound Design/Audio Post-Production from the Visual & Media Arts Department of Emerson College. Love to Dyl, Eleanor, Jeremy, and the Bad Luck Crew for everything, always.

Kelly Smith

Kelly Smith is a multi-hyphenate artist with a new work focus, having ushered in over 30 world premieres in New England. Selected credits include: Props: Company One/A.R.T. (GREATER GOOD, VIETGONE), Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING), Hub Theatre (WIT), Fresh Ink (SHRIKE, THAT TIME THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN), Legion Theatre Project (BREAK BREAK), Titanic Theatre, Sleeping Weazel, PF Pictures, and Brown Box among others. Writing: RESET, THE WHITE ROOM (Flat Earth Theatre), RAINING ALUMINUM (theatreKapow – Best Drama Finalist, NH Theatre Awards), ShotzBoston, StoryClub Boston, 1MPF, and others. Directing: Second Act Prod. (SISTER ANONYMOUS), Hub Theatre (ROBYN IS HAPPY), AKA Theatre (IN THE FOREST, SHE GREW FANGS), and shorts for Playbill Virtual Theatre Festival, Open Theatre Project, Boston Theatre Marathon, and 1MPF. In addition to stage managing all over, Kelly produced the raucous Irish backroom bar series Solas Nua, the heartwarming Grownup Storytime at Aeronaut Brewery, and founded Also Known As Theatre Theatre. www.kellyesmith.com `

Grace Kroeger she/they

Grace Kroeger is a Minnesota born, new to Boston engineer and designer in both audio and video. She earned her BA in German and Theater: Design & Technology at the University of Minnesota: Twin Cities. Their favorite aspects of theater are the puzzle of putting complicated systems together, creating system schematics, and (most importantly) programming within QLab.

Recent credits include – Projections Technician: Interrobangers, Company One. Video Programmer: La Voix Humaine, Des Moines Metro Opera; A Thousand Acres, Des Moines Metro Opera. Video Engineer, La Voix Humaine, Des Moines Metro Opera. Assistant Video Designer: Interstate, Mixed Blood Theater; Hometown to the World, Town Hall.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association