PC Theatre
Roger Tang, Artistic Director

PC Theatre is my vehicle for self-expression in theatre. For over a decade, I've been active in producing, writing and directing theatre in one form or another. Officially, PC Theatre is one of Seattle's many fringe theatres, where individuals and small groups pass up glossy production values in order to craft their own, individual, idiosyncratic voice. Unofficially, PC Theatre's my baby (to be self indulgent over, to express my artistic impulses, etc.)

Officially, the mission statement of PC Theatre is to examine the rapid changes in sex roles, gender, racial identity, class and so forth that are occurring as a result of the relentless advance of technology and demographics of modern society. I take it as a given that society is multicultural...and that it is a GOOD thing. I just want to see what happens when you jam a few of these normally separate groups together...what are the differences, and, more importantly, what are the similarities? After all, it can't be any worse than, say, sticking a New York Yankee fan in with a Boston Red Sox fan...

Academicians may note that this sentiment is very similar to David Henry Hwang's interest in interculturalism. Well, it oughta be, dammit. We were in the same dorm together and dorm staff together on Asian American culture (as well as working together on some Asian American shows). Can't be too much of a surprise to see that we have some similar views.....

A Production History

A Voice of Our Own, 1982

My first solo production, after moving up from Palo Alto (where I did a fair amount of work with the Stanford Asian American Theatre Project). A Voice of Our Own was a collection of short skits, scenes and mood pieces designed to plug some holes in the Asian American theatre of the time: Asian American fairy tales, legends and folk tales. (Come to think of it, there is STILL a gaping lack of those types of stories, even today).

Many of these stories were written by Valerie Matsumoto, who is now a history professor down at UCLA (tenured, I hope). These were absolutely wonderful, gentle fables absolutely unique in Asian American literature and should be a part of every Asian American theatre's repertoire; I particularly loved the story of the first bento box lunch. (Val, I mean, Professor Matsumoto, if you're reading this, PLEASE do some MORE of these stories.)

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