Calendar of Asian American Theatre 3rd Quarter 2013

Lifeline Theatre (Chicago, IL)
Bridge of Birds: A Tale of an Ancient China That Never Was
May 31 to Jul 21, 2013

The children of Ku-fu have fallen victim to a deadly plague, and their fate rests in the hands of a stalwart young man named Number Ten Ox. Together with the irascible Master Li, an ancient scholar with "a slight flaw in his character," this simple peasant must set out on an unforgettable quest to secure the Great Root of Power, the only hope for his dying village. Explore a legendary land of magic and mystery with an unlikely pair of heroes, and do battle with ghosts, monsters, mercenaries, an evil Ancestress, and a very wicked Duke. A rousing adventure with humor and heart, in a world premiere adaptation. Based on the 1984 novel by Barry Hughart, winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

Grove Theatre Center (Los Angeles, CA)
Sweet Karma
by Henry Ong
June 22 to July 20, 2013

Based on true events, this is a dramatization of the life and death of an Oscar-winner who survived the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in war-torn Cambodia, only to be fatally gunned down in the streets of Los Angeles.
From June 22 to July 20 (delayed from May).
Fri & Sat at 8pm, Sun at 3pm
For more information and tickets, go to www.gtc.org

Bindlestiff Studio (San Francisco, CA)
A Pinoy Midsummer: The Remount
July 11 to 20, 2013 at 8pm

Location: Bindlestiff Studio 185 6th St. San Franisco, CA
Tickets: $10 - $25

Bindlestiff Studio Artists are remounting the popular production of a Pinoy Midsummer as a special fundraiser for Bindlestiff Studio. Every cent will go towards keeping the theatre running. This is a purely Filipino adaptation of Shakespeare's beloved play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Join us as we journey into a dreamscape that utilizes shadow puppetry, traditional kulintang music, lyrical classical text merged with bawdy street Tagalog celebrating love and the pursuit of the impossible.

Kumu Kahua Theatre (Honolulu, HI)
Flipster Flurry: A Night of Sketch Comedy
July 20 and 21, 2013

Public Theatre (New York, NY)
World Premiere
Here Lives Love
A Disco Musical
Concept and Lyrics: David Byrne
Music: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
Additional music: Tom Gandey, J Pardo
Directed by Alex Timbers
Choreographed by Annie-B Parson
April 2 to ~~May 5, 2013~~
~~extended to June 2, 2013~~
~~extended to June 30, 2013~~
extended AGAIN to July 28, 2013

Within a throbbing dance club atmosphere, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim deconstruct the astonishing journey of Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos and her meteoric rise and subsequent descent into infamy. Here Lies Love is neither a period piece nor a biography, neither a play or a musical but a wholly immersive spectacle combining disco beats, adrenaline-fueled choreography, and a remarkable 360-degree scenic and video environment to go beyond Imelda's near-mythic obsession with shoes and explore true questions of power and responsibility.

Here Lies Love is an 80-minute, fully immersive, 360-degree theatrical experience. Set within a dance club atmosphere, audiences will stand and move with the actors. Comfortable shoes and clothing are recommended. Dancing is encouraged.

Bay Area Playwrights Festival - The Play Development Process at BAPF
The annual BAPF brings together a select group of playwrights and professional directors, dramaturgs, the Bay Area¹s top actors, and new this year, designers, to engage in an in-depth development process of six new plays over three weeks, including a three-day artists retreat outside the city, and two weeks of rehearsals during which artistic teams support the playwright¹s dramaturgical investigations. The work leads to two public staged readings of each play, with a week for rehearsal and rewriting in between the readings

PLAYS/Schedule 7/19-28
Laura Schellhardt -The Comparables is a ballsy satire between three women at the top of their game:
Prince Gomolvilas - The Brothers Paranormal, Ghosts, real and imagined, in a Thai style sci-fi mystery;
Jiehae Park- Hannah and the Dread Gazebo, North vs South Korea can't stop the wild beasts of the DMZ.
Erin Bregman - Before & After; Memory, afterlife, metaphysical journey.
Kimber Lee - brownsville song (b-side for tray); Poetic, dreamlike, tragic - the cost of inner city violence.
Joan Holden - FSM; a musical about the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley. A producing partnership with Oakland's Stagebridge Theatre.

WEEKEND ONE 7/19-21
Fri 19
8pm: Hannah and the Dread Gazebo by Jiehae Park
Director: M. Graham Smith, Dramaturg: Joy Brooke Fairfield
Sat 20
12pm: FSM by Joan Holden, Bruce Barthol & Daniel Savio
Director: Erin Merritt, Dramaturg: Marge Betley
4pm: brownsville song (b-side for tray) by Kimber Lee
Director: Tony Kelly, Dramaturg: Jessica Holt
8pm: Before & After by Erin Bregman
Director: Susannah Martin, Dramaturg: Margot Manburg
Sun 21
10am: SPECIAL EVENT: Playwrights¹ Round Table: Mapping Your Career, Taking Action!
12pm: The Comparables by Laura Schellhardt
4pm: The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas
Director: Evren Odcikin, Dramaturg: Jayne Wenger

WEEK TWO: 7/24-28
Wed 24: 7pm Theatre Bay Area Presents the 2013 ATLAS Playwrights
Thur 25: 7pm SPECIAL EVENT: Young TheaterMakers Showcase
Fri 26: 2-5pm SPECIAL EVENT: New Play Symposium: Social Movements and theater:
Then and Now. Join festival playwrights, critics, and leaders in various social justice movements
to discuss legacy of so called "political theater" on 21st century playwriting and theater.
8pm brownsville song (b-side for tray) by Kimber Lee
Sat 27
10 am SPECIAL EVENT: bagels and coffee panel: Asian
12pm Hannah & the Dread Gazebo by Jiehae Park
2:30 pm SPECIAL EVENT: Asian ghost story and horror genre
American Playwrights in literature.
4pm The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas
8pm The Comparables by Laura Schellhardt
Sun 28
12pm FSM by Joan Holden
4pm Before & After by Erin Bregman

In association with the Parkdale Village BIA Lab Cab, come out to see Asiansploitation perform an exciting 15-minute set which includes audience-suggested improvised scenes and 1 or 2 of our favourite sketches.

This FREE Performance is happening on both Saturday, July 27 AND Sunday, July 28 at THE SISTER is located at 1554 Queen St West (west of Landsdowne)

With Karmann Bajuyo, Kevin Matthew Reyes, Kate Garassino, Erica Weiss, Joseph Anthony Foronda, Danny Bernardo and Jillian Jocson.

Pork Filled Productions (Seattle, WA)
The Clockwork Professor
by Maggie Lee
July 12 to August 3, 2013

In the alternative world of New Providence (similar to our Victorian era but with several significant technological differences), Professor Pemberton is a humble inventor, a quiet man of science. But, as political unrest sweeps over the great city of New Providence, buried secrets from his past threaten to destroy everything that he holds dear, and perhaps even the Crown itself! From romance to royal airships to roving inter-dimensional portals, come join The Clockwork Professor on this action-packed adventure of fantastical science fiction with a steampunk twist!

East West Players (Los Angeles, CA)
David Henry Hwang Institute New Works Festival
August 10 and 11, 2013

The David Henry Hwang Writers' Works In Progress is back for the DHHWI New Works Festival! Join Workshop Leader Prince Gomolivlas along with playwrights Lisa Thong, Alison M. De La Cruz, Howard Ho, and Cynthia Ignacio Gordon for their readings that will be held on Saturday, August 10 - Sunday, August 11 at the David Henry Hwang Theater.

SATURDAY, August 10 @ 6pm
BETWEEN LETTERS
by Lisa Thong
In a city of isolated commuters too busy surviving to see the humanity in one another, a cab driver named Andy navigates the disconnected while attempting to map a route out of existential inertia.

8pm
POSTAL AMERICANA
by Alison M. De La Cruz
Joanne is a postal worker unable to deliver the mail, stuck in a continuous depression spiral. But everything changes once shots are fired in the north valley of Los Angeles, CA. Mingling in the poetic netherworlds of the living rooms, community spaces and on the streets of Los Angeles, Postal Americana is inspired by the real-life slaying of postal worker Joseph Ileto.

SUNDAY, August 11 @ 6pm
PRETENDO: A MUSICAL
Music, book, and lyrics by Howard Ho
It's 1983, and Billy can't catch a break. He's bullied, and worse, he can't get past the next level of Game Wars on the Tari 260. When he meets Spaceman on Compuserve, his luck changes. But Spaceman has a secret and isn't who Billy thinks. What happens when Billy tries to find real connection in a cyber world?

8pm
THE CHARLATAN
by Cynthia Ignacio Gordon
After one too many smarmy con jobs, Danton attracts unwanted attention, including that of fellow illusionist Liona De Maur, whose mission is to debunk all charlatans. Despite Liona's relentless public challenges, Danton still manages to swindle the city of Niagara into building an outrageous theme park. This ambitious project threatens to self-destruct when Danton's business partners turn out to be more dangerous than he bargained for.

SHUNYA THEATRE (Houston, TX)
Partition
by Ira Hauptman
Directed by Sara Kumar
Set Design by James V. Thomas
Lighting Design by Kris Phelps
August 2 to 18, 2013

Two geniuses. Two worlds. One maddening riddle. In 1913, a young, self-taught mathematical genius in India named Srinivasa Ramanujan is invited to England to work with G. H. Hardy, a Cambridge professor. But just as mathematics draws these two men from vastly different cultures together, it also possesses the power to destroy them. A riveting fantasy based on real events.

Come celebrate Tim Dang's 20th Anniversary as Producing Artistic Director of East West Players!

An indoor/outdoor event featuring the best musical talent from the best musicals that EWP has produced. In addition, a delectable menu of Asian fusion, great wine from the collections of our EWP wine aficionados, a hosted open bar (have you had a Tim Dang Banger yet?), and desserts to die for--and you have one heck of an evening.

For more information on individual tickets and sponsor packages, contact Development Manager Rosalyn Kawahira at rkawahira@eastwestplayers.org or call (213) 625-7000 x17. All proceeds benefit East West Players artistic and education programs and our Endowment in preparation of our upcoming 50th Anniversary!

NAATCO (New York, NY)
Awake and Sing!
by Clifford Odetts
August 16 to September 8, 2013

Silk Road Rising (Chicago, IL)
Invasion!
by Jonas Hassen Khemiri
A MIDWEST PREMIERE
July 30 to ~~September 1~~, 2013
extended through September 15

Directed by Anna Bahow

Invasion! is a tornado of words, images and ideas, all centered around a magical name: Abulkasem. The play assaults our deepest prejudices about identity, race and language. At once hilarious, disturbing and poignant, this mischievously subversive play deconstructs a threatening identity the Arab male and forces us to confront our own cultural identity.

For some reason, Invasion! drew the attention of a local drama critic who insisted that racial profiling was useful and used the specific example of the Boston Marathon bombing. Ahem. This drew a fair amount of comment, including here and here and here.

Kumu Kahua Theatre (Honolulu, HI)
Will the Real Charlie Chan Please Stand Up?
A world premiere by Nancy P. Moss
August 22 to September 22, 2013

The fictional Charlie Chan and the real-life detective he was modeled after join forces to fight crime in Honolulu.

The Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis, MN)
How to Be a Korean Woman
written and performed by Sun Mee Chomet
Direction and dramaturgy by Zaraawar Mistry
Sept. 19 to 22, 2013

Working Stage Theatre (Los Angeles)
Surfing DNA
by Jodi Long
September 8 to 29, 2013

Directed by Frank Megna, SURFING DNA is a captivating story of Long's journey of self-discovery and an exploration of the imprinted forces genetic, cultural and emotion that steer us through life. Born in a trunk to vaudevillian parents, "Larry and Trudie Leong" on the Chop Suey Circuit (her father was a Chinese-Aussie tap dancer and her mother was a Japanese-American showgirl), Long hilariously and poignantly surfs on a trek from the Ed Sullivan Show to medieval Japan to the Scottish Highlands. The play originally premiered in 2006 at the East West Players Theatre garnering an Ovation Nomination for "Best Solo Performance." Although this is a revival, the show has been completely revamped and Long¹s dynamic performance and her unforgettable story will stick with audiences long after they leave the theatre.

Previews Thursday, September 5th-Saturday, September 7th at 8:00pm
Opening Night Sunday, September 8th at 3:00pm
Closing Night Sunday, September 29th at 3:00pm
The show will run Thursdays-Sundays (8:00pm from Thurs-Sat & 3:00pm matinee on Sun) until 9/29.

Ticket Prices
Previews - $15
Regular - $30

The incredible actress is also a talented filmmaker, writing and co-producing the Asian Pacific Film Festival¹s "Best Documentary" winner, Long Story Short, her personal family story about the sacrifices and perseverance of her vaudevillian parents "Larry and Trudie", a popular husband-and-wife nightclub act of the '40s and '50s (www.longstoryshortdocumentary.com).

Raised in New York, Long embarked on her illustrious theater career performing since the age of seven when she made her Broadway debut in Nowhere to Go But Up directed by Sidney Lumet. Since then, Long has performed in several Broadway plays including the 2002 revival of Flower Drum Song in which she garnered an Ovation Award for her performance, Sondheim's Getting Away with Murder, Loose Ends, and The Bacchae. Other stage credits include Wendy Wasserstein¹s Old Money, Hamlet (played "Ophelia'), Bus Stop and Phillip Glass/David Henry Hwang¹s 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, a one-woman multimedia monologue in which she toured the USA, Europe and Australia. Although Long is often recognized for her hilarious line "Ling! Ling! You forgot your bling bling!" in THE HOT CHICK and as "Patty," the power lesbian, in Sex and the City, Long has had several other notable television/film roles, some of which include her co-starring role opposite Valerie Bertinelli in "Café Americain", as Margaret Cho¹s mother in "All American Girl," as Alicia Silverstone¹s secretary in "Miss Match" and her recurring roles on "The Cosby Show," "Eli Stone," and "Law and Order: LA."

The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (JCCSF) and
First Voice (San Francisco, CA)
present the world premiere of
MU
by Brenda Wong Aoki, Mark Izu and Kimi Okada
September 27, 28 and 29, 2013

are pleased to announce the World Premiere of MU, the magical tale of a lonely young hero, a Japanese mermaid, and a journey to the land of the Dragon Queen.

Created by National Endowment for the Arts Fellow playwright/artistic director Brenda Wong Aoki, Emmy-winning composer Mark Izu, and Tony-nominated choreographer Kimi Okada, this project combines dance, story, and an original score.

Friday, September 27, 8 pm
(opening night reception)
Saturday, September 28, 8 pm
Sunday, September 29, 2 pm

MU opens in San Francisco at the JCCSF's Kanbar Hall (3200 California Street at Presidio) before traveling to other venues nationally. Tickets may be purchased online or through the JCCSF Box Office (415-292-1233).

Questions? Email