Asian Diaspora Theatre

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

The term “collaborative” for me conjures up the idea of a loose group of artists with a shared Asian American identity and purpose, working together to produce a wide range of projects, from workshops, readings and short performances to full productions. If this process is successful, I believe it would be possible that within a three to five year period, there could be a significant Asian American presence in the Philadelphia theater community and a real demand for their work.

W.M. Akers looks at David Henry Hwang's Kung Fu, a bio-play about the life and career of Bruce Lee

We chose to do "Yellow Face" because of the meaningful questions it raises about the parameters of identity. We chose to do "Yellow Face" because of the revealing and resonant glimpse it gives at immigrant families in the United States; because of its multi-layered examination of the “American Dream”; because of the uproarious and irreverent way it uses humor to expose darker themes. We chose to do "Yellow Face" because clearly, it’s a Jewish play!

christopher oscar peña and A. Rey Pamatmat talk about writing race in plays.

Kathy Hsieh calls for artists to take action, flex their playwriting muscle and create the stories you want to see on stage. It is a way of being pro-active of how your community grows.