Asian Diaspora Theatre

Ralph B. Peña offers advice to those looking to diversify their theatre companies and productions.

Writer and performer Kelly Tsai shares the process of devising Ai Weiwei: The Seed, which is based on the art and writings of activist-artist Ai Weiwei.

Rick Shiomi discusses the Philadelphia Asian Theater Project, sharing his process working with local theatre companies and organizations to promote Asian American theatre artists.

Director Lavina Jadhwani shares her experience as an Asian American director, advocating the need for more spaces and opportunities for Asian American theatre artists to collaborate together. 

Playwright Cherry Lou Sy discusses Vineyard Theatre’s production of Indecent, reflecting on the culture of fear and the queer artists who have influenced her.

Matt DiCintio explores the orientalism in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Nelson T. Eusebio III addresses the argument that the “best” actor must always be cast in a role, regardless of race.

Director Desdemona Chiang provides an overview of Asian American discrimination and cultural appropriation in the US and argues that there is no way to divorce The Mikado from this problematic history. 

Victor Maog interviews Leah Nanako Winkler on her response to the controversy around NYGASP's The Mikado.

Playwright Rehana Lew Mirza argues that those who defend producing The Mikado using yellowface on the basis of its “historical significance” are supporting centuries of imperialism and oppression.

Chris Garza covers the Mu Performing Arts production Eric Sharp’s play, Middle Brother which tells the story of an adoptee searching for his roots in Korea.

I was inspired to believe in the power of the arts to mobilize people and sway emotions and opinions and build community in ways that petitions and protests couldn’t. I decided that I could use my skills to pro-actively organize through and for the arts, and became an intern at the Painted Bride and have been with Asian Arts Initiative since then as it has grown into an independent multi-disciplinary community arts center.

Producer Jane Jung offers compelling insight on the history and necessity of Asian American Theatre as a form of activism and expression to combat exotification and other-ing.

Home is not a shared skin tone, language, religion, location, orientation, or political sensibility, though those all play a small role. It’s a sense of history, of being known thoroughly, not just for who you are, but for who you were and who you will be; not just the good, but also the occasionally ugly. It’s the place where people want the best for me, even as I sometimes drive them crazy. It’s the place where I'm not thinking about you or about me, but about us, the house, the whole thing.

In this installment, Mike Lew discusses the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, the fraught practice of yellow face, and what equity for people of color actually looks like.

Victor Maog examines the efforts of Asian American theatremakers to create spaces and push out meaningful narratives.