Attorney And Playwright Christine Hoang On Representation, Rediscovery, And ‘A Girl Named Sue’

“And when my time is up / Have I done enough? / Will they tell my story?”  — Lin-Manuel Miranda

Last month, I attended the launch party at a local PBS station (KLRU) for the newest season of Arts in Context, its Emmy Award-winning documentary series.

The documentary series showcases a myriad of talent in the Austin, Texas community. One such star is Christine Hoang, an attorney mom, and playwright who is featured in an episode titled, A Girl Named Sue.

I have a feeling that Hoang’s words, at the beginning of her documentary, will strongly resonate with many attorneys in the ATL audience:

I felt this sense of urgency that I need to just take the plunge and do it. Taking the risk and being honest will pay off if I do it with a sense of integrity and a standard because it will connect to other people’s honesty. No one is going to create this space for you and tell you ‘come make this art,’ you need to make that space for yourself.

It wasn’t until after I was a practicing attorney for a while—and I was a mom, and my daughter was about three—that I was able to say, ‘I can maybe take some time out for myself again and find that storyteller that developed when I was a kid.’

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to catch up with Christine Hoang. Her passion and courage to make her space in the performing arts community as a lawyer, mom, and woman of color is truly inspirational. Without further ado, here is a (lightly edited and condensed) write-up of our conversation:

Renwei Chung (RC): What attracted you to a career in the law and how did you choose Southwestern Law School?

Christine Hoang (CH): Immediately after college, I decided to attend law school in Los Angeles with the dream of becoming an entertainment lawyer.  Southwestern has a strong Entertainment and Media Law curriculum and unlike other law schools in L.A., Southwestern gave me a generous scholarship, which made law school more accessible for me as a first-generation attorney.

During law school, I interned in the legal department of a movie studio, but I also interned for a Federal District Court judge. In the end, I didn’t become an entertainment attorney and instead became a Los Angeles litigator.

When I moved to Austin, Texas, I stepped away from the grind of private-sector litigation and took a more laid back, 40-hour a week attorney position at a state agency. I now negotiate multi-million dollar contracts, not on behalf of movie studios or famous celebrities, but on behalf of the State of Texas.

RC: You’ve mentioned the need for representation in the artist community. Why is this important to you?

CH: It is important for me to tell new American stories, and I have found that Asian American stories in particular are underrepresented in many platforms of American storytelling.

Growing up, the only Vietnamese story I ever saw or heard in mainstream media, television, or film was always framed within the confines of the Vietnam War – Good Morning Vietnam with Robin Williams, Heaven & Earth directed by Oliver Stone, Born on the Fourth of July starring Tom Cruise, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now. And with the exception of Heaven & Earth, all those movies starred white guys. In those movies, I felt the Vietnamese characters were oftentimes used as one-dimensional props, and we are so much more that.

Representation is important to me because like all human beings, Asian Americans are complicated and three-dimensional and we deserve to have those stories told. It starts by writing those stories ourselves. We can’t wait for someone else to do it for us.

We can’t wait for permission or an invitation because chances are, they ain’t coming. We have to just make the art and put it out there. It involves risk. It involves money. And trust me, it also involves managing a lot of self-doubt, fear, and Imposter Syndrome. But in the end, if we’re about the hashtag #RepresentationMatters, then we have to take some risks. We can no longer stay invisible.

RC: I really enjoyed the local PBS documentary about your play titled, A Girl Name Sued. What motivated you to tell this story?

CH: A Girl Named Sue was the second play I ever wrote. It is a story about love and identity, centered on a 19-year old Vietnamese American millennial named Sue, and it explores relationships between Asian and Black communities in America, between women of color, between immigrant parents and their first-generation American kids. But at its core, it is a universal love story.

I was inspired to create this story when I first heard Austin-based Korean American singer/songwriter BettySoo perform her song Whisper My Name. As she sang, a story played out in my mind. It was a love story between a young Vietnamese American woman and a black man, an unrequited love.

Just over one year after I heard BettySoo sing Whisper My Name live, my creative team and I world premiered A Girl Named Sue at Trinity Street Theatre in Austin. BettySoo moved her European tour dates around so she could join our cast and perform live with us for every one of our 13 shows.

It was a beautiful process and there is a great trailer for it!

RC: You brought up the feeling of “Imposter Syndrome.” Was there ever a point when you felt that you had overcome it?

CH: In June 2017, the Austin Critics Table awarded me the David Mark Cohen New Play Award for A Girl Named Sue. That gave me some validation that maybe the risks I was taking to do this artist thing was paying off. Then a few months later, another Austin-based theatre award council released their nominations, and A Girl Named Sue received zero nominations.

Immediately, my Imposter Syndrome came back and I started doubting whether or not I belong. I don’t know if these insecurities will ever go away. But maybe this unpredictable, risky, dangerous, scary stuff is what makes it art and not accounting. No offense to accountants. 

RC: What kind of advice do you have for law students and attorneys who want to explore their hobbies and pursue their passions, but are bogged down by school or work commitments?

CH: Warning. This is not going to sound glamorous. But priority number one: pay your bills.

I consider myself lucky to have found happiness in my legal career with a full-time job that gives me time for family, friends, and passion projects.

Once you’ve taken care of your main responsibilities to your family, your studies, and your clients, then you can start to find time to weave your personal passions back into your life. When you find that time, go for it and rediscover the artist inside you.

RC: It was great chatting with you. Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?

CH: I am the Founding Artistic Director of Color Arc Productions, a 501(c)(3) artistic nonprofit whose mission is to shine light on diverse stories through theatre, music, and film.

If you’d like to help out with our mission by making a tax-deductible donation, coming to one of our shows, or having one of our shows produced in your area, we’d love to hear from you:

Facebook: colorarcproductions

Instagram: @colorarcproductions and @christine.hoang

Email: [email protected] or [email protected].

On behalf of everyone here at Above the Law, I would like to thank Christine Hoang for taking the time to share her story with our audience. We wish her continued success in her career.

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Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at [email protected], follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.