Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists Will Conduct Bystander Intervention and Safety Awareness Trainings

Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA) announces speakers for the second episode of its ongoing monthly ConFest Virtual Series, Healing Over Hate on Monday, May 10 at 1PM HT, 3PM AKT, 4PM PT, 5PM MT, 6PM CT, and 7PM ET. The episode will be hosted by Leslie Ishii (Artistic Director, Perseverance Theatre; Board President, Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA), Leilani Chan (Founding Artistic Director, TeAda Productions), and Ryan I. Kahaʻiʻōlelo Sueoka, ʻInamona Theatre Company (Kamōʻiliʻili, Waikīkī, Kona, Oʻahu, HI; Interim General Manager, CAATA).

This episode, "Responding to Anti-Asian Race-Based Harassment" will include a presentation on bystander intervention tactics facilitated by Dax Valdes (Senior Trainer, Hollaback!). He will cover Hollaback!'s five strategies for intervention: distract, delegate, document, delay, and direct; and highlight methods that bystanders can use to prioritize their safety while intervening. The episode will also feature a presentation by Adriana Li (Program Coordinator and Instructor, IMPACT) that will introduce responses and skills that can be helpful in the face of race-based harassment including adrenaline management to regulate emotions, de-escalation strategies to use with the assailant, verbal boundary setting techniques, and best practices for bystander intervention when witnessing harassment or other unsafe situations.

"Responding to Anti-Asian Race-Based Harassment " is the second episode of Healing Over Hate, a new series that will address the dramatic rise in anti-Asian hate, bias, and discrimination during the pandemic. While the series will center the needs of the AAPI community, providing them resources and actionable strategies for healing, safety, and activism, all are invited to watch the series to further their empowerment and ability to move safely through the world. CAATA produces this series in alliance with Black, Indigenous, Latin, Middle Eastern North African communities and all communities of color.

Future episodes of the series will feature more upstander/bystander and de-escalation trainings; strategies for safety and self-defense; coalition building between Black, Latinx, Native/Indigenous and Pan-Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, North African, Native/Indigenous communities; and how the lack of Asian representation in the theatre and film industry helps to fuel anti-Asian bias; and how we, as a community can work to transmute our collective rage, fear, and erasure into action, compassion, visibility, solidarity, and justice. The series will take place through June and continue in September after a two-month hiatus.

The series is part of a multi-pronged crisis response by CAATA, sparked by the Atlanta massacre on March 16th which claimed the lives of six Asian women, and further galvanized by the April 15th murder of four members of the Sikh community in Indianapolis, all part of a larger rise in anti-Asian hate and violence in the U.S. in the wake of the pandemic. CAATA's responses include an initial statement that gathered scores of AAPI artists and organizations as signatories; the PSA "Strong Together. Stronger Than Ever," produced with support from Theatre Communications Group, that gathered together AAPI luminaries and leaders from theatre and film; and the #HadABadDay social media campaign. As the violence continues to rise nationwide, more CAATA actions are forthcoming as part of its response.

Healing Over Hate is being produced in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons in Boston, MA, a nonprofit organization that operates as part of Emerson Collegeʻs Office of the Arts. HowlRound provides a free and open platform for theatre-makers worldwide that amplifies progressive, disruptive ideas about the art form and facilitates connection between diverse practitioners. Like Return to the Source, Healing Over Hate will be presented on HowlRound TV, HowlRoundʻs global, commons-based peer produced, open access live streaming and video archive project.

Maximiliano Urruzmendi-Mele will be the series Technical Director, and CAATA staff member Ariel Estrada will be the series Line Producer. A full schedule of broadcast dates for Healing Over Hate can be found on CAATAʻs website at www.caata.net.

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