Mark Taper and East West presents Word Up Festival of Asian American Performance

JULY 8 - 18 AT THE DAVID HENRY HWANG THEATRE
Presented by Mark Taper Forum's Asian Theatre Workshop & East West Players

The Mark Taper Forum's Asian Theatre Workshop and East West Players present "Word Up!" A Festival of Asian American Performance, July 8 - 18. Produced at East West Players' David Henry Hwang Theatre, the festival is comprised of nine performance pieces that will be repeated over the two-week festival (see attached schedule).

From the funny and astute observations of the Asian American female to a moving coming-of age story in a biracial family, and from a darkly humorous road trip with three Chinese men bound for Disneyland to the witty anecdotes of sex, culture and the single woman, the works in "Word Up!" draw from the Los Angeles' top Asian artists as well as other local theatre professionals to explore the Asian American experience in its many derivations

The solo works include "Appearances," performed and written by Paula Weston Solano, directed by Jessica Kubzansky; "Deadwood to Hollywood," performed and written by Amy Hill, directed by Anne Etue; "Giant Oranges," performed by Dennis Dun, written by Dennis Dun and Cynthia Leung, directed by Luis Alfaro; "Maps of City & Body," performed and written by Denise Uyehara; "New Culture for a New Country," performed and written by Alice Tuan; "Nobody Moves, Nobody Gets Hurt," performed and written by Eric Steinberg, directed by Robert Egan; "Pointless," performed and written by Alec Mapa; "Smash Hits and Pop Flies," performed and written by Dan Kwong; and "Talking With My Hands," performed and written by James Sie, directed by Chay Yew.

The performance schedule is Thursday through Sunday with tickets are sold on a per performance basis, for $10 each, or festival passes are available for $30. Tickets and information are available by calling East West Players at (213) 625-7000.

The David Henry Hwang Theater is located 120 Judge John Aiso Street (formerly San Pedro Street), between First and Temple in Little Tokyo.

WORD UP!
A FESTIVAL OF ASIAN AMERICAN PERFORMANCE

Presented by Mark Taper Forum's Asian Theatre Workshop & East West Players

Thursday, July 8:
7 PM - Giant Oranges (Dennis Dun)
9 PM - Nobody Moves, Nobody Gets Hurt (Eric Steinberg)

Friday July 9:
7 PM - Giant Oranges (Dennis Dun)
9 PM - Pointless (Alec Mapa)

Saturday, July 10:
1 PM - Appearances (Paula Weston Solano)
3 PM - Talking With My Hands (James Sie)
5 PM - Deadwood to Hollywood (Amy Hill)
7 PM - Smash Hits and Pop Flies (Dan Kwong)
9 PM - New Culture for a New Country (Alice Tuan)

Sunday, July 11:
1 PM - Appearances (Paula Weston Solano)
3 PM - Talking With My Hands (James Sie)
5 PM - Deadwood to Hollywood (Amy Hill)
7 PM - Smash Hits and Pop Flies (Dan Kwong)
9 PM - New Culture for a New Country (Alice Tuan)

Thursday, July 15:
7 PM - Giant Oranges (Dennis Dun)
9 PM - Nobody Moves, Nobody Gets Hurt (Eric Stenberg)

Friday July 16:
7 PM - Giant Oranges (Dennis Dun)
9 PM - Maps of City & Body (Denise Uyehara)

Saturday, July 17:
1 PM - Appearances (Paula Weston Solano)
3 PM - Talking With My Hands (James Sie)
5 PM - Deadwood to Hollywood (Amy Hill)
7 PM - Smash Hits and Pop Flies (Dan Kwong)
9 PM - New Culture for a New Country (Alice Tuan)

Sunday, July 18:
1 PM - Appearances (Paula Weston Solano)
3 PM - Talking With My Hands (James Sie)
5 PM - Deadwood to Hollywood (Amy Hill)
7 PM - Smash Hits and Pop Flies (Dan Kwong)
9 PM - New Culture for a New Country (Alice Tuan)

PLAY DESCRIPTIONS

APPEARANCES
is a world created by actress/comedienne Paula Weston Solano where her characters are keeping up, eating away, surgically altering, and making appearances through different decades of 20th century America.

DEADWOOD TO HOLLYWOOD
is a funny and witty travelogue of stories and anecdotes by performer/actress Amy Hill. From riding camels along the Black Sea in Pakistan, being romantically pursued by a Moroccan ballet dancer in Paris to her brother's "Sacred Love Institute" in Redondo Beach, her encounters and observations are hilarious, heartwarming and profound.

GIANT ORANGES
puts you in the backseat of a car with a family of three Chinese men on their way to Anaheim. Spanning three generations, the men take a road trip on dusty California Highway 99 to Disneyland Hotel to stay in a room where a relative has leaped to his death. Funny and dark, actor Dennis Dun brings life to these three unique individuals searching for the meaning of family and love.

Commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum's Asian Theatre Workshop, and workshopped by ATW's Black Box Series on 11/25/96.

MAPS OF CITY & BODY
is a lyrical and hard-hitting multidisciplinary work by performance artist Denise Uyehara that tells of a girl whose body is marked by a blue jewel-like map. These marks reveal stories of her Jewish and Chicana neighbors, blindfolded bubble blowers, love and violence among Asians, and a grandmother's fiery suicide.

Commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum's Asian Theatre Workshop.

NOBODY MOVES, NOBODY GETS HURT
begins on the fourth of July in the Western Desert, where Cooky spins a tale of "The Man with No Name" to a young child. The story that follows is the experience of an American Ullysses as he enters adulthood, discovers his tools of expression in violence, and does battle on the fronts of our American culture. Through text, movement and soundscape, Eric Steinberg explores the ways our culture of violence is sold through various channels of our society: politics, sexuality, sports and entertainment.

Workshopped by Asian Theatre Workshop's Black Box Series on 6/8/98.

POINTLESS
is a hilarious rant by Alec Mapa. This award-winning actor/performer takes to the mike and discusses the issues of the day, dishes celebrities and discusses his favorite subject: himself.

SMASH HITS AND POP FLIES
is a dynamic collage of stories and images that delves in the subterranean world the Asian male as observed by performance artist Dan Kwong. These insightful and witty observations are excerpted from his critically-acclaimed solo performances including "Monkhood in 3 East Lessons," "The Dodo Vaccine," Tales from the Fractured Tao," "Samurai Centerfielder meets The Mad Kabuki Woman" (from a collaboration with Denise Uyehara) and more.

"Samurai Centerfielder meets The Mad Kabuki Woman" was workshopped by Asian Theatre Workshop on 4/7/98.

TALKING WITH MY HANDS
is a funny and touching journey about growing up in a Chinese-Italian household. With humorous stories of his life in New Jersey, moving tales of his grandparents from two continents, and witty anecdotes of his career as an actor in Chicago, James Sie brings the audience along on his quest for racial identity and the perfect zuppa di polla (chicken soup).

Workshopped by Asian Theatre Workshop's Black Box Series on 4/14/97.

NEW CULTURE FOR A NEW COUNTRY
is the search and loss of human connection. A young Chinese girl arrives to America in a bag of rice. Her hands are no good. Alone and foreign, she is befriended by a young girl, Wu Chen Rong, who teaches her English. Upon Wu's abduction by a bearded man, the young girl ventures into the Lower East Side to search for her. Braiding of essences from past with the present, this forceful and multi-layered work by playwright Alice Tuan reveals the prismatic nature of a new American.