Calendar of Events in Asian American Theatre, 2nd Quarter 2011

National Asian American Theatre Company (New York, NY)
A Number
by Caryl Churchill
March 15 to April 5, 2011

Directed by Maureen Payne-Hahner

Cherry Lane Studio Theater
38 Commerce Street

Tickets on sale now. Click below or call the numbers listed.

Tickets: (212) 239-6200 or (800) 432-7250
Previews $20: Mar 12, 13 | Run $25: Mar 15-Apr 5
Tue-Fri 7:30 | Sat 3:00 & 7:30 | Sun 2:00
Students & Seniors (ID) $23 | Groups (>10) $22

With: Joel de la Fuente, James Saito
Actors appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association.

Stage Manager: Clara Dalzell
Set Design: Czerton Lim
Sound Design: Kate Brown
Lighting Design: Alex Bright
Costume Design: Maureen Payne-Hahner
Graphic Design: Matthew Grayson

History Theatre (Minneapolis, MN)
As American as Curry Pie
by Aamera Siddiqui
March 16 to April 10, 2011

For Aamera Siddiqui, growing up as an immigrant in the United States was a balancing act between her Indian Muslim heritage and her American surroundings. Aamera’s world consisted of one country inside the four walls of her family’s home and another country outside those walls. Curried peas and hot dogs, Catholic school uniforms and colorful saris, Urdu and English all blended and bounced off one another to shape Aamera’s identity.

Told with honesty and humor, American as Curry Pie is one woman’s story about immigration, assimilation, and discovering what it means to be an American.

The World Premiere, written and performed by Aamera Siddiqui, will open at The History Theatre in Saint Paul, MN on March 17, 2011 and runs through April 10, 2011.

Theatre of the Yugen (San Francisco, CA)
The Sound is the Movement
An evening of duos:
ANTI-EAR
WITTMER/KNOWLES DUO
CONNER LACY/CATHERINE RESER
April 4, 2011

THE SOUND IS THE MOVEMENT SERIES
Crossing musical concert with dance, this Tuesday night sound and movement series is curated by Yugen Orchestra (inaugurated 2007) member Ava Mendoza, Theatre of Yugen Associate Ensemble Member Edward Shocker, and dancer/choreographer Paige Sorvillo. Each event features performers that blur the lines between physicality and musicality.

CONNER LACY AND CATHERINE RESER
Conner Lacy is an artist and art technologist. In addition to making art in a variety of mediums, he develops practical tools which catalyze and bolster creativity. His own artwork often treads boundaries between (sometimes false) dichotomies, and employs multiple vantages of resonance (sonic, emotional, symbolic, spiritual, electromagnetic, etc.). Conner earned a B.A. in Music and Digital Art from the University of Virginia and an M.F.A. in Electronic Music and Recording Media from Mills College. He was born in Arkansas and grew up in Virginia.
Catherine Reser is a Bay Area dancer currently working on projects that explore freedom, the role fear has on our experience of self-autonomy, and storytelling as a method of exposing patterns of insecurity and greed. Catherine received her B.A. in Dance from Mills College and is intent on deploying dance as a means of play.

GERRITT WITTMER AND PAUL KNOWLES
Multi-disciplinary artist Paul Knowles joined Gerritt Wittmer in 2009 to explore the fringes of man's sciences through the medium of sound and performance art. Their work combines elements of movement, light and sound to produce an abstract narrative on subjects such as out-of-body experiences and alchemy. Wittmer has collaborated with noise artists Masami Akita (Merzbow), Stephen O'Malley (SUNN O)))), and D. Yellow Swans.

ANTI-EAR
Since 1986, has been on Anti-Ear sound workout. Anti-Ear voice in exercise. To explore and discover their art forms by using devices that are hovering target break points, in violation of the point of hovering. The art form of Use. When once only this man, Tyler Harwood, has now become a duo with Jason Stamberger.
There is a new investigation into the structure and density and minimal electronic rhythms class in descending order, often accompanied by predictions of integrated video synthesis and similar response to the improvisation. As our lives become more and more control of the machinery we trust, Anti- Ear discretion to allow these machines speak for themselves, make error, and showing people to become more imaginative approach, because our future.

Ensemble Studio Theatre (New York, NY)
Fast Company
by Carla Ching
Tuesday, April 5 at 7pm

Mable Kwan was a famous grifter who taught her sons the long con, and how to be an expert roper and fixer. Tired of the life, Francis retired and became a magician. H became a sports writer. Blue, the youngest and the only girl, always kept out of the family trade, now studies game theory and may become the best con artist of the family. The estranged trio is called home to Mable’s deathbed. With a small fortune at stake, will they be able to break old habits? Or who will con who in the end.

The Gene Siskel Film Center and the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media (FAAIM) present the 16th edition of Asian American Showcase, April 1 through 14. The festival encompasses comedies and dramas, probing documentaries, provocative shorts, and an array of special activities, all showcasing a wealth of talent on the Asian American scene.

http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/asianamericanshowcase2011
http://www.faaim.org/

Chicago's four non-profit, Asian American theater companies perform in the Showcase:
Silk Road Theatre Project, Rasaka Theatre Company, A-Squared Theatre Workshop, CIRCA/Pintig. Please see the schedules above for more information.

Ma-Yi Theatre (New York, NY)
Ma-Yi Theater Company's 22nd Anniversary Gala
Monday, April 11, 2011

Featured staged readings of selected scenes from

DOGEATERS by Jessica Hagedorn
M. BUTTERFLY by David Henry Hwang
MICROCRISIS by Michael Lew
MIDDLE FINGER by Han Ong

Community Asian Theatre of the Sierras (California)
The King and I
Rodgers and Hammerstein
March 17 to April 16, 2011

VENUE:
Nevada Theatre
401 Broad Street
Nevada City, California

TICKETS:
Online: www.brownpapertickets.com
Grass Valley: Book Seller and Briar Patch Market
Nevada City: Gold Mountain and the Nevada City Postal Company

THURSDAY (Final Dress Rehearsal), March 17, 7pm
Advance and Door: $10

FRIDAY (Preview), March 18, 8pm
Advance and Door: $15

DISCOUNT THURSDAY, March 24, 31, April 7, and 14, 7pm
Advance: $20 General, $15 (18 yrs & under)
Door: $25 General, $20 (18 yrs & under)

FRIDAY & SATURDAY EVENINGS (8pm) & MATINEES (2pm):
March 19, 26, April 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, and 16 (8pm); and March 27, April 3, 10, and 16 (2pm)
Advance: $25 General, $15 (18 yrs & under)
Door: $30 General, $20 (18 yrs & under)

FRIDAY, Benefit for Friends of the Nevada County Libraries, March 25, 8pm
Advance: $25 General, $15 (18 yrs & under)
Door: $30 General, $20 (18 yrs & under)
Purchase tickets at any library branch or contact 530-265-1407 or friends@nevadacountylibraries.org

NOTE:
There is NO show on Sunday, March 20. There are TWO shows on Saturday, April 16: 2pm and 8pm.

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (New York, NY)
Vietnam Project II
March 18 to April 17, 2011

VIETNAM PROJECT II: Past and Present
Opening Nights tickets on sale!
Please join us at the festive Opening Night performances of Vietnam Project II:

WE ARE, in Vietnamese and English, with music, contrasts the stories of 5 women who leave their homeland for work or marriage.
“My language is not like a gun or a knife … I create for those who cannot speak.”
– playwright/director, Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc
WE ARE Opening Night: Friday March 18, 7:30

MONSTER is a noir mystery about a Vietnamese-American detective investigating the disappearance of a student following a bias crime … but the monster he finds may change him forever.
MONSTER Opening Night: Tuesday April 5, 7:00

At the West End Theater, 263 W 86 St, 2nd Floor btw Broadway & West End Ave

Tickets to either Opening Night are $75,
which includes a post-show party w/ cast.
To purchase Opening Night tickets,
call Pan Asian Rep at 212-868-4030.

For tickets to regular performances
(Tue-Sat 7:30; Sat—Sun 2:30)
call OvationTix 212-352-3101
or visit www.panasianrep.org.

Vampire Cowboys Theatre (New York, NY)
The Inexplicable Redemption Of Agent G
by Qui Nguyen
directed by Robert Ross Parker
March 24 to April 16, 2011
(Thurs, Fri, Sat, & Sun @ 8pm)

It’s been 10 years since Agent G has last been in Vietnam where his family and friends were all viciously slain. He’s now come back looking for answers and a good bit of revenge, however mysterious forces are at hand trying to stop him as well as the playwright from finishing this brutal task. After 8 years of exploding movie genre after movie genre onto the live stage, Vampire Cowboys now takes their irreverent pop-culture aesthetic and applies it to a true story in their most daring and risk-taking venture yet.

He lost his country, his family, and his soul. But what he hasn’t lost is his taste for revenge!

Asian American Theater Company And Crowded Fire Theater Copany (San Francisco, CA)
Young Jean Lee’s
Songs Of The Dragons Flying To Heaven
March 26 to April 16, 2011

Hetchman loves his hat. Oh, and his wife, too. But when both go missing, the retired hatmaker vows to stop at nothing to find them. if he can ever muster the strength to leave his armchair. But the arrival of a talking wall and a hungry golem threatens to derail his endeavor. A klezmer-inspired love triangle between a man, his wife, and his hat.

OPENS: Wednesday, 4/13 at 8 PM
Saturday, 4/16 at 8 PM
Tuesday, 4/19 at 8 PM
Wednesday, 4/20 at 8 PM
Thursday, 4/21 at 8 PM

Pictured are: (back left to right) James “Kimo” Bright and Shawn Thomsen; (front left to right) Eleanor Svaton, writer Victoria Nalani Knuebuhl and Lauren Ballesteros in Kumu Kahua Theatre's production of "The Holiday of Rain", by Victoria Nalani Knuebuhl. Photo by Pacific Light Studios
Kumu Kahua Theatre (Honolulu, HI)
The Holiday of Rain
A Kumu Kahua commission
by Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl
March 24 to April 23, 2010

At the Sadie Thompson Inn in Samoa, guests can take part in an unusual experience: a reenactment of W. Somerset Maugham’s 1921 short story “Rain.” But thanks to a magician’s time warp, the real Maugham finds himself on the guest list. Swirling together fantasy, history, humor and drama, Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, winner of the Hawai‘i Award for Literature and the author of The Conversion of Ka‘ahumanu and Ola N? Iwi, deconstructs one of the world’s most popular writers.

Matrix Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
Macho Like Me
written and performed by Melie Lee
March 26, April 8, 15 and 22, 2011

Helie Lee presents her one-woman show Macho Like Me, the story of her remarkable six-month journey living life as a man. Cutting off her hair and donning men's clothes, she posed as "Harry," gaining remarkable insights into the pressures men face in society. The smash hit one-woman show features footage from the documentary film of the same name, which screened at the 2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

WHAT: Macho Like Me, Helie Lee's One-Woman Show

WHERE: Matrix Theater, 7657 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046

WHEN: March 26, April 8, 15, 22; all shows at 8pm

Stir Friday Night (Chicago, IL)
Asians Do Your Homework for $$$ to Aid Relief Efforts in Japan
April 22, 2011

This is probably the most gimmicky show we've ever done but in effort to support the relief effort we're holding an improvised show where YOU, the paying audience can come in with your homework* and we'll do it for you for a fee. Fee TBD at the event.

Some of us will do the homework all the while we'll use the assignment as a suggestion for a series of improvised scenes. This will be new for us as well but let's see what we can wrangle up. It's all for a good cause so bring money, your homework/assignment, and a healthy desire to get some laughs in while the effort all goes toward the relief effort.

*THE DISCLAIMER
Please note that we are not condoning academic dishonesty. Also, we claim we'll simply do our best to complete the assignment within the time of the show, but that does not mean that we'll do your assignment correctly. Please triple check the work we do. We'll have to be limited within the time constraints of the show so don't come to us trying to get us to write an essay. We have less than an hour.

Shunya Theatre (Houston, TX)
a staged reading of
Merchant on Venice
by Shirshir Kurup
April 23, 2011

Shishir Kurup's Merchant On Venice is a wickedly funny, politically provocative reimagining of Shakespeare's Merchant Of Venice. Set on Los Angeles' Venice Boulevard, the play combines iambic pentameter with Hindu-Muslim tensions, Bollywood musical numbers, and the LA punk scene. The play has received awards from the California Arts Council, Kennedy Center, and NEA/TCG.

SIS Productions (Seattle,WA)
Sex in Seattle 19: The One That Got Away
by Kathy Hsieh
April 1 to 30, 2011

SIS Productions continues its 10th Anniversary Season with the penultimate episode of SEX IN SEATTLE! Tess, Chloe, Elizabeth and Jenna have finally found true love. Or have they? Thoughts of the one that got away can interfere with even the happiest of relationships. And how can reality ever compete with the person of one's dreams? Newcomers and long-time fans will want to catch SEX IN SEATTLE 19: THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY, before it goes away! Don't miss the country's longest-running quirky romantic comedy about contemporary Asian American women, their lives and their loves.

WHAT: SEX IN SEATTLE 19: THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
DATE: April 1 to 30, 2011
TIME: Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm AND 10pm (note late night time!)
LOCATION: Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Avenue on Seattle's Capitol Hill
PRICE: 8 pm shows- $15 general admission, $12 student/senior/actor;
10 pm shows- $10 general admission, $6 student/senior actor
TICKETS: Reservations strongly encouraged. Contact 206-323-9443, tickets@sis-productions.org
Advance tickets will be available at Brown Paper Tickets: 1-800-838-3006, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/156456

Rated "PG-16" for sexual innuendo and saucy situations.

Written by Kathy Hsieh
Directed by Miko Premo
Produced by Lorna Chin, Kathy Hsieh, Lisa Marie Nakamura, Miko Premo & Roger Tang.
Featuring: Alex Alonzo, Leilani Berinobis, Tom Falcone, Kathy Hsieh, May Nguyen, Caleb Slavens, Moses Yim and more!

Pangea World Theatre (Minneapolis, MN)
Alternate Visions Festival
April 14 to May 1, 2011

Just one more chance to see Works in Progress by Anton Jones and Masanari Kawahara and a Staged Reading by Kathryn Haddad. Come to Pangea World Theater this weekend!

Through May 1, 2011
Pangea World Theater
711 West Lake Street
Ticket information
Deconstructing boundaries between artists and audiences during the artistic development process, Pangea?s annual Alternate Visions Festival presents readings, works in progress, and world premieres. Join us for a diverse array of new voices whose work demonstrates the transformation of our culture.

Anton Jones
WORKS IN PROGRESS
Med(i/e)a
Written by Anton Jones; Directed by Tisch Jones
April 15, 7:30pm

Med(i/e)a turns the classic tragedy into a dark satire that explores how pop culture, otherness, and mass media contribute to the glorification and trivialization of divorce, assimilation, and love.

Masanari Kawahara
HIROSHIMA
Written by Masanari Kawahara; Directed by Molly Van Avery
April 16, 7:30pm

HIROSHIMA is a one-person show about silence and memories, conversations with grandma, and growing up in Hiroshima, Japan and leaving there. This performance in-progress is influenced by Butoh dance and incorporates puppetry.

Kathryn Haddad
STAGED READING
ZAFIRA (warrior princess of the world)
Written by Kathryn Haddad; Directed by Dipankar Mukherjee
April 14, 7:30pm

It is the not so distant future and suicide bombers have hit simultaneous cities across the United States. Arab and Muslim Americans are official enemies of the state and have been ordered into internment camps. ZAFIRA (warrior princess of the world) tells the story of one Arab American woman?s experience leading up to, during, and after her internment.

Design by Pramila Vasudevan
WORLD PREMIERE
Eleven Reflections on September and Associated Events
Written, Directed & Performed by Andrea Assaf
April 21 – May 1

Eleven Reflections on September is a poetry-based, multi-media performance on the Arab American experience, Wars on/of Terror, and "the constant, quiet rain of death amidst beauty" that each autumn brings in a post-9/11 world. Read more...

PERFORMANCES: April 21 – 24 and April 28 – May 1, 7:30pm
ASSOCIATED EVENTS: April 22, 25, 26 & 27

Late-Night Open Mic & Music Jam!
Revolutions & Movements for Democracy across North Africa & the Middle East: Panel & Dialogue
The True Costs of War: Video Screening & Discussion with IVAW
Dialogue with the Authors
ELEVEN REFLECTIONS GALLERY: Open Evenings, April 21-May 1

Playwrights' Arena @ Los Angeles Theatre Center
Bliss
by Velina Hasu Houston
April 25, 2011

GENseng (Geneseo, NY)
And the Soul Shall Dance
by Wakako Yamauchi
April 28 to 30, 2011

Directed by Randy Barbara Kaplan
Black Box Theatre
SUNY Geneseo
Geneseo, NY
Tickets $8

Asian Arts Initiative (Philadelphia, PA)
2011 Annual Benefit Banquet and Silent Auction!!!
Friday, April 29, 2011

6 - 9 p.m.
Ocean City Restaurant, 234 N. 9th Street, Chinatown, Philadelphia

Join us for a fun-filled night that includes an
eight-course Chinese meal,
brief performances by artists affiliated with our programs, raffle prizes,
and an exciting Silent Auction!

TICKETS:
* $65 per individual ticket
Purchase tickets online here.
* $1,000 per Sponsorship Table
(10 seats + listing in program book)
* Additional sponsorship opportunities
+ ads available;
*Can't make the event, but want to contribute? Sponsor a seat for $100;
Donate to our silent auction;
Contact Nancy@asianartsinitiative.org,
(215) 557-0455 ext. 227
for more info.

Three Parts for Two Boats : A long distance collaboration starting
with player toy pianos hanging in a garden.

April 16, 2011 - 8PM
Gallery 1412
1412 18th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122
Tickets at the door: $5 - $15

May 6, 2011 - 8PM
The Stone
16 Avenue C at E. 2nd Street
NY, NY 10009
Tickets at the door: $10

Three Parts for Two Boats is a collaboration for piano, toy player pianos, electronics, ferries, and violin. Discovered mainly by gathering the explorations of Seattle pianist Tiffany Lin and Brooklyn sound artist Ranjit Bhatnagar, this watery piece encircles ferry passages from the Puget Sound and the New York Harbor.

Constructed over the soundscapes of the two ferries, the piece incorporates the whistles and bird songs of modified vintage toy player pianos, complex lush rhythms on magnetically-augmented piano,
and the drone of a home-built 8-bit violin.

Cordelia is a new play written by Erik Ehn, directed by Jubilith Moore, and composed by Suki O'Kane.

Time and space are transcended as we witness Cordelia, wrapped in memory, trapped in a shadowy world, bear the weight of her own actions. This intimate echo of Shakespeare's King Lear from Cordelia's point of view is informed by the Japanese Noh "phantasmal warrior" play.

At the heart of Ehn’s inquiry into Cordelia is the question “What does it mean to root for a warrior?” Cordelia speaks to all of us who wonder how to be true to ourselves while being good to others, and asks whether, if it is impossible to save another, if the effort to do so still has value or meaning.

Wednesdays & Thursdays @ 7 p.m., Fridays & Saturdays @ 8 p.m.
Tix: $18 in advance, $20 at the door

Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis, MN) and
SteppingStone Theatre
The Magic Bus to Asian Folktales
by R.A. Shiomi, Cha Yang, and Jaz Canlas
music by Gary Rue
April 29 to May 22, 2011, SteppingStone Theatre

Three children are magically transported to Imperial China, to Laos, and to the Philippines where they discover wondrous tales that teach them about their culture, their ancestry, and themselves.

fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company (Toronto, Canada)
Brown Balls
by Brian Abalos
May 3 to 15, 2011

Three young men disguised as Bruce Lee, Charlie Chan and Fu Manchu explode Asian male stereotypes in a vibrant theatrical symposium. Issues of race, gender and sex collide as the Brown Balls Collective (or BBC) embarks upon an honest, unapologetic, and hilarious exposé of the Asian male in a Western context.

Leviathan Labs (New York, NY)
The Asian American Female Playwrights Short Play Festival
May 12 and 13, 2011

Of the hundreds of plays professionally produced on U.S. stages each year, just 17 percent are written by women. When looking only at major New York productions, that number drops to 12.9 percent. No Asian-American woman has ever had a play produced on Broadway.

Those statistics come courtesy of Actors' Equity Association, which on May 12 and 13 will present a festival of short plays by Asian-American female playwrights. Asian-American theater company Leviathan Lab will co-present. The program will feature shorts by 12 women—some experienced pros, others writing their own material for the first time. Among the topics covered will be the recent earthquake in Japan, Charlie Sheen's women, World War II–era Japanese internment camps, and, of course, the Tiger Mom.

"The opportunities for Asian-American actors, writers, and directors are considerably more limited than they are for our white counterparts," said Leviathan co-founder Ariel Estrada. "One thing that I often hear from casting directors is, 'We can't find any Asian actors.' I always sort of laugh at that, because the level of talent in the Asian-American community is fantastic."

Playwright and actor Christine Toy Johnson is a member of Equity's equal opportunity committee. She will be among the dozen writers presenting shorts at the festival and says that more work by Asian-American playwrights can lead to more work for Asian-American actors—and that cultivating more diversity among artists onstage goes hand in hand with cultivating more diversity in the audience.

"There's this whole kind of Catch-22 about developing an audience," Johnson says. "If the audience isn't seeing themselves reflected onstage, then they might not necessarily think it's for them."

Highways Performance Space
Once We Wanted
Dan Kwong and Iu-Hui Chua
May 13 and 14, 2011

A show that features intellectual infants, infantile adults and multiple flower beheadings, "Once We Wanted" explores the question, "What does it truly mean to be with somebody?" Award-winning performance artist Dan Kwong and critically acclaimed Bay Area performer Iu-Hui Chua collaborate to create a dynamic collage of intimate personal reflections and social commentary as they engage their theme on a variety of levels.

Highways Performance Space & Gallery
(1/2 blk. north of Olympic in Santa Monica)

Stanford Asian American Theatre Project (Stanford, CA)
Pawn
a folk rock musical play
by Karmia Chan Cao
May 13 to 15, 2012

Performances at Stanford:
Thu, May 12@ 9 pm
Fri-Sun, May 13-15 @ 8 pm
Manzanita Dining Hall

Tickets available online, in White Plaza and at the door for $5
Please visit www.pawnthemusical.com for tickets and more information!
Or email pawn2011@gmail.com

Pawn follows Abraham Niu, a young Asian Canadian soldier stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, into the heart of a bombing raid and the darkest night of his life. This groundbreaking, entirely original folk rock musical play unlocks an urgent discourse on the post-9/11 decade through the keyhole of one family's tragic loss and the triumph of unrelenting hope.

After a staged reading under the title Abraham Niu and the Friendly Fires in the spring of 2010, Pawn was produced last November by the Stanford Theater Activist Mobilization Project and the Asian American Theater Project.

In the wake of the recent capture and death of Osama Bin Laden, Pawn spearheads the re-examination of questions on justice, terrorism, retribution and the legacy of our generation.

This summer, Pawn will embark on a world tour, having accepted invitations from seven cities and four countries. It has been officially selected for New York International Fringe Festival, the largest and most prestigious arts festival in North America and Daegu International Musical Festival in Korea.

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre is proud to present NEWWORKS 2011
a program of full-length solo pieces and shorts that will run from
May 18-21, 2011, 7:00pm
at Chen Dance Center
70 Mulberry Street (at Bayard)
Tickets: just $20!

This expansion of emerging works by diverse artists building on Pan Asian's successful 2+3 Nights Only showcases and Acting/Writing workshops.

May 18- RECESS by Una Aya Osato
An award winning performance that takes you inside the hearts and minds of 7 year olds navigating their way through NYC public schools.

May 19 and 21- AMERICAN MIXED TAPE by Allen Hope Sermonia
A comedy fresh from a run in Chicago that explores the writer's past, its intermingling with pop-culture songs and their importance in his personal evolution as a Filipino in America. A hilarious journey with mixed tapes and space cakes!

May 20- WOMEN OF TU-NA HOUSE by Nancy Eng
Most recently seen at the New Orleans Fringe Festival, welcome to the world of Tu-Na House, a massage parlour that offers more bang for your buck (if you know who to request)! Hear from the women who work there while searching for their own happy endings.

May 18 and 21-PARTY by Jillian Hassett
Dynasty,' dancing and middle school angst make a comeback in this hilarious monologue!

May 18 and 21-SC(RUB) by Kira Neel
A deep clean into the soul of the kitchen and one woman's secrets...

May 19 and 20- UNFELT WONDER by Angela Santillo
Come one, come all and see the woman who has liver her whole life without direct skin contact with objects, people, or herself!

Plus each night join us in the lobby post-show for a glass of wine and chance to schmooze with the artists!

East West Players Actors Conservatory Studio Lab Project in association with Japanese American National Museum presents:

CELEBRATING APA VOICES
Celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month with the students of East West Players. Students in the East West Players Studio Lab Project will perform select scenes, short pieces, and one-act comedic and dramatic plays by Asian American playwrights Julia Cho, Prince Gomolvilas, and Christine Huynh.

Cast (in alphabetical order):
James Dyer
Debbie Hoang
Justin Hong
Thao Le
Rich Liu
Fumi Sakurai
Amy Shu

When: May 21, 2011 - 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Where: National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
111 N. Central Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Parking: Available in City Lot 7 for $7 or street parking
Admission: Suggested donation $5
For more info: Please contact Marilyn Tokuda, Arts Education Director, at 213-625-7000 x15 or mtokuda@eastwestplayers.org

Maura Nguyen Donohue/inmixedcompany
with Slant Performance Group (New York, NY)
in the premiere of
strictly a female female
May 19 - 22, 2011
Thursday - Saturday, 8:30pm and Sunday, 4:30pm

Soaking WET, is a series of choreographed evenings curated by David Parker
West End Theater is located on the 2nd fl. of Church of St. Paul & St. Anthony at B'way & 86th.

strictly a female female is a mashup of Asian themed musicals/opera and (mostly) 80s rock. Donohue and, musical collaborators, Richard Ebihara & Perry Yung have recombined elements from Flower Drum Song, South Pacific, the King and I, and Madame Butterfly with 80s anthem rock from the likes of Journey, Billy Idol, Pat Benatar, and Guns N'Roses to create a truly absurd derivative mesh of the original sources. strictly a female female marks the first collaboration between Maura Nguyen Donohue/inmixedcompany and Slant Performance Group since their 1996 Lotus Blossom Itch at DTW. A reboot to their earlier examination of the Asian female body in popular culture, strictly a female female puts portrayals of race and gender through the blender for a riotous and ridiculous combination of live dance, music, and theater. Direction and choreography by Maura Nguyen Donohue. Music arranged by Richard Ebihara and performed by Ebihara & Perry Yung. Donohue is joined on stage by longtime company member Peggy Cheng, dancers Jessica Colotti and Timothy Edwards, with MiRi Park starring as faux-queen, dancing diva Stella Ho.

Circle X Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
The Chinese Massacre (Annotated)
World Premiere by Tom Jacobson
Directed by Jeff Liu
April 22 to May 28, 2011

1871 Los Angeles was a violent, vicious town. Suspected criminals were often hanged by vigilante groups and lawlessness had reached its peak. The Chinese Massacre (Annotated) tells the story of the first race riot in Los Angeles and the dangerous Wild West town that became the metropolis we know today

Cutting Ball Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
Madame Ho
By Eugenie Chan
Directed by Rob Melrose
Risk is This Festival of New Experimental Plays
Cutting Ball Theatre, San Francisco
May 27-28, 2011
8 pm
Free Admission
http://www.cuttingball.com

MADAME HO tells the story of a formidable woman in the Wild West, a real-life 19th century brothel hostess, single mother, Chinese immigrant, great-great grandmother, and ghost.

With Bonnie Akimoto, Yoonie Cho, Lily Tung Crystal, Leon Goertzen, Cindy Im, Mimu Tsujimura, and Michelle Talgarow

Cocks Crow
a reading of a new play by Alice Tuan
Monday, May 23 · 7:30pm - 10:00pm

Location
Los Angeles Theater Center (LATC)
514 Spring St. (@ 5th St.)
Downtown Los Angeles
Created By
Alice Tuan
More Info
Written in Shanghai, this play follows American business folks trying to do business in China. Directed by Vicki Grise, Princess Grace Fellowship and Yale Drama Award recipient.

With Shannon Holt, Ping Wu and Cal Arts actors Jennifer Greer, Evan Hyde and Jozben Bennett.

Hosted by Playwrights Arena and Jon Lawrence Rivera, this is a part of their monthly new play reading series.

5:15 PM Potluck reception & mingle with the artistic team
6:00 PM Reading

Where: The 10th Avenue Theatre
930 10th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

The Arctic is melting and everyone wants a piece of it. In the race to shape the future of the region, four characters - an ice scientist, an Inuit activist, an officer for the Marine Communications and Traffic Services and a polar bear - see their values challenged as their lives become intricately intertwined.

Infusion Theatre (Chicago, IL)
Soul Samurai
by Qui Nguyen
April 24 to June 5, 2011

"A young samurai girl and her sidekick fight through the mean streets of post-apocalyptic New York, featuring martial arts, a live DJ, multi-media, hip-hop, and vampires!" Featuring Stir Friday Night's Christine Lin.

San Jose Repertory Theatre (San Jose, CA)
Love In American Times
by Philip Kan Gotanda
directed by Rick Lombardo
May 12 through June 5, 2011

What do a 70 year old extremely wealthy, extremely powerful Caucasian man and a 33 year old extremely beautiful, extremely intelligent Asian woman have in common? Everything if you are Mrs. Green, a modern day match maker for a highly specialized clientele looking for potential marriage partners. She thinks she may have found the right people for each other in Jackson Heller and Scarlet Mori-Yang. A match made in heaven or a merger of mutual interests? This provocative comedy takes an unflinching look at the “Rupert Murdoch Marriage Phenomenon” while skewering old prejudices and political correctness with one simple unexpected element – love.

(Ooooh....this looks like a skewering of uptight AsAm males)(No, there's no resemblance there. None at all. NONE, I say....)

Refugee Nation's much anticipated tour to Seattle and Portland starts in one month!

It has taken several years of planning and thanks to the hard work of our partners and community members the tour is a reality. Litdet Viravong will again be joining Ova and Leilani in performing the full-length show and conducting workshops and community engagement activities in both cities. Please save the dates and help spread the word to family, friends and colleagues in the Pacific Northwest.

Seattle, Washington
Presented by the Lao Heritage Foundation, Pat Graney Company, & Legacies of War

Ethnic Cultural Theater @ the University of Washington
3940 Brooklyn Ave. NE
Seattle, WA 98105

Ethos at Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (IFCC)
5340 N Interstate Ave.
Portland, OR 97217

Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis, MN)
A Mu Musical Review
hosted by the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans
May 31 @ 7:00pm
*FREE*

San Diego Asian American Repertory Theatre (San Diego, CA)
A concert version of
Flower Drum Song
book by David Henry Hwang,
music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein
May 12 to June 12, 2011

Japanese American National Museum
Cold Tofu (Los Angeles, CA)
presents
The Hiroshi Show!
Thursday, June 2 & 9 • 8 PM

Starting with one suggestion from the audience, COLD TOFU creates a long form improv show full of comedy and hijinks based on the personal stories of its special guest hosts. The two special guests hosts is Rodney Kageyama (June 2) and David Ono (June 9).

Admission is $10 and a portion of the proceeds from both evenings will go to the National Museum. For reservations, please call 213.739.4142 or email coldtofu@hotmail.com.

Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis, MN)
Stories Program Showcase
June 7, 2011@ 6:00pm
*FREE*

You are invited to share in the success of our students! Youth from Mu's ground-breaking Stories Program, our initiative which brings artists to schools and community organizations to empower young people through theater, will perform their work for one another and for you on Tuesday, June 7. Support the progress of students from Washington Middle School, the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent, and the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, and be inspired by their achievements!

at the Lowry Lab Theatre
350 St. Peter Street, Saint Paul
(first floor inside the Lowry Building)

Saturday, June 11 · 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Location
Chop Suey Café
347 East 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA

Julia Cho, Peter Kuo, Stefanie Wong Lau and Marie-Reine Velez invite you to the kick-off event of Artists at Play, a new collective working to provide opportunities to artists under-represented in the Los Angeles theatre community.

At this event we'll introduce you to our new collective and our goals toward impacting the Los Angeles theatre scene. We will also announce our inaugural production "Ching Chong Chinaman" by Lauren Yee.

The event is FREE and will feature a no-host bar, light complimentary hors d'œuvre, a button making station and a parting gift.

Be one of the first to get your ticket to "Ching Chong Chinaman," a biting new comedy. We will be raffling away five pairs of tickets at the event. Raffle tickets will be $2 each or three for $5.

East West Players (Los Angeles, CA)
Krunk Fu Battle Battle
book by Qui Nguyen
lyrics by Beau Sia
vocal music by Marc Macalintal
May 12 to June 26, 2011

Under the guidance of Sir Master Cert, young Norman Lee battles the baddest b-boy crew at Sunset Park High for respect, honor, and the heart of sweet Cindy Chang. A hip-hop musical extravaganza! Book by Qui Nguyen, lyrics by Beau Sia, vocal music by Marc Macalintal, directed by Tim Dang.

Kumu Kahua Theatre (Honolulu, HI)
It’s All Relative
By Edward Sakamoto
May 26 to June 26, 2011

The Miyamotos look like a happy family, but in Edward Sakamoto’s dark comedy, nothing is what it seems. Beneath the surface you’ll find a collapsing marriage, resentment, regret, midlife crises, and three daughters who’ll do anything for their parents’ attention. One of our most popular playwrights and the author of Aloha Las Vegas and Stew Rice unveils a fresh, funny and challenging portrait of a local family adrift in the modern world.

TICKET PRICES:
General Admission: $15
Seniors/Students/Groups: $10
Refreshments available

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & RESERVATIONS:
Call: (323) 469-3113
Refreshments available (may be taken into the air-conditioned theatre)
Visit: www.writeactrep.org

Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre (Vancouver, BC)
Etch-Your-SketchOFF!#$%!! 3D
June 17 and 18, 2011

Etch-YOUR-SketchOFF!#$%!! 3D
VACT's 12th annual Asian Comedy Night will showcase 6 local Sketch Groups vying for the coveted Vancouver Rice Bowl and the People's CHOYS Award with the theme of celebrating Vancouver's 125th anniversary. Elements will include Vancouver locations, prominent local personalities and random Asian components. The Rice Bowl is judged by local Celebrity Judges while the People's CHOYS Award is judged by YOU – the audience, measured by YOUR applause. Zany, Crazy, Wild and Funny – an event you don't want to miss! 12 years strong and still laughing and peeing! Buy your tickets early and save $$$!

Friday, June 17, 2011 @ 8pm - Vancouver Rice Bowl Competition
Saturday, June 18, 2011 @ 7pm and 9pm - People's CHOYS Award

$16 (plus service charge & HST) in advance online only
$23 at the door (cash only)
Buy Your Tickets Online Now

Six talented sketch teams will be vying for this year's top bragging rights. Who will take the coveted Vancouver Rice Bowl award? And which teams will win over the audience with their outrageous and funny sketches to earn the People's Choy Award? Here are this year's teams:

Stay tuned to our website: www.vact.ca or our Facebook page to learn more about these fearless teams who will stop at nothing to earn your applause!

VACT is pleased to announce that Tetsuro Shigematsu, a former writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes, will be the MC at this year's event Etch-Your-Sketchoff!#$%!! June 17 & 18, 2011.

Third National Asian American Theatre Conference and Festival
Los Angeles, CA
June 16 to 26, 2011

The Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists' 3rd National Asian American Theater Festival will feature ten works from around the world—and four partner productions from local companies—that feature Asian Americans performers and stories.

The presenters will hail from all areas, including New York, Massachusetts, the Bay Area and reaching as far as Munich, Germany. The festival will feature an eclectic array of multidisciplinary arts that include traditional theatre, dance, multimedia, storytelling, aerial arts and spoken word. The festival will take place June 16–26 in Los Angeles, with the core of the performances happening June 23–26.

The core participating performers of the festival are:
The National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO)
RasaNova Theater
Performance Artist Denise Uyehara
Navarasa Dance Theater
Performance Duo: Aerial Artist/Actor Kennedy Kabasares and Multidisciplinary Performance Artist Traci Kato-Kiriyama
Multidisciplinary Artist Soomi Kim
Post Natyam Collective
Writer/Performer Jason Magabo Perez
Comic Duo: Writer/Performer Prince Gomolvilas and Singer/Songwriter Brandon Patton
Writer/Performer May Lee-Yang

The core participating performers will present their productions in alternating performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 23–25, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. and Sunday, June 26, at 2 p.m and 4 p.m.

"We are thrilled to be showcasing a diverse array of theatrical forms, cultural heritage, and intergenerational voices through the Asian American theater festival," said Leilani Chan, Artistic Director of Teada Productions and Los Angeles Festival host. Chan continued, "With all the theatrical events happening around Los Angeles during the month of June, you should experience as much as you can."

"Imagine all the theater events in Los Angeles as this buffet, or expanded menu. You'll want to try everything and step outside of your comfort zone for this performance feast. The Asian American Theater Festival will give you a taste of something specific but altogether, you will have sampled this rich global stew," said Tim Dang, Producing Artistic Director of East West Players and Los Angeles Festival host.

The selection panel for the festival participants were: Dr. Lucy Burns, PhD.UCLA; Philip Chung, writer; Sheetal Gandhi, performing artist; Dr. Velina Hasu Houston, PhD. University of Southern California, playwright; Nobuko Miyamoto, Founder and Artistic Director of Great Leap, Inc.; Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwright's Arena; and Kristina Sheryl Wong, Artist.

The two theatrical productions include NAATCO's presentation of A Number by Caryl Churchill—when Bernard learns that he was cloned he confronts his father who knew all along—featuring an all Asian American cast, and RasaNova Theater's presentation of Dancing on Glass by Ram Ganesh Kamatham. This dark comedy is an eloquent response to the rapid changes in the cityscape of Bangalore in 2004, in the thick of the outsourcing buzz.

Three of the shorter performance pieces will be presented together in one time-slot. Denise Uyehara's Archipelago: Islands of Land, Water and Legend will utilize video, monologues, music and ritual to narrate the origin myths of Okinawa and Native people of the American Southwest. Navarasa Dance Theater will use dance to explore the different kinds of ways people Encounter each other in contemporary human life. And in Pull Kennedy Kabasares and Traci Kato-Kiriyama will blend monologues, recorded interviews and aerial arts to tell stories of people's obsessions.

The growing use of projection in theatrical story-telling will be featured in three festival pieces. Soomi Kim's new work Dictee is a multi-media dance theater performance based on the text of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's seminal literary collage. Post Natyam Collective's Sunoh! Tell Me Sister layers video, dance and theater to bring to life subversive stories of women's erotic power and resistance. Jason Magbo Perez's The Passion of El Hulk Hogancito is a transdisciplinary, multi-media, literary performance that is a semi-autobiography of Perez's life.

Comic story-telling will also be highlighted by two performances. Comic duo Prince Gomovilas and Brandon Patton's Jukebox Stories is a critically acclaimed story-telling, song-singing, bingo-playing performance that has toured nationwide. In May Lee-Yang's Ten Reasons Why'd I'd Be a Bad Porn Star, she employs comedic storytelling, on-site sex toy demonstrations and some cultural competency training as she explores relationship and taboo topics.

In addition, there will be performances by four partner organizations. East West Players will present its new hip-hop musical Krunk-Fu Battle Battle. The Geffen Playhouse will presents the world premiere of Extraordinary Chambers. And two of the winners from 2008 East West Players' Pacific Century playwriting competition will be presented; The Colony Theatre Company will presents the 3rd place winner Year Zero and The Company of Angels will present the 1st place winner Sun Sisters.

National Asian American Theater Festival and Conference attendees will be able to attend these partner organizations' performances for a discounted rate on June 16–26. Performance dates and ticket prices may vary.

The National Asian American Theater Festival was first initiated in 2007 in New York City when six of the top Asian American theater groups (Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, East West Players, Ma-Yi Theater, the National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO), Second Generation and Mu Performing Arts) met in June 2004 to discuss the state of Asian American Theater.

Funding for the 3rd National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival is being provided, in part by, National Endowment for the Arts, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the California Community Foundation, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Additional sponsors are the Japanese American National Museum, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center and Inner-City Arts.

The Miyako Hotel and Spa is the Official Hotel of the National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival.

LA Weekly is a media sponsor for the National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival.
FESTIVAL TICKETS for the 3rd National Asian American Theater Festival are $15 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors. Tickets for performances at partner organizations range from $20 to $76. The festival runs June 16–26. $80 Festival Passes are available and give access to all core festival performances. $300 ConFest passes are available and give access to all core festival performances as well as all panels, opening and closing receptions to the National Asian American Theater Conference. The conference runs June 20–22. Festival and ConFest Passes can be purchased online at www.caata.net, by phone at (213) 625-7000 or in person at the East West Players' administrative office.

LOCATION: The 3rd National Asian American Theater Festival will host core performances at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Tateuchi Democracy Forum) at 111 N. Central Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles at the Alameda exit off the Hollywood (101) Freeway in Little Tokyo, part of the Japanese American National Museum, and at the Inner-City Arts Rosenthal Theater at 720 Kohler Street in Downtown Los Angeles between E. 7th St. and E. 8th St. Parking is available off Judge John Aiso St. between E. Temple St. and E. 1st St.

ABOUT CAATA: The Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists envisions a strong and sustainable Asian American Theater community that is an integral presence in national culture—evocative of our past, declarative of our present, and innovative towards our future. Our mission is to advance the field of Asian American Theater through a national network of organizations and artists. We collaborate to inspire leaning and sharing of knowledge, and resources to promote a healthy, sustainable artistic ecology.

CAATA BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Andrea Assaf, Leilani Chan, Tisa Chang, Carla Ching, Tim Dang, Gayle Isa, Mia Katigbak, Dipankar Mukherjee, Duy Nguyen, Jorge Ortoll, Rich Shiomi
THE PERFORMANCES

A Number
by Caryl Churchill
The National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO)
National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Tateuchi Democracy Forum)
7 p.m. June 23 and 9 p.m. June 25
OBIE Award–winner and 2010 Theatre Hall of Fame inductee, Caryl Churchill explores the human experience, the essence of personality, and nature versus nurture as a man confronts his father after discovering that he has several siblings—each, one of his clones. Since the arrival of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned in the late-90s, the possibility of human cloning has sparked controversy. This Asian American production with James Saito and Jon Norman Schneider draws attention to the fact that despite the fabric of American life is being made up of diverse and complex cultural threads, American theatre is woefully behind the times in reflecting this on stage.

Dancing on Glass
by Ram Ganesh Kamatham
RasaNova Theater
Inner-City Arts Rosenthal Theater
9 p.m. June 23 and 7 p.m. June 25
A dark comedy that takes a look at the flip side of the fast-paced, globalized, technological world. In the thick of the outsourcing buzz, the play is an eloquent response to the rapid changes in the Bangalore cityscape and its effect on two young working professionals—Megha, a Call Center employee, and Shankar, a software engineer.
"…a scorching drama of love in the time of the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) buzz…" — India Today

Archipelago: Islands of Land, Water and Legend
Denise Uyehara
Inner-City Arts Rosenthal Theater
7 p.m. June 23 and 9 p.m. June 25
(Performed with Encounter and Pull)
A new multi-disciplinary work directed and performed by Denise Uyehara in collaboration with video artist Adam Cooper-Terán, with appearances by Natalie Brewster Nguyen and Marcos Najera.
Archipelago harnesses the cultural resonance found on "islands" —islands situated in the desert and islands found in the ocean. It investigates the metaphor of water that winds through early origin stories, citing narrative, iconography and deities from Ryukyu kingdom and various tribes of the American Southwest: the Yaqui, Navajo, Huichol and Tohono O'odham nations. The performance also sheds light on how these cultures have survived as islands—geographic or metaphoric in nature—in the midst of colonization from surrounding forces.
"Compelling…as graceful and agile on stage as she is on the page…Uyehara is definitely one to watch." — Los Angeles Times

Encounter
Navarasa Dance Theater
Inner-City Arts Rosenthal Theater
7 p.m. June 23 and 9 p.m. June 25
(Performed with Archipelago: Islands of Land, Water and Legend and Pull)
Encounter explores the different kinds of encounters in contemporary human life: encounter of the human soul with the divine, encounter with self, encounter with lover, encounter with gravity and encounter with the military.
"…modern dance, Indian martial arts, aerial dance, Bollywood's pop influences—all with an eye for originality and a skillful use of space, sending dancers into eye catching floor patterns." — Boston Globe

Pull
Kennedy Kabasares and Traci Kato-Kiriyama
Inner-City Arts Rosenthal Theater
7 p.m. June 23 and 9 p.m. June 25
(Performed with Archipelago: Islands of Land, Water and Legend and Encounter)
Pull incorporates monologues, recorded interviews, and aerial arts to tell stories of people's obsessions, from the mundane to the supernatural. Pull examines the effects they have on people's lives and relationships. When do we pull them back?

Dictee
Soomi Kim
Inner-City Arts Rosenthal Theater
9 p.m. June 24 and 2 p.m. June 26
Dictee, a new work, is a multi-media dance theater performance based on the text of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's seminal literary collage. Through interchangeable disciplines of spoken text, movement, music, experimental sound and video, performing artists Soomi Kim and Jen Shyu share the stories of brave women who are ordinary, revolutionary, and extraordinary in their common experiences of suffering and transcendence of suffering.
"Soomi Kim is a commanding presence as Bruce Lee. It takes mere seconds to see beyond her gender, and she convincingly portrays one of the most popular male action stars of the 20th Century. Bruce Lee would be proud." — nytheatre.com, Jason S. Grossman on the piece Lee/gendary

Sunoh! Tell Me Sister
Post Natyam Collective
Inner-City Arts Rosenthal Theater
7 p.m. June 24 and 4 p.m. June 26
In a fluid layering of video, live dance, and theater, Sunoh! Tell Me Sister brings to life subversive stories of women's erotic power and resistance. This multimedia storytelling and dance piece is an excavation of seldom heard South Asian female voices from the historical dancer-courtesan of the Indian subcontinent to the contemporary survivor of domestic violence. Sunoh! Was developed in collaboration with AWAZ, the violence prevention group of the South Asian Network.
"Talk about fusion—not only did Bollywood meet rap meet performance art meet modern dance and bharata natyam but there was humor, depth and beauty to burn." — Victoria Looseleaf, Los Angeles Times

The Passion of El Hulk Hogancito
Jason Magabo Perez
National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Tateuchi Democracy Forum)
9 p.m. June 24 and 2 p.m. June 26
A semi-autobiographical, interdisciplinary, multi-media, literary performance. Jason, the supposedly fictional narrator, wrestles with authorship and obsession, loses the Third Grade Show and Tell showdown, muses on the mentorship of WWF wrestlers, investigates the history of his crybabyness and explores the trauma of the FBI's 1970 racist criminalization of two recently immigrated Filipina nurses, one of whom happens to be his mother.
"As horrifying, deeply American, kinda maybe David-Lynch-meets-hip-hop narratives go, this one is a doozy." — SF Weekly

Jukebox Stories
Prince Gomolvilas and Brandon Patton
National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Tateuchi Democracy Forum)
7 p.m. June 24 and 4 p.m. June 26
This critically acclaimed story-telling, song-singing, bingo-playing, comic duo features writer/performer Prince Gomolvilas and singer/songwriter Brandon Patton. The performance has toured extensively nationwide at theaters, colleges, bars, comedy clubs, and other weird performance spaces.
"Jukebox Stories takes a classic idea and gives it a modern spin. Fun, fresh and decidedly untheatrical. Jukebox Stories is a sturdy piece of post-modern cabaret, and Gomolvilas and Patton nicely fill their roles as hip, urban troubadours!" — The Oakland Tribune

Ten Reasons Why'd I'd Be a Bad Porn Star
May Lee-Yang
National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Tateuchi Democracy Forum)
9 p.m. June 23 and 7 p.m. June 25
May Lee-Yang employs comedic storytelling, on-site sex toy demonstrations, and some cultural competency training as she explores marriage, porn, romance novel fantasies, and how to talk about sex in the Hmong culture (a definite no-no).

Krunk-Fu Battle Battle
Book by Qui Nguyen
Lyrics by Beau Sia
Vocal Music by Marc Macalintal
East West Players
David Henry Hwang Theater
May 12 – June 26
Under the guidance of Sir Master Cert, young Norman Lee battles the baddest b-boy crew at Sunset Park High for respect, honor, and the heart of sweet Cindy Chang. A hip-hop musical extravaganza!

Extraordinary Chambers
by David Wiener
The Geffen Playhouse
Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater
May 24 – July 3
As the Khmer Rouge once again attracts international attention, this world premiere play gets to the heart of the headlines. When Carter, an American telecom executive, brings his wife Mara on a business trip to Cambodia, he never imagines that the ghosts of this beautiful country will find a way to haunt their lives. As business deals unravel and personal negotiations brim with political consequences, Carter and Mara must decide if the salvation of one life is worth sacrificing the justice of many.

Year Zero
by Michael Golamco
The Colony Theatre Company
The Colony Theatre
June 1 – July 3
How do you move forward in life when you're stuck where you are? In Long Beach, CA, two young Cambodian-Americans search for an answer. Vuthy is a lonely 16-year-old who loves hip hop and Dungeons & Dragons. His ambitious older sister is starting to veer from her steadfast path to higher education and assimilation. With great humor and a modern sensibility, Year Zero sensitively explores how to escape a painful past while honoring the legacy of one's own history. It's a contemporary comedic drama about reinvention, redemption, and finding where we belong.

Sun Sisters
by S. Vasanti Saxena
The Company of Angels
Company of Angels
July 30 – August 28
(There will be an open rehearsal on June 22nd for National Asian American Theater Festival attendees.)
A daughter's love. A mother's final blessing. Jessica's homecoming forces past and present to collide as she learns to understand intolerance and tolerate her mother's lack of understanding. Sun Sisters is a play about unspoken desires and how even silence cannot prevent their realization.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS AND PRESENTING ORGANIZATIONS
National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) - An OBIE Award-winning company now in its 21st season—was created to provide opportunities for Asian-American theatre artists, actors, directors, designers, etc.—to do work in Western works they might not ordinarily be cast in or hired for in traditional circumstances. To that end, NAATCO has presented a host of classic works and new plays with all Asian-American casts, including last season's Drama Desk nominated A Play on War and the critically acclaimed The Seagull.

RasaNova Theater was founded by Vidhu Singh, director of Dancing on Glass, to produce bold new plays from South Asia, its diaspora and other world theater traditions. She earned a Master's degree in Dramatic Art from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a doctorate from the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Asian Theater Program. As part of her doctoral research in India, Vidhu became part of a nation-wide experiment documenting regional theater companies that blended Indian and Western actor-training techniques in their work.

Denise Uyehara is an award-winning performance artist, writer and playwright whose work has been presented in London, Tokyo, Helsinki, Vancouver and across the United States. A pioneering performance artist whose work the Los Angeles Times hails as "mastery [that] amounts to a'coup de theater," Uyehara was one of the first to explore Asian American queer subjectivity through performance. She is the recipient a COLA Fellowship from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, as well as support from the Asian Cultural Council and Arizona Commission on the arts.
Navarasa Dance Theater has a wide repertoire of solo and group works in classical and contemporary dance and theater. Inspired by Indian classical and folk dance forms, theater, world music, martial arts (kalari ppayattu), aerial dance, yoga, live singing and storytelling, Aparna Sindhoor, Anil Natyaveda and S M Raju have created work is dynamic, radical, and original in style and content. Navarasa Dance Theater is known for its work with themes that deal with human issues in a meaningful way that makes audiences enjoy and be touched at the same time.

Kennedy Kabasares is an aerial artist, actor and writer. He has worked with a diversity of theater companies, including Tongue in a Mood Theater, East West Players, Center Theater Group, performance trio zero3, and Kinetic Theory Circus Arts. An almost chance encounter with a circus school in Los Angeles led to several years of training with world-class coaches such as Eric Newton (Cirque du Soleil, Quidam), Karyn and Sara Steben (Cirque du Soleil, Saltimbanco) and Rachel Walker (Cirque du Soleil, Kooza).

Traci Kato-Kiriyama is a multi-disciplinary performing artist, arts educator, director/founder of the Tuesday Night Project and recent author of book of poetry, signaling, Traci previously toured with Kennedy Kabasares in their inter-disciplinary theatrical show, Zero3: Stage and Spoken Word Superheroes. She is currently touring with her book and just launched a new community documentation and arts project called Generations Of War with the support of the Aratani CARE grant and Professor Glenn Omatsu's Asian American Social Movements course at UCLA.

Soomi Kim is an actor/multidisciplinary artist based in NYC. In October 2008 her original play Lee/gendary (based on the life of Bruce Lee–written by Derek Nguyen and directed by Suzi Takahashi) ran for 3 weeks's at HERE Arts Center's mainstage. This production (produced by and featuring Kim as Bruce Lee) garnered 6 IT Awards nominations and received the award for 2009 Outstanding Production of a Play. Lee/gendary was also presented at the First National Asian American Theater Festival (FNAATF) held in New York City in 2007.

The Post Natyam Collective is a multinational community of dance artists, scholars and organizers critically and creatively engaging with South Asian dance forms and aesthetic concepts. The members of the collective are Sandra Chatterjee (Munich/New Delhi), Cynthia Ling Lee (Los Angeles), Shyamala Moorty (Los Angeles) and Anjali Tata (Kansas City). Every Post Natyam Collective member is steeped in South Asian and other movement forms, but the training of each member is unique. Collectively, their training includes Bharata Natyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, yoga, and contemporary dance.

Jason Magabo Perez received his MFA in Writing & Consciousness from the now defunct New College of California in San Francisco. An alumnus of the VONA Summer Writing Workshops and a featured artist for the New Americans Museum, Perez has performed at various university campuses and at venues such as the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Asian Art Museum SF, and the La Jolla Playhouse. His writing has appeared or is forthcoming in literary journals such as Witness, Tayo, and In the Grove. Currently, he is writing for a dance-theatre collaboration and has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Prince Gomolvilas is a Thai-American playwright whose plays include Big Hunk O' Burnin' Love (East West Players, Los Angeles, 1998), The Theory of Everything (co-production between Singapore Repertory Theatre, Singapore & East West Players, Los Angeles, 2000), Bee (Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, San Francisco, 2001), and the stage adaptation of the Scott Heim novel, Mysterious Skin (New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco, 2003), which have been produced around United States, in the UK, and in Singapore.

Brandon Patton is a songwriter and instrumentalist. His solo album Should Confusion was nominated for Album of the Year by the Independent Music Awards. He plays bass under the pseudonym BL4k Lotus for MC Frontalot, progenitor of "nerdcore hiphop." MC Frontalot's band and its first national tour was the subject of the documentary Nerdcore Rising. Patton composed the songs for Love Sucks: The Musical, a Shakespearean take on the punk rock of the 1970s, which won Honorable Mention at the 2007 New York Musical Theatre Festival.

May Lee-Yang is a playwright, prose writer, poet and performance artist living in Saint Paul, MN. Despite no experience and bad acting, she got her first gig at eighteen. Since then, she has gone on to perform her writing as a solo artist as well as a member of the spoken word group, FIRE. She's a two-time winner of the MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant, a two-time winner of the Playwright Center Many Voices Fellowship, a winner of Intermedia Arts' Naked Stages performance art program and a recipient of a National Performance Network Creation Fund.

East West Players has been producing work since 1965. Productions range from popular Asian American works, Asian American World Premieres, Mainstream Musicals & Plays with an Asian American twist and community performances. As the nation's premier Asian American theatre organization, East West Players produces outstanding works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American experience.

The Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition.

The Colony Theatre Company is a 37-year old organization dedicated to bringing the finest-quality theatrical productions to Los Angeles. Named "LA's Best Live Theatre" by readers of L. A. Daily News and named one of "25 Notable US Theatre Companies" by Encyclopedia Britannica's Almanac 7 years in a row.

Company of Angels is dedicated to creating theater that is deeply connected to its community. Theater in Los Angeles is largely disconnected from the vast majority of residents. This is especially lamentable given the ability of theater to create a shared experience, illuminate societal struggles, and provide a vehicle to express and discuss ideas. We aim to share and help give voice to the many stories that exist in our community.

Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis, MN)
presents Mu Daiko in
Soul of the Drum
featuring Mu Daiko
June 16 to 26, 2011
Ordway Center’s McKnight Theater

Last year, 2g held our first national call for submissions for brand new plays by Asian American playwrights and held a whirlwind reading series of all the winners - FREE RANGE. Now, we've commissioned three of the plays which have gone from 10-minute to full length plays.

Please join us and see how far these plays have come along!

An American premiere: "The Empress of China" is set in the year of 1784 during the 49th year of the reign of the Qing Emperor. It tells the legend of the first trading ship from the US to China. Blending significant historical figures and fictional characters, it examines the initial encounter for two peoples of drastically diverse experience and exceedingly different ways of looking at themselves and at the world. In the forbidden encounter between the dashing Supercargo of The Empress of China, Samuel Shaw, and the young beautiful Purple Lotus, daughter of a rich Chinese merchant, a common language was found in their belief in trust, honor, and integrity.

Writeact Repertory (Los Angeles, CA)
Waking from the Dream: Four Tales about Living in the Fantasy of Our Minds
by Rochelle Perry
June 8 to 23, 2011

"Waking from the Dream" is a collection of four tales, written by Rochelle Perry, that delve deep into the psyche of the human experience and explore the dark places that the mind can lead us. Begin the night walking through a dreamscape of artwork by animation industry professionals. Then take your seats and be enlightened by a local entertainer. Each night will feature a different pre-show performer, ranging from a melting pot of excitement including stand-up comedians, musicians, and even a snake dancer!

Opening the series of plays is the quirky "Velma and Manny", which features the title characters - one of whom is a stuffed doll - on a special date. The next play, "Failure to the Family", addresses the pressure Asian-Americans face from demanding parents. "It Just Happened" reveals secrets from two women's pasts, and how demons they thought they destroyed end up haunting them forever. We then conclude the night with "Japan 1946 Meets California 2010", a play inspired by true events in the playwright's life – the struggle with dementia and the effect it has on a person's past, present, and future. Whether you live out your childhood fantasies, contemplate suicide because you've let someone down, live in regret with past demons that haunt you, or struggle to remember your loved ones... rest at ease knowing that someday you will wake from this dream.

DATES AND TIMES:
Opens Wed. June 8th and runs through Wed., June 22nd 2011
7:30 PM – June 8, 13, 14, 15, 19 (Sunday), 20, 21, and 22 2011
Box Office opens at 7:00 PM
(A reception for meet and greet with the artists will follow each show.)

LOCATION:
Write Act Repertory Theatre
6128 Yucca Street, Hollywood, CA 90028
(East of Vine St – two blocks east of Historic Landmark Capitol Records Building)
Free parking in the lot on the south side of St. Stephen's Church at 6125 Carlos Ave.
(Handicap access available at Yucca Street entrance)

Isa Company, 4Hawk Productions and Leviathan Lab (New York, NY) Present
Red, White and Booze: Party & Fundraiser for
Gated
A New Comedy by Marisa Marquez
Friday, June 24, 2011 · 7:00pm - 11:00pm

Come party and celebrate the summer with RED, WHITE & BOOZE, a fundraiser in support of Marisa Marquez's hilarious dark comedy GATED and Leviathan Lab at the air conditioned 29th Street Repertory.

Open Bar accepting donations for beer, wine, well drinks and snacks all evening, along with musical acts

MATTHEW G. PARK
THIN SKIN JOHNNY
and
ZING EXPERIENCE with LIZ CASASOLA

with comic storyteller
KEVIN ALLISON
(RISK!; THE STATE ON MTV)

Proceeds for this event will go towards Isa Company and 4Hawk Productions' upcoming run of GATED as well as future inititatives of Leviathan Lab, a creative studio for Asian American Artists.

Special entry admission prices include more chances to win the raffle!

Deluxe Admission: $25 (includes 1 admission and 3 raffle tickets!)
Bronze Admission: $50 (includes 1 admission ticket and 10 raffle tickets!)
Silver Admission: $100 (includes 2 admission tickets and 20 raffle tickets!)
Gold Admission: $250 (includes 3 admission tickets and 50 raffle tickets!)
Platinum Admission: $500 (includes 5 admission tickets and 100 raffle tickets!)

DramaWest Fest (Los Angele, CAs)
presents a staged reading of
The People's Prada
by Felix Racelis
June 25, 2011

In this riotous comedy, a Beverly Hills matron decides it's time for her reluctant stepson to spread his wings. The play was a finalist in last year's Tehachapi Playwrights Festival.

fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company (Toronto, Canada)
The 8th Annual Potluck Festival - featuring K8
June 2011

fu-GEN's Playwright Kitchen The annual Potluck Festival gets a reboot in the Spring, with a few changes, new surprises and talented writers kicking (and cooking) up a storm in a teacup.

Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis, MN)
New Faces Program Year-End Performance
June 2011
Lowry Lab Theater

Questions? Email