The first event was a Stories Program workshop sponsored by the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance. It was a small gathering, but with the assistance of LA-based actor Ryun Yu, I was able to run the workshop based upon the stories of the participants. It was a powerful experience, revealing very deeply emotional stories about their own lives. We finished up the workshop the next morning with Ryun directing a short presentation of one of the stories.
Then I was off to San Diego to see a production of David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face (a show that Mu produced last season) by Mo'olelo Theater. The artistic director, Seema Sueko, directed the production and though it was still a preview, I was very impressed by both her creative direction and the cast of the show. The lead, David Henry Hwang's alter-ego DHH, was played by Greg Watanabe. I know Greg from back in the 1990s when he was starting out in San Francisco as a member of the comedy troupe 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors (check out the terrific documentary on the group), so it was especially fun to see him in action again. The audience gave the performance a standing ovation and I knew they had a hit on their hands.
(On a side note, one other fun moment at Mo'olelo involved seeing an image of our own Eric Sumangil from his performance in their 2007 production of Cowboy Versus Samurai, which also happens to be Mu's next production. It's thrilling to see how Mu actors are making names for themselves around the country!)
On that same day, I met with Lauren Yee, the playwright for Ching Chong Chinaman and for a new commission by Mu (stay tuned!), Native Voices artistic director Randy Reinholz, Mo'olelo's Seema Sueko, and Greg Watanabe. It was a jam-packed day!
But there was still more to do. The next morning, I met with Farrell and Sandra Foreman of the new Bear Arts Foundation, which sponsored Colorfest, a multicultural theater festival and conference this past summer. They are trying to set up a new service network for theaters of color, with which Mu would be intimately involved. It's an exciting prospect that will be an invaluable way for our theaters to connect with one another.
After that meeting, I got back in the car and drove back to LA, where I'd started my trip, to do a video interview of Michael Golamco, the playwright for Cowboy Versus Samurai. It's a part of a series of behind-the-scenes interviews and footage that will be featured on Mu's YouTube channel, and is a great way for audiences to get extra insight into the show that they might not get just from their playbill.
My trip ended with the final performance of Mysterious Skin by Prince Gomolvilas at one of the country's largest Asian American theater companies, East West Players. It was quite a terrific performance. After the show the whole cast and crew gathered for their post-show reception and I had an extended discussion with Tim Dang, the artistic director at EWP. After all that, it was off to the airport to catch the red eye flight back home to Minneapolis.
All in a weekend's work.
by Rick Shiomi
No comments:
Post a Comment