In ‘American Jade,’ Jodi Long Traces Her Imprints

AMERICAN THEATRE: Discovering, owning, and expressing one’s own identity constitutes perhaps the scariest yet most validating process humans undergo. And now more than ever, that identity can be complicated, contested, fluid. Where does identity come from, and how does it take shape? According to Asian American actor Jodi Long, it’s rooted in a web of influences, what she calls “imprints”—some stemming from our DNA, some from emotional relationships with parents, others foisted upon us by society.