SF's Asian American Theatre Company premieres MACHO BRAVADO (Feb10)

February 8, 2010 - The Asian American Theater Company (AATC) opens its 2010 Season with the world premiere of Macho Bravado, a riveting new play by Alex Park, directed by Alan S. Quismorio.

Macho Bravado opens April 3, 2010, and runs for three weeks, through April 25, 2010, at the Thick House, 1695 18th Street, San Francisco.

Evan Cho is a Korean American soldier who has just returned from fighting in the Middle East to find a greater battle at home over his love, his identity, and his masculinity. Although Evan couldn’t bring himself to tell his wife Lindsey that he had become impotent during the war, she greets him with wonderful news: she’s pregnant. Confronted with questions of infidelity and self-doubt, both Evan and Lindsey struggle to maintain the macho bravado that defined their relationship before the war. This is a story that goes beyond the post-traumatic stress that a soldier and his wife experience, and ventures deep into their journey to forgive themselves and to forgive each other.

"I'm attracted to narratives with characters who are messy and human, especially when they mean well and when those intentions are booby-trapped by the characters' obsessions. Macho Bravado is bathed with that," says Quismorio who is also the Co-Artistic Director of AATC.

"I was watching Kubrick’s 2001 few years ago, and about half an hour in, I said to myself, ‘This is my next play.’ I want to write about the monkey with the biggest bone," Park says. "About a year later, I had the first draft of Macho Bravado. The earliest versions of the play revolved around Evan, a proud Asian in a cowboy world who manages to bust broncs and ro-day-o better than all the white boys in town…A year later AATC contacted me and invited me to [present a staged reading of the script]. When the play went into this next phase of development, there was something that surprised me. As much as the play was about Evan, it was also about his wife, Lindsey. They were both survivors, both warriors, both veterans, both underdogs. They both had a bit of macho bravado, which was key to their survival, but something they were both losing. I found this discovery to be extremely exciting and I’m looking forward to seeing it further developed as the play goes into production."

AATC Executive Director Darryl D. Chiang says Park is one of the most promising playwrights in the Bay Area. "AATC is excited to work again with Alex Park. In 2004, we world-premiered Alex's play Rental Car after he developed it through AATC's NewWorks Incubator program. We are thrilled that Alex chose to workshop and premiere Macho Bravado with AATC as well, as his writing has reached an even greater depth over time," Chiang comments.

The role of Evan will be played by Michael Uy Kelly, who was last seen as Backwards Soldier in AATC’s world premiere of Philip Kan Gotanda’s #5 Angry Red Drum. Mayra Gaeta, who first read the part when it was in development in the spring of 2009, plays Lindsey. Brian O'Connor plays Otto, Lindsey’s father, and Janice Wright joins the cast as Bonnie, Lindsey's mother. Rob Dario, who starred in AATC’s production of Jeannie Barroga’s Walls, plays Justin, Lindsey’s friend and suspected lover. Macho Bravado is produced by Sang S. Kim, a New York and San Francisco writer and producer who has worked with Thunderbird Theater Company, Killing My Lobster, and Playground.

"This is a play that is relevant to the men and women who are affected by war--what is won, what is sacrificed; I am anxious to shape an interesting story but I am eager as well to offer Macho Bravado as a tribute to their hard-fought battles, on the field or at home," Quismorio adds.

Macho Bravado is generously funded by CA$H, a grants program of Theatre Bay Area, in partnership with Dancers’ Group; the Dramatists Guild Fund; Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund; and members of the AATC community.

Alex Park is a proud member of the Asian American Theater Company’s NewWorks Incubator program. His first Incubator play, Rental Car, world-premiered in 2004. Also a screenwriter, Alex is producing a short film, Dead Canary, with Transvideo Studios in Mountain View, California. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.

The mission of the Asian American Theater Company is to connect people to Asian American cultures through theater. AATC was established in 1973 to develop and present original works of theater about Asian Americans. AATC remains committed to producing groundbreaking, entertaining and innovative art. We are not only a production company that presents mainstage plays, but also a workshop where Asian American writers, actors and directors can explore who we are as a people and a community, and in so doing, bring us closer together.

Macho Bravado is the third production under AATC’s Co-Artistic Directors, Alan S. Quismorio and Duy Nguyen; Executive Director, Darryl D. Chiang; and Managing Director, Pearl Wong.

Questions? Email



	After the War, an Internal Battle: Asian American Theater Company Announces The World Premiere Of Macho Bravado by Alex Park April 3 - April 25, 2010 February 8, 2010 - The Asian American Theater Company (AATC) opens its 2010 Season with the world premiere of Macho Bravado, a riveting new play by Alex Park, directed by Alan S. Quismorio. Macho Bravado opens April 3, 2010, and runs for three weeks, through April 25, 2010, at the Thick House, 1695 18th Street, San Francisco. About the Play Evan Cho is a Korean American soldier who has just returned from fighting in the Middle East to find a greater battle at home over his love, his identity, and his masculinity. Although Evan couldn’t bring himself to tell his wife Lindsey that he had become impotent during the war, she greets him with wonderful news: she’s pregnant. Confronted with questions of infidelity and self-doubt, both Evan and Lindsey struggle to maintain the macho bravado that defined their relationship before the war. This is a story that goes beyond the post-traumatic stress that a soldier and his wife experience, and ventures deep into their journey to forgive themselves and to forgive each other. "I'm attracted to narratives with characters who are messy and human, especially when they mean well and when those intentions are booby-trapped by the characters' obsessions. Macho Bravado is bathed with that," says Quismorio who is also the Co-Artistic Director of AATC. This is Bay Area playwright Alex Park's second world premiere produced by AATC. "I was watching Kubrick’s 2001 few years ago, and about half an hour in, I said to myself, ‘This is my next play.’ I want to write about the monkey with the biggest bone," Park says. "About a year later, I had the first draft of Macho Bravado. The earliest versions of the play revolved around Evan, a proud Asian in a cowboy world who manages to bust broncs and ro-day-o better than all the white boys in town…A year later AATC contacted me and invited me to [present a staged reading of the script]. When the play went into this next phase of development, there was something that surprised me. As much as the play was about Evan, it was also about his wife, Lindsey. They were both survivors, both warriors, both veterans, both underdogs. They both had a bit of macho bravado, which was key to their survival, but something they were both losing. I found this discovery to be extremely exciting and I’m looking forward to seeing it further developed as the play goes into production." AATC Executive Director Darryl D. Chiang says Park is one of the most promising playwrights in the Bay Area. "AATC is excited to work again with Alex Park. In 2004, we world-premiered Alex's play Rental Car after he developed it through AATC's NewWorks Incubator program. We are thrilled that Alex chose to workshop and premiere Macho Bravado with AATC as well, as his writing has reached an even greater depth over time," Chiang comments. The role of Evan will be played by Michael Uy Kelly, who was last seen as Backwards Soldier in AATC’s world premiere of Philip Kan Gotanda’s #5 Angry Red Drum. Mayra Gaeta, who first read the part when it was in development in the spring of 2009, plays Lindsey. Brian O'Connor plays Otto, Lindsey’s father, and Janice Wright joins the cast as Bonnie, Lindsey's mother. Rob Dario, who starred in AATC’s production of Jeannie Barroga’s Walls, plays Justin, Lindsey’s friend and suspected lover. Macho Bravado is produced by Sang S. Kim, a New York and San Francisco writer and producer who has worked with Thunderbird Theater Company, Killing My Lobster, and Playground. "This is a play that is relevant to the men and women who are affected by war--what is won, what is sacrificed; I am anxious to shape an interesting story but I am eager as well to offer Macho Bravado as a tribute to their hard-fought battles, on the field or at home," Quismorio adds. Macho Bravado is generously funded by CA$H, a grants program of Theatre Bay Area, in partnership with Dancers’ Group; the Dramatists Guild Fund; Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund; and members of the AATC community. About the Playwright Alex Park is a proud member of the Asian American Theater Company’s NewWorks Incubator program. His first Incubator play, Rental Car, world-premiered in 2004. Also a screenwriter, Alex is producing a short film, Dead Canary, with Transvideo Studios in Mountain View, California. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. About the Asian American Theater Company The mission of the Asian American Theater Company is to connect people to Asian American cultures through theater. AATC was established in 1973 to develop and present original works of theater about Asian Americans. AATC remains committed to producing groundbreaking, entertaining and innovative art. We are not only a production company that presents mainstage plays, but also a workshop where Asian American writers, actors and directors can explore who we are as a people and a community, and in so doing, bring us closer together. Macho Bravado is the third production under AATC’s Co-Artistic Directors, Alan S. Quismorio and Duy Nguyen; Executive Director, Darryl D. Chiang; and Managing Director, Pearl Wong. Visit us at www.asianamericantheater.org. Home \| News \| Calendar \| Directory \| Plays \| Library/Storefront \| Timeline Copyright 2010, Roger W. Tang Questions? Email

After the War, an Internal Battle: Asian American Theater Company Announces The World Premiere Of Macho Bravado by Alex Park April 3 - April 25, 2010

After the War, an Internal Battle:
Asian American Theater Company Announces The World Premiere Of
Macho Bravado
by Alex Park
April 3 - April 25, 2010