Calendar of events in Asian American theare, 1st quarter 2011

Theatre of the Yugen (San Francisco, CA)
Mr. YooWho’s Holiday
Directed by Sheila Berotti
Performed by Moshe Cohen and Jubilith Moore
December 16, 2010 to January 3, 2011

His dream holiday of wonder has been a disaster so far-lost luggage, flight cancellations, alone with only a giant sunflower for company, Mr. YooWho is in the midst of despair. Enter trickster-servant Taro-kaja who opens the doors to an unexpected world, one filled with humor, poetry, and absurdity where European clown, Japanese Kyogen, and the quest for enlightenment intermingle generating joyous warmth and laughter that reaches across cultural and generational lines.

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (New York, NY)
Acting/Writing Lab presentation
Thursday Jan 6, 2011

Student Presentation
for Ernest Abuba’s Acting/Writing Lab

Thursday January 6 at 7:00pm
(520 8th Ave between 36th and 37th)
Third Floor, in the Bruce Mitchell Room

Door opens at 6:30
Presentation followed by Q&A and reception

To RSVP, call Pan Asian Rep at 212-868-4030 or email info@panasianrep.org.

Space is limited, so reserve your space today

VACT (Vancouver, BC)
Red Letters
by Alan Bau, with Kathy Leung
November 26, 2010 to January 16, 2011

VACT is proud to present a new original: RED LETTERS! This moving musical by Alan Bau with Kathy Leung tells the story of an immigrant to Vancouver and the wife he has to leave behind in China when the coming of the head tax and the 1923 Exclusion Act threaten to shatter his dreams.

Roundhouse Theatre (Washington, DC)
Lyme Park: An Austonian Romance of an Indian Nature
by Nandita Shenoy
January 7 to 16, 2011

This is a workshop production through theHegira at the Round House Theatre in Silver Spring, MD.

Inspired by Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, this modern-day retelling finds our heroine Kavita faced with the choice between living in a Pride & Prejudice fantasy world of her own making or the not-so-tidy world of reality where Mr. Darcy may not exist.

Silk Road Theatre Project (Chicago, IL)
in association with The Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Chicago and Millennium Park
Dawn's Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi
By Jeanne Sakata
January 13 to 15, 2011

Dawn's Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi chronicles the true story of one Japanese American’s enduring fight for his constitutional rights.

Gordon Hirabayashi was a happy-go-lucky twenty-four-year-old college student living in Seattle when Pearl Harbor was attacked in late 1941. The government’s decision to remove and imprison all people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast – including American citizens without due process of law – turned Gordon, a Quaker, into a crusader.

Dawn’s Light faithfully documents Gordon’s historic decision to heed his conscience and pursue his faith in the protections of the Constitution all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

East West Players (Los Angeles, CA)
Letters From My Mother
By Udaya Kanthi Salgadu
Directed by Shaheen Vaaz
January 20, 2011

Slavery and human trafficking take on many forms sometimes right before our eyes.

This is the story of Sripa, a young Sri Lankan high-school graduate who endured 26 months of forced labor in a household in the USA. With only her mother’s letters to keep her going, and a neighbor whose inquiries lead to her rescue, Sripa finds strength, bravery, and finally the power and self-confidence to become an advocate for the abolition of human trafficking.

LETTERS FROM MY MOTHER was developed in the East West Players David Henry Hwang Writers Institute with the support of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, based on the playwright’s true life experience. This reading is presented as part of a month-long campaign to raise the awareness of human trafficking and modern day slavery. To learn more on human trafficking, visit www.castla.org.

The reading will be followed by a panel discussion and a wine and cheese reception.

Location:
Tateuchi Democracy Forum in the
National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
111 N. Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Parking available in Lot 7 off of Judge John Aiso Street for $7 or street parking.

Tateuchi Democracy Forum in the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
111 N. Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA

USC (Los Angeles, CA)
The DNA Trail: A Genealogy of Short Plays about Ancestry, Identity and Utter Confusion
A Visions and Voices Signature Event
January 22, 2011

Admission is free. Reservations required. Online reservations will begin Tuesday, December 7, at 9 a.m. Seating is general admission.

“Funny, poignant, absurd and thought-provoking . . . this brilliant ensemble brings the stories to life with staggering talent and dedication . . . wonderfully entertaining ride through genetic coding, self-examination and human interaction.”—Venus Zarris, Chicago Stage Review

Chicago’s Silk Road Theatre Project will present a concert reading of The DNA Trail: A Genealogy of Short Plays about Ancestry, Identity and Utter Confusion. Theatre meets science when a diverse group of playwrights each agree to take a genealogical DNA test and revisit their assumptions about identity politics and the perennial question, “Who am I?” Self, family, community and ethnicity are all up for grabs.

The DNA Trail is composed of seven unique, identity-defying short plays conceived by Jamil Khoury and directed by Steve Scott. Featured plays include the following:

The concert reading will be followed by a discussion with the playwrights, actors and directors. A reception will follow.

Ethnic Cultural Theatre (Seattle, WA)
As Boundless As The Green Earth
an adaption of Carlos Bulosan
by Ben Gonio
January 21 to 28, 2011

A simple actor-driven performance about a recounting of an immigrant experience in the 1930's. Carlos Bulosan reminisces about his departure from the Philippines bound for America.

Solo - Performance Seattle actor, Ben Gonio portrays various characters through song, monologue, movement choreography multi-media performance based on the life of Carlos Bulosan, author of "America Is In The Heart"

Rasik Arts (Toronto, Canada)
The Fate of Mewa Singh
by Sugith Varughese
February 3, 2011

On Feburary 3rd we have a fabulous work-in-progress by Toronto screenwriter, actor and director, Sugith Varughese (who you just might recognize from “Little Mosque on the Prairie"). “The Fate of Mewa Singh” portrays two hopeful immigrants in their different voyages to Canada, one in 1906 & the other on the Komagata Maru in 1914, and intertwines their story with that of a British immigration officer, creating a compelling, human tapestry of the desire and the price of belonging. Grounded in the historical detail of the Komagata Maru and epic in sweep, there are many parts to be read, so please join us and lend your voice to this exciting new script to start the new year/new decade.

We'll start at 6pm in the program room of the Wychwood Public Library, 1431 Bathurst St. (one block south of St. Clair Avenue West, on the east side of Bathurst St. - close to all TTC modes). Click here for further directions.

Thursday, February 3 - "The Fate of Mewa Singh" by Sugith Varughese Wychwood Public Library, 6pm-8:15pm, 1431 Bathurst St., Toronto, Ontario. All welcome. Admission is Free.

Ma-Yi Theatre (New York, NY)
Flipzoids
by Ralph Pena
January 11 to February 6, 2011

Ma-Yi brings back this neo-classic:
A 70-year-old woman, a recent immigrant from the Philippines, crosses paths with a young social misfit on a deserted beach in Southern California. Far from their native land, a cautious friendship ensues as they attempt to reconcile their very different understandings of their old home, and try to fit in to their new one. At home, mother and daughter, wanting to embrace all things American, struggle to understand and reach peace with one another.

Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis, MN)
WTF
by Katie Ka Vang
January 21 to February 6, 2011
Mixed Blood Theatre

Houston Grande Opera: East + West Stories (Houston, TX)
Courtside
Music by Jack Perla, Libretto by Eugenie Chan
directed by Leslie Swackhamer
February 5, 2011 and TBA

Three generations of Chinese Americans must find ways to reconcile the expectations between the dining room table and the basketball court, in order to live with pride in modern America, while maintaining tradition. Courtside follows Jason Ching, a hot-shot, high school basketball player who fights back when taunted on the court.

Theatre of the Yugen (San Francisco, CA)
I AM A MAN FROM THIS AREA! Fundraiser
February 5, 2011

February 5th 2011, Saturday @ 7pm
Join as we celebrate the division of seasons and another year around the calendar with selections from our Kyogen Repertoire. Please join us for a drink, a bite, a silent auction, and door raffle prizes!

Your ticket helps support Theatre of Yugen in our task to preserve, to explore, to delight in and to support the ongoing lives of traditional Japanese performance styles. informed by our American Perspectives.

You can purchase raffle tickets for our Cultural Exursion to New York! The winner will receive round trip airfair for two to New York, two nights in a luxury hotel and two tickets to a theatrical event of your choice.

JEANNIE BARROGA’S new multi-media play BUFFALO'ED will be part of UC-Berkeley's International House program on the Buffalo Soldiers, 1899 Philippines. (Winner of 2009 Gerbode/Hewlett Foundation Playwright Award in collaboration with Alleluia Panis and San Jose Stage). The FREE event will be at 2299 Piedmont, Berkeley, CA on Tuesday, February 8 at 7:00 p.m., Directed by UC-EB Theater Professor Ann Fajilan, the play scene depicts the little-known 3-year period where European-educated insurrectos faced U.S. Buffalo soldiers. Info: http://ihouse.berkeley.edu/p/

BUFFALO'ED expands on the Buffalo Soldiers' history with the 1899 U.S.-acquired Philippines. Filipino rebels and African-Americans soldiers joined forces. Discover through media and movement, how Filipinos practiced escrima within dances and the sound and climate of that era. Depicted: an African-American couple (the wife , an unsung heroine) transcend their separation by war; a Pinay General strategizes resistance; Buffalo Soldiers review their lot years after Emancipation; and American soldiers clash on ideals. A Coyote-like figure connects this era with current foreign occupations. Projected period graphics, mesmerizing movements, and live music enhance this one-of-a-kind production.

Pictured are: (left to right) Marcus Lee and Jabez Sky in Kumu Kahua Theatre's production of "Da Kine Space", by Lee A. Tonouchi. Photo by Kaveh Kardan

Kumu Kahua Theatre (Honolulu, HI)
Da Kine Space
A Kumu Kahua commission
by Lee A. Tonouchi
January 13 to February 13, 2010

Gen X and Gen Y collide, local style! Meet Ry, a failed artist frustrated by his life and relationships, and Cader, a wannabe filmmaker with some odd ideas about art. As Ry and Cader confront the creative process, pop culture, the generation gap and more, the theatre transforms into a living art gallery. Lee A. Tonouchi, the author of Living Pidgin and Gone Feeshing, brings his sharply-honed pidgin and offbeat sense of humor to this wry study of art and life in contemporary Hawai‘i. This play contains adult language and content.

The Coast Playhouse (Los Angeles, CA)
Macho Like Me
by Helie Lee
January 14 to February 13, 2011

MACHO LIKE ME is the true account of author, educator and activist, and now actress Helie Lee’s remarkable six-month journey living life as man. Cutting off her hair, donning men’s clothes and moving out of her home to begin life anew as Harry, Helie sets out to prove a point: that men have it so much better than women. But as Helie soon finds out, her assumptions are quickly dashed – resulting in a new world-view that ends up surprising many – especially herself.

Helie has long been an important voice in the Asian-American community with her books “Still Life with Rice” and “In the Absence of Sun” that have been embraced as essential reading in higher-education for bridging history and Asian American identity in a moving account about her family. As a bestselling author, Helie has been featured on Nightline, CNN, the Associated Press, NBC Nightly News, NPR, the Today Show, and Oprah. She has spoken as a guest lecturer at Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Northeastern University, Amherst, the Korean American Coalition, KASCON, The Museum of Tolerance, and many other venues.

Cutting Ball Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
Bone to Pick / Diadem
by Eugenie Chan
directed by Rob Melrose
Cutting Ball Theatre, San Francisco
January 14 to February 13, 2011

Two takes on the Classical tale of Ariadne, Theseus, and the Minotaur -- a love triangle of sorts. In Diadem, young Ariadne revels in love's first blush after running away with Theseus, the hero who has killed the man-eating Minotaur, her brother. In Bone to Pick, Ariadne, now reconfigured as Ria the Waitress, awaits her soldier boy in a diner at the end of a war-torn world, after millenia of abandonment. About love, war, betrayal and one woman's complicity in her country's demise.

A theatrical down-the-rabbit hole ride through nighttime New York, peopled by peripheral citizens whose lives begin after sundown. I__NY links the stories of a cop, a stand-up comedian, an agoraphobic artist, a food delivery boy, and a polar bear as their lives rub against each other in a surreal urban landscape. With Loy Arcenas at the helm, this is a show you don't want to miss.

Tickets are now on sale for Shunya's production of Anuvab Pal's hilarious comic play "1-888-DIAL-INDIA."

Arun Gupta has an idea that just might change the world, all he needs to do is save a few lives...

"If this becomes the next Google, if this is indeed the next 10 billion market, do you want to say you missed the boat? Do you?"

Performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm, Feb 4-13th, 2011 at Barnevelder Movement Arts.

Tickets on sale at Tickets2Events.com. $15 online; $18 at the door.

Barrow Group Theatre Company (New York, NY)
FAST AND FAB II Festival,
Tanforan
by Christine Toy Johnson
February 11 and 12, 2011

TANFORAN is the story of a Caucasian woman married to a Japanese American man during WW II who must reconcile the identity the U.S. government gives her with the only home she knows: her family. Other writers whose work will be included are: Cathy Templesman, Sue Yocum, Andrea Kuchlewska, Melissa Jane Osborne, Andra Vebell, Arlene Hutton, Lisa Ebersole, Jessica Provenz, Bella Poynton, Amy Hargreaves and Jennifer Garam.

The Barrow Group Theatre Company created FAB Women, a women's development group dedicated to identifying and creating projects For, About, and By women in 2009. FAST AND FAB II is the group's second annual festival of works created specifically for the company. For more information, please call 212-760-2615.

FirstStage (Los Angeles, CA)
Death 'N Taxes
by Felix Racelis
February 14, 2011

STARRING: GREGORY LEE KENYON, DIANA KYLE, JOYCE LEE, MARCIE LYNN ROSS, DAN ROTH, MICHAEL RUSSNOW, DENNIS SAFREN

An obese woman shoots and kills her unfaithful husband who has threatened to leave her for his soulmate, an older woman. A tragic-comedy that moves backward in time to unravel the mystery of what drove this woman to desperation.

Monday, February 14, 2011
7:00 PM
FirstStage at The Missing Piece Theatre, located at 2811 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, 91506.

(Between Hollywood Way and Buena Vista, across from a Methodist Church) Plenty of free street parking.

COLD TOFU is back! It's our first improv show of 2011!

7:30 pm
Maryknoll JCC
222 South Hewitt Street
Los Angeles, CA

COLD TOFU's improv shows are a blast and we use YOUR suggestions to make it happen. Don't miss out on a fun-filled evening!

Call (213) 739-4142 or email coldtofu@hotmail.com for more information. Reservations are not necessary for this show.

The Flea Theatre (New York, NY)
American Sexy
by Trista Baldwin
January 15 to February 22, 2011

The Flea Theater is proud to support the directorial debut of Mia Walker with the New York Premiere of AMERICAN SEXY by Trista Baldwin, featuring members of The Bats (including Satomi Blair). Previews begin January 15, with opening night slated for Saturday, January 29.

A searing exploration of sexuality in the digital age, AMERICAN SEXY follows four college students en route to a carefree fling in Sin City, when an unexpected stop at the Grand Canyon reveals depths that none of them are prepared for. On the edge of one of America’s most magnificent vistas, relationships rattle and bonds break, creating rifts as wide and relentless as the canyon itself.

“AMERICAN SEXY is one of the most haunting premieres to come down the pike in a long time,” says Simpson. “As always, The Flea is excited to introduce to New York audiences gripping new works and performances via the ever electrifying Bats.”

The production stars Satomi Blair, Veracity Butcher, Seth Moore, Scot Morse, Briana Pozner, Ian Quinlan, Nicky Schmidlein, and Ron Washington. The design team includes Kate Sinclair Foster (set), Joe Chapman (lighting), Katie Hartsoe (costumes), and Colin Whitley (sound).

Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis, MN)
Mute-Able: An evening of solo performance
by Sheetal Gandhi
and Shishir Kurup
February 24 to 27, 2011, The Lab Theater

Minneapolis, St. Paul) For one weekend only, Mu Performing Arts, in collaboration with Pangea World Theater, will host two nationally renowned South Asian performing artists for their first appearances in the Twin Cities. Mute-Able: An evening with Shishir Kurup and Sheetal Gandhi, will play at The Lab Theater February 24 – 27.

In continuation of Mu’s growth as a national voice in Asian American theater and performing arts, Artistic Director Rick Shiomi sought to bring actor Shishir Kurup and multidisciplinary choreographer and performer Sheetal Gandhi from California to Minnesota to share their perspectives with Twin Cities audiences. “I saw both of these performances at the 2nd National Asian American Theater Festival in New York in 2009,” Shiomi remembers, “and thought they would be important pieces to present here for artistic and social activist purposes.”

As the billing suggests, Mute-Able presents two very different perspectives of Indian and Indian American experience. One speaks for the voiceless minorities in a country increasingly suspect of “the Other,” and one employs the full gamut of artistic expression to weave together centuries of stories in one physical and musical tapestry.

For the first act of the evening, Shishir Kurup presents his solo work, “Sharif Don’t Like It.” An extended monologue where Kurup himself doesn’t speak a word, the piece presents an alternately hilarious and poignant picture of post 9/11 America and the fallout of the Patriot Act. As Shiomi explains, “Shishir takes us on a journey of what it means to be held as a suspect in America.”

Following Kurup, Sheetal Gandhi combines choreography, singing, and text over an original score in Bahu-Beti-Biwi (translated as “Daughter-in-law, Daughter, Wife”). Inspired by old songs of North Indian women, Gandhi’s piece tells the stories of North Indian and Indian American women connecting across time and space through song and dance. Interwoven throughout is a simultaneous desire to connect with and break from tradition, drawing the audience into an intimate struggle between freedom and compromise.

In addition to bringing these two national performers to the Twin Cities, Mute-Able represents an expansion of Mu’s reach to include South Asian performers and interests. According to Shiomi, it is an effort that he hopes will resonate with an even wider Asian American community. “Together, [Shishir and Sheetal] give us artistic insights into the South Asian experience in America.”

Tickets range from $19 - $25, and are available at www.muperformingarts.org or via the Lab Theater box office at 612-333-7977.

Spam*O*Rama, Seattle’s comedy/music cabaret comes to the Jewel Box with three smash acts:

The theme is "I Never..."
Featuring brand new work by Nora Chau, Samantha Chanse, Clarence Coo,
Deen, Patricia Jang, Mrinalini Kamath, Kristine Haruna Lee, Victor Maog, Edgar Mendoza, Don Nguyen, Qui Nguyen, Matt Park, Lloyd Suh, and magic from
Ruy Iskandar

Performances featuring Rajesh Bose, Cindy Cheung, Jackie Chung, Greta Lee, Mason Lee, Jennifer Lim, Ruy Iskandar, Angela Lin, Eugene Oh, Matt Park, Maureen Sebastian, and Nitya Vidyasagar, with special guest, Paco Tolson

Fight choreography by Qui Nguyen

Directed by Nelson Eusebio, Kristine Haruna Lee, Ralph Pena, Suzi Takahashi, and Meiyin Wang

Friday, February 25 - 8:30pm
&
Saturday, February 26 - 4:30pm & 8:30pm
HERE Arts Center
145 6th Ave. (Enter on Dominick, 1 Block South of Spring)

Bindlestiff Studios (San Francisco, CA)
Stories High 12
Staged Reading
Saturday, Feb. 26th at 4pm

Bindlestiff Studio will be presenting "STORIES HIGH 12 Staged Readings," an annual event featuring play readings written by students of the Stories High playwrighting workshops. A total of six short pieces will be acted out with a Q&A to follow. The stories read are in consideration for a full-staged production taking place at the new Bindlestiff Studio theater in July. The staged readings will take place at the beautiful Passion Cafe located at 28 Sixth Street at the corner of Stevenson near Market St. in San Francisco's South-of-Market-Area. This event is free so please come support your local Filipino American artists and at the same time our neighborhood businesses.

Rasik Arts (Toronto, Canada)
The Domestic Crusaders
by Wajahat Ali
March 3, 2011

The Domestic Crusaders is a two-act comedy about three generations of a Muslim family living in America. The Domestic Crusaders has been called “an introduction to a new American Muslim cool -- sharp and ironic, funny and deep, running intellectual circles around the idiotic platitudes of bigotry." Featured in American Theatre magazine.

Wychwood Public Library, 1431 Bathurst St. is located on the east side of Bathurst St., one block south of St. Clair Avenue, – and is close to all TTC modes. Admission is Free. Tea/coffee provided as well. All are welcome to join us.

Alberta Theatre Projects (Calgary, Canada)
Nisei Blue
by Mieko Ouchi
February 10 to March 6, 2011

A retiring detective is haunted by visions from his past: a glittering nightclub in 1939, a beautiful Japanese Canadian jazz singer and a rookie case that never got solved. Forty-five years later, he returns to the scene of the crime to uncover the truth. But can he put the pieces of the puzzle together before they fade away?

disOriented

Theatre C (New York, NY)
disOriented
by Kyoung H. Park
Directed by Carlos Armesto
February 16 to March 5, 2011

Thurs-Sat 7:30 pm; Sat 3:00 pm, Sun 4:00pm

FEATURING
Ariel Estrada*, Daniel K. Isaac*, Jinn S. Kim*,
Julian Charles Leong*, Bert Matias, Amy Waschke*, Virginia Wing*
*Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association

...with Yanghee Lee as JIN HEE the dancing spirit

disOriented tells the story of Ju Yeon, an immigrant living in New York, who has distanced herself from her Korean roots. When a sudden crisis hits her family, she must return to Korea and face the parents and the life she abandoned long ago. A dancing spirit caught between the worlds of tradition and modernity guides us through past and present, propelling the family members to their ultimate fates.

Presented by ReAct Theatre, Pratidhwani and The Central Heating Lab at ACT (Seattle, WA)
Mother In Another Language
by Taniya Hossain
February 18 to March 6, 2011

In The Bullitt Cabaret
Running Time: 1 hours, 30 minutes

When Tarak, a Bengali ex-patriot, and Karen, an American, decide to get married, they know they're in for some cultural difficulties. But when Tarak buys them a brownstone and asks permission to move his mother into the basement apartment, Karen knows she's getting more than she bargained for. Presented by ReAct Theatre, Pratidhwani and The Central Heating Lab at ACT, this comedy explores the challenges and joys of coming together in love - for us as individuals, and our families.

A Central Heating Lab Event.

Chicago, IL
Falling Petals
Wednesday, March 2nd at 4:00pm
Thursday, March 3rd at 4:00pm
Friday, March 4th at 7:00pm.

James Stukel Towers Event Center at UIC
1235 S. Halsted St.

Falling Petals explores mental health and disability from Asian-American and Indian perspectives. The content includes true stories performed by professional actors, and includes a look into people's experiences with losing a family member to suicide; disability; and more. Come to learn something new, come to be surprised and inspired, come to connect.

East West Players (Los Angeles, CA)
Wrinkles
by Paul Kikuchi
February 10 to March 13, 2011

Unbeknownst to his daughter and grandson, 73 year-old Nisei Harry Fukutani is an internet sensation! But to view his work, you’d have to turn off the parental filter and have a valid credit card. A sticky comedy about sex, lies, and Tiger Balm.

See News story.

Hart House Theatre (Toronto, Canada)
Yellow Face
by David Henry Hwang
March 4 to 12, 2011

Yellow Face is a head-spinning backstage comedy from the Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang in which mistaken racial identities collide with family, media and politics. This ferociously funny, utterly unreliable memoir chronicles David Henry Hwang’s struggle to define racial identity in the mixed-up melting pot of contemporary America. Part fact, part fiction - provocative yet full of heart, Yellow Face is a tale of cultural politics, family fortunes, and artistic integrity; an insightful look at the pitfalls and promise of our “P.C.” world. This is the Canadian premiere of Yellow Face.

Intermedia Arts (Minneapolis, MN)
Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman
by May Lee Yang
March 4 to 13, 2011

A lazy Hmong woman is not supposed to exist. A lazy Hmong woman is like a vegan omelet, a virgin Long Island Iced Tea, or perhaps a poor person of color who is a Republican. But just as these things exist, so does a lazy Hmong woman. This performance piece charts one woman's journey as she discovers The Rules for Being Good Hmong Girl, how to balance being a feminist and having a relationship with a Hmong man, as well as lessons learned from the not-so-lazy women in her life.

UC Berkeley Theatre Dance and Performance Studies(Berkeley, CA)
I Dream of Chang and Eng
by Philip Kan Gotanda
March 4 to 13, 2011

TDPS is proud to present master playwright Philip Kan Gotanda’s newest play, about the original Siamese twins, Chang and Eng Bunker. Though their early lives were spent as a touring “freak” exhibition, these conjoined twins bought out their contract, traveled the world, wooed members of the English court, fought duels, became successful businessmen, settled down on a Southern plantation, married sisters and fathered 21 children. Directed by Peter Glazer, Gotanda’s new work will take the audience on a journey as fantastic as Chang & Eng’s own.

Made possible with a grant from the Creative Work Fund of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund

March 4, 5, 11, 12 at 8pm
March 6, 13 at 2pm
Zellerbach Studio

(Dang, the Cal Weenies get a world premiere....)

Asian American Theatre Company (San Francisco, CA)
Fundraiser
March 11, 2011

Asian American Theater Company (AATC) invites you to our fundraiser for our latest production, in co-production with Crowded Fire: Songs of the Dragon Flying to Heaven, by award-winning playwright Young Jean Lee. Provocative and controversial, Songs of the Dragon is described as a shockingly funny dissection of race.
When: Friday, March 11, 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Where: Big Umbrella Studios
906 1/2 Divisadero Street
San Francisco, CA (Map)
What: Silent Auction
Food Cart (Laotian style by A Humble Plate)
Drinks (duh!) and more!
RSVP: Facebook event page

Also, meet the director Marissa Wolf and the actors! They will perform a sneak preview of the play!!!

Don't miss out on all the excitement and come support local nonprofits in the arts!!!

Ping Chong & Co. (New York, NY)
Secret Survivors
A work in Ping Chong’s Undesirable Elements series
Written and directed by Sara Zatz
Based on interviews, writings and conversations
with the performers: Gabriella Callender, Lucia Leandro Gimeno,
RJ Maccani, Diana Sands, and Amita Swadhin
March 12, 2011

One Performance Only!
March 12, 2011, 7:30
El Museo del Barrio
1230 5th Ave @ 104th, NYC
Free Admission, RSVP Required
Reserve here - http://www.elmuseo.org/en/event/ping-chong-company-secret-survivors

Written and directed by Sara Zatz, Secret Survivors is an interview-based theater project featuring adult survivors of child sexual abuse telling their personal stories on stage. Due to social taboos, very few survivors ever share their stories publicly. The majority of them never report their abuse to state authorities, and many never tell anyone at all. Secret Survivors seeks to use direct personal narrative to show that this violence is epidemic, to represent the diverse ways it occurs, and grapple with the many reasons that most survivors remain silent.

Note: Not recommended for children under 12. Counseling services and additional resources will be available during and immediately after the performance.

Ping Chong & Company’s Undesirable Elements project is supported by major grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Nathan Cummings Foundation, and Leading for the Future Initiative, a program of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. MetLife Foundation is the National Sponsor of Undesirable Elements.

Ma-Yi Theatre Writers' Lab (New York, NY)
A free reading of:
How May I Help You?
written by Mrinalini Kamath
directed by Kel Haney
March 13, 2011

with Steven Brown, Carl Cofield, Andrew Garman, Steven Hauck, Jennifer Lim, Rory Lipede, Ethan Matthews and Priya Soni.

At the height of the Great Recession things seem to be going in a downward spiral at a theater ticket services office, until a mysterious stranger appears.

Sunday, March 13 @ 5 p.m. (don't forget that Sunday is Daylight Savings Time!)
DANY Studios, 305 West 38th Street/8th Avenue, Studio #3, NY, NY
RSVP to leslie.caiola@ma-yitheatre.org

100 Days

LOFT Theatre Ensemble (Los Angeles, CA)
100 Days
A WORLD PREMIERE play by Weiko Lin | Opening February 12 to March 20, 2011

Produced by LOFT ensemble
Directed by Brett Erickson
Starring Joy Howard & Eric Martig

February 12 - March 20
Saturdays 8pm
Sundays 7pm

After his Buddhist mother passes away of cancer, a college circuit comedian on the road has 100 days to marry in order for his mother's spirit to transition in peace. Reluctant to fulfill this superstitious condition, the man awkwardly reunites with his estranged and married high school sweetheart. The death that reconnects these two as adults turns out to be their source of salvation.

100 DAYS is based on the Taiwanese tradition that if a parent passes away before his or her child is wed, the child has 100 days to get married in order to ensure that the parent's spirit transitions peacefully or risk a delay of 3 years. Inspired in part by the death of his own mother, this tradition set the kernel for what would eventually become Weiko Lin's newest stage work 100 DAYS.

www.loftensemble.com

Humana Festival
Actors Theatre of Louisville, KY
Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them
by A. Rey Pamatmat
March 2011

Three kids are all but abandoned on a remote farm in Middle America—until Edith shoots something she really shouldn’t shoot, and the outside world comes barging in.

East West Players (Los Angeles, CA)
The Big Read
March 19, 2011

The Big Read at East West Players
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment of the Arts to restore reading to the center of American popular culture. The Big Read is sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs and is a free event!

Join moderator Prince Gomolvilas, director Leslie Ishii, and a professional team of East West Players' theatre artists and educators as they bring Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" from the page to the stage. Audience members will have the opport! unity to read scenes with actors from East West Players' 2008 theatrical production of "The Joy Luck Club" adapted by Susan Kim from Amy Tan's novel. This workshop is designed to give the audience an opportunity to actively participate and observe an acting class and to offer insight into the process of lifting a passage from the novel into a live theatrical experience.

Date: Saturday, March 19
Times: 10:00am - 11:30am and 12:30pm - 2:00pm
Location: East West Players' David Henry Hwang Theater
Parking: Available in Lot! 7 for $7 or metered street parking
Admission: This event is FREE and open to the public
More info: Contact Arts Education Director Marilyn Tokuda at 213-625-7000.

VDay

V-Day New York City
Vagina Monologues: A Special Version
March 20 and 21, 2011

The Vagina Monologues, written by playwright and activist Eve Ensler, broke ground, offering to the world a piece of art like nothing it had seen before. Based on dozens of interviews Ensler conducted with women, the play addressed women's sexuality and the social stigma surrounding rape and abuse, creating a new conversation about and with women. The Vagina Monologues ran Off-Broadway for five years in New York and then toured the United States.
The Vagina Monologues could be more than a moving work of art on violence; Ensler divined that the performances could be a mechanism for moving people to act to end violence.”

OUR SHOW: will incorporate Korean language and traditional drumming for several pieces. After each performance, there will be a reception where photographer Gil Seo will feature work from our recent V-Day campaign photoshoot, and visual artist Chang-Jin Lee will exhibit some of her work on comfort women. There will also be areas for our sponsor organizations to provide information to the audiences/community about their work and dedication to end violence in the Korean community.

WHY KOREAN: “The Vagina Monologues” has been performed all over the world in various different languages. There has yet to be a production specifically by and for the Korean-American community been produced in New York City, so let us tear down the roof!
As the central melting-pot of the world, it is shocking to see how our community is still silenced by overall aspects of female sexuality. Even the term “vagina” has often been an immense source of shame and secrecy for many of us because of tradition and assumptions of Korean femininity. With V-Day: Koreatown, 2011, our team hopes to unlock some of this silence, and encourage audience members and the Korean community to empower our women. The show has successfully generated broader attention and funds to end violence against women and girls all over the world, and we feel that now more than ever there is a need to bring this attention closer to home and even closer to our ancestry.

The goal is not to just perform. The goal is to participate to the best of our abilities to move audiences to act and re-think Korean female sexuality . With the collaboration of actual Korean community organizations that support this cause, we wish to spread awareness also of the existence of the organizations themselves and their commitment to end violence against the women of the Korean community.

PERFORMANCES: Sunday, March 20th & Monday, March 21st ----- 8PM

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at
http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/178502
or by calling 212.352.3101

* All proceeds benefit KAFSC (Korean American Family Service Center) and the International V-Day movement

Ma-Yi Theatre (New York, NY)
Red Flamboyant
by Don Nguyen
Directed by Laura Savia
March 21, 2011

With Francis Jue, Karen Tsen Lee, Doan Ly

Monday, March 21 at 7pm
ART/NY - 520 Eighth Avenue, 3rd Floor - Studio B

In the aftermath of another attempted suicide by one of the three boarders she has taken in, Mrs Hue, a Vietnamese woman living with HIV/AIDS is forced to reexamine the dynamics of the group; but when the women are dealt a tragic blow, Mrs Hue is forced to seek help from a stubborn government official named Diem whom she doesn't trust, and tries to persuade him into helping her start a support group. The play also examines the building of a modern female warrior in Mrs Hue by deconstructing the legend of the Trung Sisters, ancient female warriors who once ruled Vietnam.

Evergreen College's Authors' Series, San Jose, CA.
Buffalo'ed
by Jeannie Barroga
March 23, 2011

The FREE event will be at 3095 Yerba Buena Road, San Jose, CA on March 23, noon, Montgomery 127.

Allos

East West Players (Los Angeles, CA)
ALLOS: The Story of Carlos Bulosan
By Giovanni Ortega
Directed by Dom Magwili
Featuring Josef Malonzo
March 12 to 30, 2011

ALLOS: THE STORY OF CARLOS BULOSAN tells the story of an important American hero many do not know and history books do not mention. Like so many immigrants seeking a better life, Bulosan followed his brothers to America only to find violence, racism and exploitation. He used his writing to combat discrimination and became an advocate for migrant workers rights. In 1946, his semi-autobiographical novel America is in the Heart became the voice of the Filipino immigrant experience. Bulosan’s story is a testament to one man’s courage and spirit in a country that rejected him, yet he never ceased to love and believe in the country he called home – America.

Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis, MN)
Little Shop of Horrors
Book and lyrics by Howard Ashman
music by Alan Menken
March 19 to April 3, 2011
The Ritz Theater

The beloved musical comedy about a man-eating plant as you’ve never seen it before. . . with a VERY mobil plant and an Asian American cast.

See News release.

East West Players (Los Angeles, CA)
Three Year Swim Club
By Lee Tonouchi
Directed by Keo Woolford
March 24, 2011

Featuring: Hiwa Bourne, John Galmiche, Kaliko Kauahi, Eddie Kaulukukui, Michael Sun Lee, Thomas Morinaka

Set on the island of Maui in the 1930's, this play tells the true story of Coach Soichi Sakamoto, who trained swimmers in the irrigation ditches of sugar cane plantations, some of whom went on to become Olympic champions.

Date: Thursday, March 24, 2011
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Tateuchi Democracy Forum in the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
111 N. Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Admission: FREE
Parking: Available in Lot 7 for $7 off of Judge John Aiso Street or metered street parking
For more info: 213-625-7000

Nisei Cougars

East West Players (Los Angeles, CA)
DHHWI New Works Festival
March 27 to 31, 2011

Works In Progress from the David Henry Hwang Writers Institute at East West Players
(Workshop Leader: Doris Baizley)

SUNDAY, March 27
1pm
SIFTING OMOIDE by Bryan McCormick
An Equation: (AF+FM) (TC) ÷ (NMH) (DS+L/C) = LGW/ORC
Aging Father plus Failing Mind times Talking Cat divided by Neighborhood Meth Whore times Dutiful Son plus Lover/Caregiver equals Life in Gardena... Without a Rice Cooker

3pm
SLICE by Paul Kikuchi
Set in 14th century Japan, KAI MATSUDA seeks fame and fortune by creating the mother of all samurai swords. But when FUMI TANAKA enters his swordshop, his life melts down faster than pure iron ore. A romantic comedy about love, honor and sword envy.

5pm
UNBIASED by Gregory Pacificar
A journalist's struggle to determine if sex + love in HIV are possible. He risks his relationships and his own notion of right and wrong to uncover the truth.

7pm
IN THE BACKYARD by Lina Patel
A starry winter night in Los Angeles.
A festive, booze-filled holiday party.
Four people in the backyard.
What in the world could go wrong?

MONDAY, March 28@ 7pm
TWILIGHT AND SNOW by Warren Sata
Post WWII Japan, a country rebuilds. Artists seeking a principled and peaceful existence find themselves anything but removed from the chaos that surrounds them.

WE USE TO TOAST TO THE DREAMERS, NOW WE JUST DRINK By Gene Lee
We Used to Toast is harsh like a light bulb that's too bright. It's not a bulb that signifies a good idea. Its meaning lies elsewhere, a late-night decision, an expected apology, a simmering regret, something visible only at the bottom of a bottle of bourbon.

TUESDAY, March 29@ 7pm
PRIME SEATING by Krista Suh
Some people know their priorities: money, sex, and prime seating.

WHERE IS THE LOVE? A New Musical by Matthew Alexander
A Latina Lysistrata in South-Central to a hip-hop soundtrack.

WEDNESDAY, March 30 @ 7pm
SOREDEWA by Alison Minami
In search of a better future for his family, Hamada sets sail for Cuba, leaving his young wife Tomiko and infant son in their native Japanese fishing village. In Havana, Hamada eventually re-marries to Isabel and dotes over their daughter Flores. But even through economic hardship and success--including a World War II imprisonment--Hamada never stops dreaming of returning home. At the dawn of the Cuban revolution, after nearly three decades in a new land, Hamada makes the difficult decision to once again leave his family. This is the story of finding home and family--the improbable journey of one man who must confront his deepest longings and fears while his loved ones untangle themselves from his choices.

MAX AND THE REVOLUTION by Maite Zabala-Alday
Armed with her Doc Martens boots and mixed tapes, an American teenager finds herself in the Philippines months before the 1986 "People Power Revolution".

THURSDAY, March 31 @7pm
ANTIGONE: THE ROCK MUSICAL by Cheryl Tsai Perez
The year is 2054. Civil unrest has torn apart the mythical country of Thebes. A futuristic retelling of Antigone set to a rock and roll soundtrack.

INFO:

$5 Suggested Donation

The David Henry Hwang Theater
120 Judge John Aiso St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Questions? Contact jluiewp@yahoo.com.

Soho Rep (New York, NY)
Fort Lee
by Lloyd Suh
March 28, 2011

A new play about an all Asian American country western band.

Silk Road Theatre Project (Chicago, IL)
Seven
March 31, April 1 and 2, 2011

A staged reading. Seven is a collaboration of seven female playwrights who each wrote the role of a single woman (all true stories) from seven different countries - Afghanistan, Cambodia, Guatemala, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, and Russia.

TeADA (Los Angeles, CA)
SUNOH! Tell Me, Sister
Friday, April 1 to Sunday, April 3, 2011

For One Weekend ONLY
Miles Memorial Playhouse
1130 Lincoln Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403 The premiere of SUNOH! Tell Me, Sister by Post Natyam Collective a transnational dance theater ensemble consisting of choreographers Sandra Chatterjee (Munich/New Delhi), Cynthia Ling Lee (Santa Monica), Shyamala Moorty (Long Beach), Anjali Tata (Kansas City), and multimedia collaborator Sangita Shresthova (Altadena/Prague). The Post Natyam Collective brings to life subversive stories of women’s erotic power and resistance in a multimedia dance-work that grapples with the historical legacy of the courtesans of the Indian subcontinent. Developed through a transnational internet-based creative process, the work integrates classical and contemporary Indian dance, theater, original music, and video.

Questions? Email