Thu Tran
{{short description|American actress and artist}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Thu Tran
| image = Loz-thutran2.png
| caption = Tran at an art gallery opening in New York City in 2015
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Malaysia{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-16-la-ca-0516-food-party-20100516-story.html|title = Archives|website = Los Angeles Times| date=16 May 2010 }}
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| known_for =
| training =
| movement =
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}}
Thu Tran is a writer and producer, known for her shows Food Party and Late Night Munchies.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3494426/bio|title=Thu Tran|website=IMDb}} Much of her work is themed around food and cooking, but with a surreal spin.
Work
Tran attended the Cleveland Institute of Art, where she studied glasswork. While a student, she began making installation art, often themed around food.{{Cite news |last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |date=2009-06-06 |title=A Foodie With a Taste for the Surreal |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/arts/television/06food.html |access-date=2023-12-30 |issn=0362-4331}}
In 2007, Tran began creating Food Party, an experimental cooking-themed series which used homemade puppets.{{Cite web |date=27 April 2010 |title='Food Party' returns: A Q&A with creator Thu Tran |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2010/04/food-party-returns-a-qa-with-thu-tran.html}} The project began as a web series, but in 2009 it was picked up as a show for the Independent Film Channel. Critics noted the show's surreal tone, unique props, and "lo-fi aesthetic".{{Cite web |date=2017-05-19 |title='Twin Peaks' and turning television into a genuine art form |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-ca-st-twin-peaks-tv-as-art-20170519-story.html |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Yang |first=Jeff |date=2009-07-01 |title=Candy-coated chaos / Fake cooking show with puppets in a... |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Candy-coated-chaos-Fake-cooking-show-with-2480157.php |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=SFGATE |language=en}}
In 2013, Tran began working on the web series Late Night Munchies for MTV Other. In the web series, guests would cook with Tran, creating unusual dishes together. Guests on the show included Girl Talk, Tiombe Lockhart, and Sharon Needles.{{Cite web |last=Matheson |first=Whitney |title=Thu Tran brings her food parties to MTV |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/popcandy/2013/06/17/mtv-thu-tran/2432187/ |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2013-07-28 |title=WATCH: 'Drag Race' Star Sharon Needles Whips Up A Wacky (And Bloody) Breakfast |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sharon-needles-thu-tran-communion-wafers_n_3653864 |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=HuffPost |language=en}} Tran would later collaborate with Lockhart on a music video, and would join Girl Talk on one of their tours.{{Cite web |title=Tiombe Lockhart Crafts A Wavy New Video For "Let U Go" - Okayplayer |url=https://www.okayplayer.com/news/tiombe-lockhart-new-video-let-u-go.html |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=www.okayplayer.com |language=en}}
Outside of Food Party and Late Night Munchies, Tran has continued to work as an installation artist, and has collaborated with other artists on music videos, short films, and video games.{{Cite web |title=Thu Tran |url=https://www.spacescle.org/about/artists/thu-tran |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=www.spacescle.org |language=en}}
Personal life
Tran is of Vietnamese descent and was raised in Cleveland, Ohio; the success of Food Party brought her to Brooklyn. She crafts many of the puppets used in her projects herself.{{cite web |url=http://gothamist.com/2008/12/09/thu_tran_food_party.php |title=Thu Tran, Food Party - Gothamist: New York City News, Food, Arts & Events |access-date=2009-06-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090719231014/http://gothamist.com/2008/12/09/thu_tran_food_party.php |archive-date=2009-07-19 }} Tran cooks extensively outside of her artistic work, and she learned to cook from her parents, who she credits both with teaching her to cook and influencing her style of humor.{{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.poortastemag.com/headline/food-party-at-the-farmers-market-with-thu-tran |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731182927/http://www.poortastemag.com/headline/food-party-at-the-farmers-market-with-thu-tran |archive-date=2010-07-31 |access-date=2010-10-10}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Thu}}
Category:American television actresses
Category:American television writers
Category:American writers of Vietnamese descent
Category:Malaysian emigrants to the United States
Category:Actresses of Vietnamese descent
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)