i am, as i am, asian, american, identity, asian american, asian american identity, filipino american, chinese american, indian american, uniquely american, id-revelation, what it means to be asian american, multicultural, multiethnic, multiracial, interfaith
On the way back from Zuccoti Park[1] this weekend, care to check out two plays currently in preview? I know art is a luxury for us 99’ers nowadays. But if you do manage to see either of these, I’m curious about what the odds are that each would enlighten views from the other side? One percent?
“Asuncion”[2] is about a couple of friends whose liberal views are challenged when a Filipino woman moves in with them. Jesse Eisenberg, famous for his role in “The Social Network”, is the playwright and one of the actors.
“Chinglish”[3] by David Henry Hwang, Tony award-winning playwright (M. Butterfly), traces similar cross-cultural challenges, this time from the perspective of a businessman traveling to China.
To the delight of its executive and artistic director, Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s three-week Chinese music festival is a surprise.1 So writes New York Times critic, James Oestreich, in his column today. He explains why:
Mr. Gillinson is quick to acknowledge that Chinese music, in any traditional sense, is almost antithetical to the traditional Carnegie concert format. At least until the mid-20th century, music in China was seldom seen as something to be presented on a proscenium stage and contemplated in isolation by sedentary, silent listeners. It was often a part of daily life, if not integral to the performance of a particular activity or ritual then as background for socialization. And when it did rise to the level of artistic aspiration, it was typically part of a larger catchall form, as in Chinese opera, which includes not only music, drama, dance, costuming and décor but also acrobatics and martial arts.
Aptly dubbed “Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: Celebrating Chinese Culture”, the festival which runs from Oct. 21 to Nov. 10 seeks to explore both “the hunger for Western works, as well as ‘real’ Chinese music.”2
Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture pays tribute to a vibrant culture and its influence around the globe with 21 days of events and exhibitions at Carnegie Hall and partner institutions throughout New York City. It features leading Chinese musicians, including artists and ensembles traveling outside of China for the first time, performing myriad genres of music. This festival also includes traditional marionette theater, dance, exhibitions, and much more—a true immersion into a world that mixes ancient and modern, familiar and new.
The festival itself is happening beyond the confines of the Carnegie Hall premises seeking perhaps to stretch beyond the realm of music itself. Take for example, Mingmei Yip’s performance of both qin music and calligraphy at the China Institute on October 22nd.3
The aesthetics shared by qin musicians and Chinese calligraphers are discussed and demonstrated. The linear quality of calligraphy and the melodic lines of the qin (seven-stringed zither) embody the interplay between yin and yang, sound and space. The ancient Chinese philosophy of nurturing life and the quest for longevity by harnessing breath and qi (chi) are aspired to through qin playing and calligraphic brush strokes.
In pursuit of advancing the field of Asian American theater via a national network of organizations and artists, the Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists (CAATA)* is hosting its second National Asian American Theater Festival1 in New York City from October 13-18, 2009. All performance will be held at the Theater for the New City2 except for ‘Imelda’, which takes place at the Julia Miles Theater3. ‘The Seagull’ and ‘Imelda’ play throughout the week of the festival, and performances are scheduled for Shishir Kulup’s ‘Sharif Don’t Like It’ and Sheetal Gandhi’s ‘Bahu-Beti-Biwi’. In addition, the festival calendar includes panel discussions, readings and workshops, plus an opening night party.
Anton Chekov’s comedy ‘The Seagull’ is presented by the National Asian American Theater Company4 featuring an all Asian American cast, living up to its broad mission of asserting the presence and significance of Asian American theatre in the United States and demonstrating its vital contributions to the fabric of American culture.
‘Bahu-Beti-Biwi’ is a dance-theater solo created and performed by Sheetal Gandhi. Below is a video clip taken from her previous performance.
*Forming a consortium is a really good idea! I wish that other Asian American organizations would follow the CAATA’s lead on this. I wish them great success in their upcoming festival and other future projects. For tickets or more information, go to naatlf.org.
"Art can heal and art can be a bridge that brings cultures together", says Wajahat Ali, a Pakistani American playwright, in a recent TV interview about his play entitled "The Domestic Crusaders."
In her NY Times column, Laurie Goodstein does a good job describing the background and theme of Wajahat’s play. It seems as far-reaching in its goals as its content is deeply personal, culled directly from the playwright’s own family drama.1
Very few dramas about the contemporary Muslim experience in America have made it to the stage. Muslims from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have been slow to embrace writing and acting, which was not considered a viable profession by the older immigrant generation. Mr. Ali and the actors in “The Domestic Crusaders” are among a younger group interested in mining their experiences for theater. These are dramas not about terrorism or war, but about the cultural cacophony that ensues when you drop three generations of a Pakistani family into Silicon Valley.
Hopefully, his play which opened last Friday, September 11, at the Nuyorican Poets Café2 in New York City, does some healing especially of the virulence that still pervades among us and brings together families caught in a similar cultural cross-fire.
The Playbill News reports today that, in celebration of their 20th anniversary,
the National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) will stage an all Asian
American cast production of Terence McNally’s Tony Award-winning play, “Love!
Valour! Compassion!”. It will be
one-night-only benefit performance on September 14, 2009 at the Cherry Lane
Theater in New York City.The play is
about eight white gay men who spend their holiday weekends together.For tickets or more details, contact NAATCO
at (212) 244-0447 or online at www.naatco.org. Ticket sales end Sept. 6.
