East West Players' David Henry Hwang Writers Institute holds first playwriting workshops in Orange County

East West Players, the nation's premier Asian American theatre, builds on its mission to give voice to the Asian Pacific American community by offering teen and adult beginning playwriting workshops through its David Henry Hwang Writers Institute for the first time in Orange County in partnership with the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA), a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the health, and social and economic well-being of Asians and Pacific Islanders in Orange County.

The David Henry Hwang Writers Institute was founded in 1991 with the support of its namesake, award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (M. BUTTERFLY, GOLDEN CHILD, the new libretto of FLOWER DRUM SONG). In the past 13 years the program has grown to become the nation&Mac226;s most active Asian American play development program and a recognized force in the creation of works that embrace the voice of a multi-ethnic America. Countless writers have developed plays in the Institute that have gone on to be read, workshopped and produced at theaters across the country including Noel Alumit (THE RICE ROOM), Sujata G. Bhatt (QUEEN OF THE REMOTE CONTROL), Lucy Kim (LEON AND CLARK) and Tim Toyoma's VISAS AND VIRTUES was adapted into an Academy Award-winning short film.

Starting March 6, 2004 and running for eight weeks, playwright and EWP's Literary Manager Judy Soo Hoo will teach a teen and adult beginning playwriting workshop at OCAPICA's offices in Garden Grove. The students will study elements of playwriting including dialogue, character, structure, scene and sequence. In a workshop format, participants will come to discuss the work generated and understand the fundamental units of a play. Teen participants will strive to write a 10-minute play or long monologue while the adult class will write a 10-minute play, a short one-act or begin a full-length work.

Providing writing workshops in Orange County follows East West Players mission to reach and serve ethnically and geographically diverse Asian Pacific American communities. Orange County has one of the fastest growing populations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States, the nation's largest concentration of Vietnamese Americans, and vibrant Chinese, Korean, Hmong and Cambodian communities.

"East West Players works to give individuals and communities the tools to tell and preserve their stories and experiences. We're extremely excited that our partnership with OCAPICA is giving us the opportunity to provide arts programs and teach story-telling techniques to underserved Vietnamese and Korean American communities in an area where arts resources, and funding in general, are scarce," said EWP's Producing Artist Director Tim Dang.

"East West Players is renowned in its work so we feel especially honored to be partnering with them in this effort. Performance arts and culture related to the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience barely exists in Orange County and we&Mac226;ve been waiting a long time for the opportunity that EWP is providing to the community," said Mary Anne Foo, Executive Director of OCAPICA. "Not only will it produce new artists, but also strengthen the voice of the community to communicate its history and needs."

Established in 1997, the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance works to improve and expand the community's opportunities through service, education, advocacy, organizing and research. These community-driven activities seek to empower Asians and Pacific Islanders to define and control their lives and the future of their community.

The East West Players David Henry Hwang Writers Institute will be holding two classes at the offices of the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, 12900 Garden Grove #240A, Gardena Grove, CA 92843. Both courses are eight weeks long and on Saturdays, March 6-April 24, 2004. The teen class meets from 11 am noon and is $100. The adult class meets from noon-2 pm and is $200. A limited number of scholarships are available. For more information contact EWP's Literary Manager Judy Soo Hoo at jsoohoo@eastwestplayers.org or (213) 625-7000 x27.

The East West Players David Henry Hwang Writers Institute is supported in part by The James Irvine Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.