AATC presents Mifune and Me

Critically acclaimed playwright and performer Lane Nishikawa presents Mifune and Me, a one man show about Asian American images in the media. Two shows; Thursday and Friday, May 28, 29. 8pm $12door. $10adv. At La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley. 510-849-2568

Dynamic actor-writer-director Lane Nishikawa's one man show "Mifune and Me" dives into the ever changing face of Asian American media images. Lane throws on the screen the legendary Japanese film actor Toshiro Mifune/Kurasawa samurai film clips, flashes of Bruce Lee's dragon quick Kung Fu movies, and Chow Young Fat/John Wu two gun gangster genres, to takeus on a roller coaster ride of the Asian American male.

The title refers to Nishikawa's admiration for Mifune, whose typical role was that of the samurai warrior - brave, fierce, awe-inspiring. Nishikawa juxtaposes Mifune as a role model for Asian American actors with the image of the Asian in the media, its stereotypes and realities. His journey provides a hilarious look at the personal sideof theater, film and television, a exploration of what it means to be an actor in America with an Asian face.

"...Nishikawa is one of Asian America's most compelling voices.His work is funny, angry and deeply moving."

-Steve Okazaki, Academy Award Winner, Days of Waiting

"Lane's oil smooth transitions and language powered bursts coolly demonstrates that he can do it all."

-Steve Winn, S.F. Chronicle.

Lane Nishikawa's one man show, Mifune and Me, co-commissioned by La Peña and Cal Performances, examine the image of Asian America from its beginning in the mid 1800s through its growth into the 1990s. Known for his high-powered performance style and multi-faceted characterizations, Nishikawa uses images that have not changed in over 100 years as his central theme: Yellow Peril-Asian hordes, Pacific Rim Pirates that invade American cities; a modern day Asian American Yuppie who can't find the path of the "bushido" (code of honor) and comes to the realization that it's impossible to be "samurai" in the '90s; a Japanese American stand-up comedian who searches for material that will find the funny bone of Asiansand non-Asians alike; a Hawaiian born "Buddhahead" (Japanese American fromHawaii) who never thought he was a minority and runs into trouble in an Oakland diner; and an Asian American from Philadelphia who tries to find his roots.

As Lane cross-examines the media's stereotypical output of images through the 90s, he will delve into his own experiences from Hollywood, TelevisionAgents, and Casting Directors and pit them against his work with the independent film makers of Asian America. He will take the audience and give them a behind the scenes glimpse at the ironies of auditioning for Rising Sun and then finally working on Steven Okazaki's newest feature documentary, Rising Sons, and be grateful he stayed in the business long enough for that shoot. He will take you through his childhood and introduce you to his hero, Toshiro Mifune, who provided him with that role model every Buddhahead boy grows up with, only to come to grips with the fact that he will never be Mifune, in America.

Lane also looks at generational differences between the Nisei (Second Generation Japanese American), the Issei (First Generation), and the Sansei (Third Generation); the constant battle to learn Nihongo (Japanese language) so he could converse with his relatives; trying to understand the Nisei method of conversation by Morse Code (Grunts and sounds); going to Japan for the first time and needing an interpreter; coming to terms with Buddha and the Zen of life, Musashi Miyamoto's (japan's most feared samurai in the 1600s) "Book Of Five Rings" and the "Way" of the world; and finally after all these years, understanding his father, by turning into his greatest fear, his father.

As in the style of his first two one-man shows, Life In The Fast Lane and I'm On A Mission From Buddha, Nishikawa strings together a series of 10 to 15 vignettes and performance pieces with a personal look at the life of an Asian American artist.

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