It’s been about a month since the Ivey’s. For those who don’t know what that is, it’s the Twin Cities version of the Tony Awards. Each year I go to this event, I’m assured of something amazing and something horrifying. Not horrifying in a scary way, but in a more confusing and uncomfortable way. This year did not disappoint. I won’t go into any details, because that’s not the topic of this particular blog. What I’ve decided to muse about was the lack of Asian American representation on stage, not only in terms of awards, but also in terms of presenters and entertainment. It wasn’t completely void of Asian Americans. Isabella Dawis did perform in a very strange rendition of “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie, along with other young aspiring talent—the lone speck of yellow in a sea of red, white, and blue.
This usually wouldn’t bother me. I’m used to being in events that have little to no Asian American representation. But after a year where Asian Americans exploded on the Twin Cities theater scene, I couldn’t believe there was no recognition. Let me explain. Mu Performing Arts’ productions of The Romance of Magno Rubio and Yellow Face where both on critics’ ‘Best of the Year’ lists, including The Star Tribune. Music Lovers was also on critics’ "best of" lists with me in a leading role. The Guthrie basically had a David Henry Hwang festival by producing M. Butterfly and presenting Mu's Yellow Face in their studio space. Katie Bradley starred in Mulan at The Children’s Theatre a production that ran into controversy for their use of “yellow face.” Yellow Face and yellow face in the same year! David Mura and Laurine Price starred in The King and I at the Bloomington Center for the Arts, directed by Rick Shiomi. Laurine followed that by playing Belle in the Ordway’s production of Beauty and the Beast. Sun Mee Chomet played Lady Macduff in the Guthrie’s production of Macbeth. This would have been an amazing year for Asian American theater even in New York City! This kind of year may never ever happen again. Yet it was not good enough for any recognition at the Ivey’s in Minnesota. We did this in the Midwest! During a recession!
Let me try to put it is some perspective. Mu is usually the only company that produces Asian American plays in the Twin Cities—the way that Penumbra is the main producer of African American plays. David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly was the first time that an Asian American playwright has been produced on the Guthrie mainstage. Rick Shiomi and I were the first non-white directors in the history of the Bloomington Civic Theater. To have this kind of impact in the theater community is a testament to the growth of the Asian American talent pool in this town. This only exists because of 15 years of nurturing from Rick Shiomi and Mu. Yet, the larger population looks over these accomplishments. I believe it is because they have little knowledge of Asian American theater history, therefore cannot contextualize just what an amazing year it was. We did this in the Midwest! During a recession!
Does the fact that we do work that challenges the ideas of race in America, turn off evaluators that go to the theater just to be entertained? Maybe. Does the fact that the Asian American community isn’t assertive enough to demand to be heard allow the majority to ignore us? Maybe. Is it insane to give a theater award to one specific ethnic group? Maybe. But all I know is as I sat in that theater, listening to the wonderful Wendy Lehr accept her Lifetime Achievement Ivey award knowing that the event was coming to a close, I couldn’t help but feel. . . overlooked. Again.
by Randy Reyes
Photo: Randy Reyes as DHH in Yellow Face, (c) Michal Daniel, 2010
Great post Randy. I too am baffled at the lack of Asian American representation at the Ivey considering the number of Asian led and themed productions. This only reinforces the notion that minorities have to work twice has hard and accomplish twice as much to get the same recognition as whites. Disappointing.
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