Qianru Li practices, documents, and studies contemporary Asian American performance. Their multi-model scholarship examines theatre as a mode of consciousness, investigating the formation of Chinese American identities in relation to epidemics, war, police violence, and intergenerational care. Their current book project (Migrant Wit, Theatre Wit) is accompanied by A Shot In The Dark (2023), a multi-media show exploring the relationship between Asian Americans and African Americans, and Who Will Look After Me? (2022), a documentary on immigrant elderly care. Moreover, Li is the project leader of “Count Us In 2020,” a series of documentary films commissioned by the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance that features interviews with eleven Asian American community leaders on the 2020 U.S. Census
Research Interests
Theatre and Performance Theory; Multi-model Research Methodologies; Asian/Asian Diasporic Theatre and Performance; Ethnic Studies; Disability Studies; Feminist and Trauma-informed Pedagogy; Community Engagement.
Education & Training
- PhD, Drama and Theatre, University of California, Irvine, 2024
- MA, Theatre & Traditional Chinese Opera, Shanghai Theatre Academy, 2013
- BA, Literature of Theatre, Film, and Television, Shanghai Theatre Academy, 2010
