Early Life and Education
Dang was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1958, the youngest of five children. His father, Peter You Fu Dang, worked as an accountant for Shell Oil; his mother, Eloise Yuk Ung Dang, was a District Court clerk. He attended St. Patrick School and Saint Louis School in Honolulu, taking college classes while still in high school.1
His decision to pursue acting was shaped early by watching George Takei's portrayal of Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek. In fall 1976 he enrolled at the University of Southern California, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre in 1980 after performing extensively in campus productions.1
Career
After graduating from USC, Dang joined East West Players, initially paying $35 per month in membership dues while supporting himself waiting tables and doing television commercials. EWP, founded in 1965, is the longest-running professional theater of color in the United States.1
In 1993 Dang succeeded Nobu McCarthy as artistic director, taking on the title of producing artistic director. Over the following two decades he transformed EWP from a 99-seat equity black-box theater into a major regional institution. In 1998 he led the company's relocation to the David Henry Hwang Theater, a 240-seat venue in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles.3 Over his tenure he produced and directed more than 100 plays and musicals at EWP, programming work spanning Vietnamese, South Asian, Korean, and Japanese American narratives, and staged productions featuring high-profile collaborators including Danny Glover. He won two Ovation Awards for his directing work.1
Beyond EWP, Dang has directed at L.A. Theatre Works, PanAsian Repertory (New York), Geva Theater Center (New York), Perseverance Theatre (Alaska), Lewis Family Playhouse, Sierra Madre Playhouse (California), Mark Taper Forum (Los Angeles), and Singapore Repertory Theatre.1
In 2011 he organized "Next Big Bang: The Explosion of Asian American Theatre," the first national convening of approximately 200 Asian Pacific American arts leaders, academics, and artists. He also developed an emerging playwrights competition to support new diverse voices, and created touring and school-workshop programs.1
Dang stepped down from EWP in 2016 and was honored with the organization's Visionary Award in 2019.1 He subsequently joined the faculty of USC's School of Dramatic Arts, returning to the institution where he trained.1
Awards
- 2009 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award, recognizing his work "increasing understanding of and appreciation for California's diversity."4
- 2015 Zelda Fichandler Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, presented annually to a director or choreographer whose work transforms the regional theater landscape. The award carries a $5,000 grant.56
Screen and Voice Acting
Alongside his theater work, Dang has maintained an acting career in television and voice work. Television credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation and Brooklyn Bridge. Feature film credits include Listen to Me (1989).1
Among his notable animated voice roles are King Cobra in Batman Beyond and Yon Rha in Avatar: The Last Airbender.1
Ghostbusters
Dang provided a guest voice in the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "Eyes of a Dragon" (Production #134, Episode 28), which aired in syndication on November 13, 1997. The episode was written by Joseph Kuhr and directed by Sam Liu. Set in Chinatown, it follows the Extreme Ghostbusters investigating the mysterious possession of a merchant by an ancient bone-stealing demon. Other Asian American guest voice talent in the episode included George Kee Cheung, Clyde Kusatsu (as shopkeeper Mr. Chen and the demon Gu Mo), and Lauren Tom (as Jodi Chen, the shopkeeper's daughter). The specific character voiced by Dang is not credited in surviving production records.2
