Baayork Lee, Shoba Narayan, Angel Desai & More to Take Part in Live & In Color Online Forums for AAPI Heritage Month

In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and in response to a disturbing trend of crimes targeting Asian communities across the country, BIPOC new works incubator Live & In Color will present four online forums in May featuring and focusing on Asian artists and activists who are changing the future of theater and the world. Each live forum will take place Wednesdays at 6 p.m. EST during Be Our Guest, LAIC's weekly interactive web series.

Grab a drink, your phone, tablet or laptop and come prepared with questions for Be Our Guest, an online interactive weekly happy hour with industry professionals. Streaming every Wednesday on Facebook Live and the Live & In Color YouTube Channel, the group's founder and artistic director Devanand Janki sits down with some of the most exciting artists and changemakers working in theater today. After a year in which the Asian community continues to face xenophobia and violence, Live & In Color dedicates each weekly installment this May focus on AAPI trailblazers, storytellers and future faces.

"Despite recent events, I continue to feel an ever-renewing sense of pride and solidarity among my fellow Asian American artists in purposefully creating space for our stories and our perspectives on a national scale," said Janki. "I am proud that Live & In Color continues to find ways to amplify Asian American and Pacific Islander voices this AAPI Month, and every month. We have so much more to say!"

Launched in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, Be Our Guest brings in some of the most innovative BIPOC forces working in entertainment today to talk about their careers, inspiration, and advice for aspiring theatre makers. Each week, Janki kicks off the discussion, but unlike other online chat programs that remain static, he breaks down the fourth wall of the computer monitor to moderate questions from the online audience.

This Month's Schedule:

Wednesday, May 5: Leaders of the Movement

Guests: Albert Guerzon (Escape to Margaritaville) and Diane Phelan (School of Rock, Here Lies Love) from #RacisimIsAVirus Campaign, Playwright Nandita Shenoy (Rage Play) and actress Angel Desai (Company) from Asian American Performers Action Coalition. Marc delaCruz (Hamilton) and Shoba Narayan (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812) join for a special performance.

Wednesday May 12: The Storytellers (Part One)

Guests: Richard Rodgers Award-winning composer/lyricist/librettist Timothy Huang (The View from Here, American Morning), composer, lyricist and Richard Rodgers Award finalists Tidtaya Sinutoke and Isabella Davis (Half the Sky) and composer/lyricist Yan Li (The Ghost Say Boo).

Wednesday May 19: The Storytellers (Part Two)

Guests: Writer/Composer Cheeyang Ng (Eastbound), Actress/Writer/Lyricist Jessica Wu (Poupelle of Chimney Town) and singer/songwriter Janet Noh (Pangea).

Wednesday, May 26th: The Progeny

Artists and Educators Baayork Lee (A Chorus Line) from National Asian Artists Project and J. Elaine Marcos (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) of AMDA bring in their students who are the next generation of AAPI performers.

Live & In Color's weekly interactive online chat series Be Our Guest can be viewed live every Wednesday at 6:00 EST on the group's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Live & In Color develops new work for the stage that promotes and celebrates diversity. Emphasizing non-traditional casting, multi-ethnic participants, and bold theatricality, LAIC offers unique development opportunities for new plays and musicals that encourage dialogue among artists from a variety of cultures.

To learn more about Live & In Color, visit www.liveandincolor.org

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