I LOVE WHITE MEN
Written & Performed by Sim Yan Ying "YY"
Developed with & Directed by Renee Yeong
Developed with & Dramaturgy by Nicholas Chan
January 2020 at Caveat, NYC
June 2019 at Ars Nova ANT Fest, NYC
January 2019 at Dixon Place, NYC
“In my four years of living in New York, I’ve only ever swiped right on white men.”
I LOVE WHITE MEN is an interrogation of one Singaporean-Chinese woman’s self-destructive obsession with white men. In this semi-autobiographical stand-up drama, YY takes a bitingly honest look at white worship, postcolonial baggage, and “politically correct" culture. She tears apart her escapades with white men in New York and delves into her experiences growing up in Singapore, throwing into question how and why we are sometimes complicit in the very things we outwardly reject—and figure out how to move forward from there.
Production History
I LOVE WHITE MEN was first developed at Playwrights Downtown, where it had a workshop presentation in the summer of 2018. The show underwent further development over the next two years and had different iterations presented at Dixon Place, Ars Nova ANT Fest, and Caveat NYC.
Collaborators
Writer & Performer: Sim Yan Ying "YY"
Director: Renee Yeong
Dramaturg: Nicholas Chan
Line Producer: Miranda Gohh
Co-Multimedia Designers: Cashton Tate Rehklau & Nicholas Sanchez
Lighting Designer: Chris Voegels
Assistant Director: Ava Novak
Stage Manager & Producing Assistant: Siena Yusi
Graphic Designer & Social Media Manager: Alex M. Lee
Photos from Caveat NYC & Dixon Place productions by Joseph O’Malley
Photos from Ars Nova ANT Fest production by Zenzali Lael
Press
“YY has incredible stage presence. Funny, charming, and real she takes us through her time in New York through the lens of the white men she slept with. She navigates each story wonderfully and plays off of the audience with ease. The story is crafted in such a way that you are laughing and cringing so much one minute that you do not expect the rug to be pulled out from under you the next. Suddenly, the story sheds all of its comedic disguises and we are told a very real and very powerful story. YY handles all of these moments expertly.”
— Max Berry, OnStage Blog
“Sim Yan Ying (also known as YY) has a commanding presence and unique rhythm to her speech that captivates even as it delivers devastating punch lines. During the show that I attended, she was able to diffuse a potentially disruptive audience participation overstep with aplomb. […] As YY would be the first to tell you, the woman who began this journey is not the same one who ended it. With a one-person show, and a young artist, this change is not only par for the course but a uniquely compelling part of following the journey.”
— Zach Ezer, Long Day of the Modern
”There are plenty of laughs and the more serious deconstructive moments also stick as much, and YY retains an openness for self-growth. She herself created this show to deconstruct whiteness but hasn’t quite found easy answers. Any person of color, Asian women in particular, would need to hear this candid cringy work by YY.”
— Caroline Cao, Medium
”The end was similarly heartfelt and thought-provoking. YY questions why so many Asian stories are centered around whiteness or heavily involve it, and that inspired me to reflect on why that is. We're left with the thought, " I love white men as the stepping stones which led me to discover some very important things about myself. I love white men as a part of my past," which was a really powerful ending.”
Interviews & Features
“I LOVE WHITE MEN was created in response to what we felt was a gap in mainstream knowledge about Asian culture and stories, and specifically for us, Singaporean stories," shares YY. "There are few stories in our global canon that capture the nuance and complexity of who Singaporeans are as individuals and we hope that I LOVE WHITE MEN can dismantle assumptions, break through stereotypes, and ignite our curiosity about things that feel foreign to us.”