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When Ping Chong founded his theatre company in 1975 in New York City, he wanted an outlet for himself as experimental theatre artist who wanted to create work that blended documentary-style interviews, multimedia, and visual art. Fast-forward five decades and two Obie Awards later, and Ping Chong and Company has created over 100 original theatre pieces. But in 2022, Chong and the company's longtime managing director Bruce Allardice announced their retirement, putting the future of the company into question. Would it survive without its namesake? 

"All things must evolve and change, and I knew the company could not grow into the next iteration with my name on it," said Chong in a statement. "I knew when I decided to retire that the future was in the hands of new artists, and I told them that all I want is for them to continue creating art that honors humanity, but how they do it is their path to make."

Now, after a three-year transitional period during which the company had been overseen by a five-member interim team, Ping Chong has a new name and new leaders. The company will now be known as Pink Fang, and will be led by a team of three: Mei Ann Teo as artistic director of New Work, Sara Zataz as artistic director of community engagement, and Jane Jung as managing director. All three were part of the interim team (the other two interim leaders, Nile Harris and Talvin Wilks, will continue to work with the company).

鈥淧ing鈥檚 vision has always been one of evolution and imagination,鈥� said the new leadership team in a joint statement. 鈥淲e are deeply honored by his trust in us to carry the company forward. His call to rename the organization was a powerful act of faith鈥攁n invitation to shape a future beyond his own legacy. Pink Fang symbolizes both continuity and change, a name that holds our roots while embracing the fierce creativity and collective leadership that define our next chapter.鈥�

The company also has a newly defined mission statement: "Pink Fang creates art at the intersection of performance, community building, and social change; rooted in the ethos and artistic legacy of Ping Chong." Pink Fang is also a play on one of the many ways that Chong's name was mispronounced over his long career. 

Pink Fang will continue to present its works out of its longtime home at La MaMa in New York's West Village, where it has been a resident theatre since 1988. The company's 2025鈥�2026 season will include The Table by Mei Ann Teo, Erika Chong Shuch, and Tomi Tsunoda鈥攚here audience members are encouraged to share a meal together; Memory; Generation, a new interview-based project centered on caregiving and living with dementia, led by Sara Zatz; and touring presentations of Nile Harris' this house is not a home, where Harris deconstructs white liberalism while standing in front of a bounce castle.

鈥淲hat made this transition possible was the extraordinary depth of experience, care, and vision that the Interim Artistic Leadership Team brought to the table,鈥� said Amy Chin, PCC board chair, in a statement. 鈥淐ollectively, they carried decades of knowledge from within the Ping Chong Company鈥攔ooted in its artistic legacy and committed to its future. Their stewardship through this multi-year process has been nothing short of transformational, grounded in thoughtful collaboration and driven by the values that have always defined our work. I would also like to applaud and celebrate the faith, hard work, and dedication of current and former Board members in supporting and shaping this new genesis.鈥�