AATC presents Pieces of the Quilt

San Francisco-Asian American Theater Company and the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center present Pieces of the Quilt, original short plays on the AIDS epidemic from the Alma Delfina Group's ongoing performance project. Pieces of the Quilt features live performance, song, music and mixing with Sean SanJose,JoshJones, Scheherazade Stone, DJ Fuze and Baby A1 Dog. TWO NIGHTS ONLY! Thursday and Friday, April 29 and 30, 8:00 p.m., at SOMAR Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco. Tickets are priced $12

($10 for students and seniors). For information and reservations, please call 415.440.5545 or e-mail aatc@wenet.net.

This special performance includes existing pieces from the Pieces of the Quilt collection and several new pieces written specifically for the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center's performance festival. Featured writers include Erin Cressida Wilson, RhodessaJones, Herbert Siguenza (Culture Clash), and local writers Noel Benoza and 19year-old Allier Zelaya (from the Campo Santo theater group's intern program). Pieces of the Quilt features live performance, song, music and mixing with actor Sean SanJose, percussionistJosh

Jones (Josh Jones Latin Ensemble, Omar Sosa), chanteuse/actor Scheherazade Stone

(Human Flavor), sound design by DJ Fuze (Digital Underground), and live mixing and DJing from the Mission District's Baby A1 Dog.
Pieces of the Quilt is a seamless blend of the power of theater and the raw energy of hip-hop. The original short plays comprising the Alma Delfina Group's ongoing performance project Pieces of the Quilt were written by prominent playwrights as personal responses to the AIDS epidemic. With passion and humor, heartbreak and wisdom, these pieces show the human face of the epidemic and confront it directly through art. ChadJones, Oakland Tribune, wrote that Pieces of the Quilt is "a rarity: a noble project that also happens to be engaging art; a sensual, sensitive and stirring 90minute blend of poetry drama and even comedy. The whole piece is a hypnotic blend of sound and meaning, image and emotion. An invigorating blend of issue and art." Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Examiner, wrote, "The piece achieves transcendence."

Sean SanJose conceived the theater project Pieces of the Quilt. His dedication to new plays and new writers led to the creation of Campo Santo, a resident theater company of Intersection for the Arts, with Michael Torres and Luis Saguar. Individually, he has performed in various regional theaters across the country, and has been the recipient of numerous awards for his performances, including the Bay Area Critics' Circle Award and the DramaLogue Award.

Asian American Theater Company was founded in 1973 as a playwrights' workshop sponsored by the American Conservatory Theater. The company is dedicated to the production of new American plays by dramatists of Asian Pacific Islander descent. Throughout its history, AATC has served as a home for numerous Asian Pacific Islander American playwrights, directors, actors and designers, including Frank Chin, Dennis Dun, Philip Kan Gotanda, David Henry Hwang, Amy Hill, andJudi Nihei. After more than a quarter of a century of pioneering Asian American theater arts, AATC is poised to chart new directions for Asian Pacific Islander American theater arts into the new millennium.