For the first time, the National Asian American Theater Conference and the National Asian American Theater Festival will be held jointly from June 16-25, 2011. The event will be presented in Los Angeles by the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA) and hosted by Asian American Theaters East West Players and Teada Productions, both residing in Los Angeles.
The theme for this year's joint conference and festival is NEW DIRECTIONS citing transitional shifts in theater at all levels and an emerging generation of voices rising in the Asian American community.
"June will be an electric month for theater in Los Angeles," said
Tim Dang, Producing Artistic Director of East West Players. "With the National TCG (Theatre Communications Group) Conference, Radar LA Festival, the Hollywood Fringe Festival and the Festival of New American Musicals happening almost concurrently with other performing events, LA can truly be called a Theater Town for at least a month."
A national online survey to the field of Asian American artists took place in August of 2010 asking the field what vital issues were facing Asian American theaters and performers. A request for proposal process for both the conference and festival asking for panel ideas, potential panelists, possible performance workshops and festival performance offerings by group and individual performers concluded in November 2010. Two separate panels of nationally known artistic leaders, artists, and academics evaluated all the information and proposals and selected the conference panels and festival participants under the collective theme, NEW DIRECTIONS.
Inter-generational dialogue, global exchange and social justice were the important issues to discuss at the conference. Diversity in all areas including geography, ethnicity, gender, and theatrical expression, was vital to the festival panel.
"Both panels grappled with the challenge of creating a Conference and Festival that is both inclusive and diverse. The result is a signature event that will explore some of the tough issues of our times while presenting cutting edge artistic works that are re-defining theater in the U.S.," said Leilani Chan, Artistic Director of Teada Productions.
The Asian American Theater Conference will be divided into four categories: Artistic Practice, Directing, Social Justice and Nuts & Bolts. Performance Workshops are also available if one chooses to participate in a more creative atmosphere. Among the panels are: Artists Addressing War and Militarism --Near, Middle, Far; From the Pens of the Underdog-Queer and Asian and not Complaining; Refugee Nation from LA to Laos-a Diasporic, Transnational Project; Cross Pollination of Cultures and the Urgency to Break Barriers; Legal 101 for Artists; Directing and Ensemble Creation -A National Field Dialogue; and Youth Arts Education and Activism. There will also be an opportunity for Open Space technology in which attendees may choose to create their own panel and put it forward to the entire group for anyone sharing the same interests.
Performance Workshops include: Japanese Physical Acting with Izumi Ashizawa; Directing Workshop with Jon Lawrence Rivera; and Spoken Word and Slam Poetry with
Beau Sia.
The selection panel for the conference were members of the CAATA Board of Directors or representative theater leaders including; Andrea Assaf, performer, writer, director and cultural organizer;
Tisa Chang, Artistic Producing Director of Panasian Repertory Theatre; Carla Ching, Artistic Director of Second Generation;
Tim Dang, Producing Artistic Director of East West Players;
Mia Katigbak, Artistic Director of the National Asian American Theater Company; Tim Lounibos, Business Administrator of East West Players;
Jorge Ortoll, Executive Director of Ma-yi Theatre Company; Rick Shiomi, Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts, and Marie-Reine Velez, Managing Director of Teada Productions.
The Asian American Theater Festival will feature 10 culturally diverse offerings: A NUMBER by Caryl Churchhill (presented by the National Asian American Theatre Company, New York); DO YOUR BONES DANCE? by performance artist Denise Uyehara (Arizona); PULL written and performed by Kennedy Kabasares and Traci Kato-Kiriyama (Los Angeles, CA); ENCOUNTER by Navarasa Dance Theater (Massachusetts); JUKEBOX STORIES by Prince Gomolvilas (Glendale, CA); SUNOH! TELL ME SISTER presented by the Post Natyam Collective (Santa Monica, CA); TEN REASONS WHY I'D BE A BAD PORN STAR written and performed by May Lee-Yang (Minnesota); DANCING ON GLASS by Ram Ganesh Kamatham (presented by RasaNova Theater, San Francisco, CA); THE PASSION OF EL HULK HOGANCITO by
Jason Magabo Perez (San Diego, CA); and DICTEE written and performed by Soomi Kim (New York, NY).
The selection panel for the festival participants were: Dr. Lucy Burns, PhD.UCLA; Philip Chung, writer;
Sheetal Gandhi, performing artist; Dr.
Velina Hasu Houston, PhD. University of Southern California, playwright; Nobuko Miyamoto, Founder and Artistic Director of Great Leap, Inc.; Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwright's Arena; and Kristina Sheryl Wong, Artist.
The cost to attend the Asian American Theater Conference and Festival is $300.00, which includes access to all conference panels and a complimentary pass to the Theater Festival. A separate festival pass is available for $80 for all performances or $15 per individual show. Group sales of 10 or more are available by emailing groupsales@caata.net.
Additional discounts to theater performances around town will be available to partnering Asian American productions at East West Players (KRUNK FU BATTLE BATTLE by
Qui Nguyen,
Beau Sia and Marc Macalintal), the
Colony Theatre (YEAR ZERO by Michael Golamco) and Playwrights' Arena (CALLIGRAPHY by
Velina Hasu Houston) from June 16, 2011. There is also a free invited rehearsal (SUN SISTERS by S. Vasanti Saxena opening in July) at the Company of Angels. Please check out the CAATA website for further details and events at www.CAATA.net.
Funding for the Third National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival is being provided, in part by, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the California Community Foundation, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
All plenaries and panels will take place at East West Players
David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 Judge John Aiso Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 or the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, 244 South San Pedro St., Los Angeles CA, 90012.
All performances will take place at either Inner-City Arts Rosenthal Theater at 720 Kohler Street, LA, CA 90021 or National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Tateuchi Democracy Forum), across from the Japanese American National Museum - 111 N. Central Avenue, LA, CA 90012.
The Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists (CAATA), a non-profit 501c3, is a national network comprised of Asian American artistic directors, arts leaders and artists committed to establishing an inclusive, responsible, and relevant national artistic voice for the rapidly growing and diversifying Asian Pacific American community. CAATA began in 2004 as an ad hoc committee of the leading Asian American arts leaders who came together during a conference held by Theatre Communications Group. This committee of 11 included artistic directors and arts leaders from:
Asian Arts Initiative (PA);
Asian American Theater Company (CA):
East West Players (CA);
Ma-Yi Theater (NY);
Mu Performing Arts (MN);
NAATCO (NY);
New World Theater (MA) (former artistic director continues to serve on the Board of CAATA as an arts leader despite the theater's closure);
Pan Asian Repertory (NY);
Pangea World Theater (MN);
Second Generation (NY); and
TeAda Productions (CA).
Since its inception, this national group of artists and arts organization leaders has been committed to strengthening the infrastructure of Asian American performing arts. We do this with a strong commitment inclusion, social justice, and diversity. Today, CAATA continues to prioritize deepening the ethnic and cultural diversity within the umbrella of "Asian America"; shedding light on social justice issues through the performing arts; and developing the artistic leaders needed to share these stories effectively into the 21st Century. CAATA is officially incorporated as a 501c3 non profit charitable organization.
For more information, please email
info@caata.net.
Comments
To post a comment, you must
register and
login.
