Sean Dugan Set for West Coast Premiere of George C. Wolfe’s Tony Award-Winning Production of The Normal Heart at A.C.T., September 13 – October 7, 2012

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is presenting the West Coast premiere of The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer’s landmark play focusing on the early years of the AIDS crisis in New York City in the 1980s, September 13 – October 7, 2012.

George Wolfe, Tonya Pinkins and S. Epatha Merkerson at 54 Below in New York on August 27, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Directed by five-time Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe, The Normal Heart unfolds like a real-life political thriller as a tight-knit group of friends refuse to let doctors, politicians, and the press bury the truth about an epidemic ravaging the gay community behind a wall of silence. The Normal Heart has performances at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Press night is Wednesday, September 19, at 8 p.m. The Normal Heart is presented in association with Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C., by special arrangement with Daryl Roth.

Sean Dugan

The Normal Heart will feature original Broadway cast member Patrick Breen in the role of Ned Weeks, the fiery writer and activist at the center of the play. He is joined by noted film and television actress (and fellow original Broadway cast member) Jordan Baker as Dr. Emma Brookner, a passionate physician determined to stop the spread of the mysterious disease. The production also features Tom Berklund (Broadway’s The Addams Family) as Craig Donner/Grady, Matt McGrath (Broadway’s Cabaret, A.C.T.’s The Black Rider) as Felix Turner, Tony Award nominee Michael Berresse (Broadway’s Kiss Me, Kate, A Chorus Line, and The Light in the Piazza) as Mickey Marcus, Sean Dugan (NBC’s “Smash”) as Tommy Boatwright, Jon Levenson (Broadway’s The Normal Heart) as Hiram Keebler/Examining Doctor, Nick Mennell (Broadway’s A Free Man of Color) as Bruce Niles, and Bruce Altman (HBO’s “Game Change”) as Ben Weeks.

Fueled by love, anger, hope, and pride, The Normal Heart centers around a circle of friends struggling to contain the mysterious disease ravaging New York’s gay community. First produced in 1985 by Joseph Papp at New York’s Public Theater, the show immediately became a critical sensation and a seminal moment in theater history. Kramer’s unapologetic tackling of the AIDS epidemic, gay marriage, and our national healthcare system casts theatrical light on issues that are as present in today’s national discourse as they were when the play first premiered a quarter of a century ago.

Wolfe’s 2011 Broadway staging received universal acclaim and was the recipient of three Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, and the Outer Circle Critics Circle Award, all naming it Best Revival of a Play. The show was also awarded the Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle.

Mo Rocca (left), Rachel Dratch in Tail! Spin!. Photo by Thom Kaine

Dugan just completed a sold-out run of the wildly popular political comedy TAIL! SPIN! opposite Rachel Dratch and Mo Rocca at the Kraine Theater, as part of the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. He last appeared on Broadway in Next Fall, for which he received a Drama Desk Nomination. His Off-Broadway credits include The Illusion, Next Fall, The English Channel, Perfect Harmony, BFF, Nerds, Valhalla, Corpus Christi, Flesh & Blood, Shakespeare’s R & J. He has worked regionally at Two River Theater Company, Roundhouse Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, The Old Globe, American Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Festival, Theatre J. Film/TV: On The Slope, Gigantic, Trust the Man, Company Man, Overnight Sensation, “Smash,” “I Just Want My Pants Back,” “Eden,” “The Good Wife,” “Fringe,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “The Beat,” “Oz.”

The Normal Heart reunites members of the Broadway revival’s design team, including scenic designer David Rockwell, costume designer Martin Pakledinaz, lighting designer David Weiner, sound designer and original music composer David Van Tieghem, and projection designer Batwin & Robin. Joining the team is restaging director Leah C. Gardiner.

Tickets for the limited engagement of The Normal Heart are now available online at www.act-sf.org and by phone at 415.749.2228. Subscribers to A.C.T.’s 2012–13 season will receive priority seating to this highly anticipated production. To order a subscription, visit www.act-sf.org/subscribe or call 415.749.2250.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: Laila Robins, Sean Dugan, C.J. Wilson, Peter Francis James, Bill Irwin and Tricia Paoluccio at Signature Theatre Company’s revival of Edward Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
LA Premiere of $upercapitalist on August 31st with Derek Ting, Kathy Uyen, Rachel Tan, Paul Sheehan and Joyce Yung at LAEMMLE Noho 7; Photos of NY Premiere
Signature Theatre’s World Premiere of Sam Shepard’s Heartless Starring Lois Smith, Gary Cole, Jenny Bacon, Betty Gilpin, and Julianne Nicholson Extends through September 30, 2012
West Coast Premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at Berkeley Rep stars Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge, August 24-October 7, 2012
Theater of the Stars Presents The King and I Starring Ronobir Lahiri, Victoria Mallory, Raul Aranas, Ali Ewoldt, Josh Dela Cruz, Jee Hyun Lim and Raphael Aranas, Helmed by Baayork Lee on Tour through September 11, 2012
Tony Award – winning Playwright Terrence McNally to be Honored at Westport Country Playhouse Annual Gala, September 24, 2012
Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2012-2013 Season: Richard Thomas and Boyd Gaines to star in An Enemy of the People at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
George Takei, Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Paolo Montalban star in the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical at The Old Globe, September 7 – October 21, 2012
World Premiere Screening of Lil Tokyo Reporter Starring Chris Tashima at Laemmle Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, September 14-16, 2012
10 minutes with Sullivan & Son’s Jodi Long, Award Winning Actor and Filmmaker
Illeana Douglas, Kimberly-Rose Wolter and Michael Kang Set for 4 Wedding Planners Screening in Screen Actors Guild Foundation Conversations Series in NY
David Henry Hwang to Receive the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the 5th Annual Steinberg Playwright “Mimi” Awards on October 29, 2012
Multimedia: Screen Actors Guild Foundation’s Conversations with Derek Ting, Linus Roache and Michael Park of $upercapitalist
Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, Jayshree Janu Kharpade’s Fire in Our Hearts, Eliaichi Kimaro’s A Lot Like You, Vincent Sandoval’s Señorita, and Liang Cheng’s My Spiritual Medicine among AAIFF’12 Award Winners
C.J. Wilson navigates armor and swordplay in Signature Theatre Company’s World Premiere of Kenneth Lonergan’s Medieval Play
Athol Fugard’s Blood Knot, starring Colman Domingo & Scott Shepherd in The Alice Griffith Jewel Box at The Pershing Square Signature Center through March 11, 2012
Three Year Swim Club, Encounter, TEA, Christmas in Hanoi and Chess set for East West Players 47th Anniversary Season
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Konrad Aderer’s Enemy Alien Screens at Japanese American National Museum in LA on September 8, 2012

New York City-based documentary filmmaker Konrad Aderer (Rising Up: The Alams, A Corner of Her Eye) has launched an indiegogo.com crowdfunding campaign for his feature documentary Enemy Alien, set to screen at the Japanese American National Museum on September 8, 2012 at 2:00pm. The Japanese American National Museum is located at 369 East First Street in L.A.

Director Konrad Aderer interviewing Farouk Abdel-Muhti in Hudson County Jail, Kearny, NJ (video still from Enemy Alien)

Enemy Alien is a first-person documentary on the fight to free Farouk Abdel-Muhti, a peaceful but indomitable Palestinian human rights activist arrested in his Queens, NY home and detained by Homeland Security in 2002. Though Farouk is detained solely on the basis of a deportation order, the government attempts to paint him as a terrorist. The story unfolds through Aderer’s eyes as a Japanese American whose involvement with Farouk’s struggle deepens as he delves into his own family legacy of World War II internment.

Farouk Abdel-Muhti in Passaic County Jail, Paterson, NJ (video still from Enemy Alien)

From their first meeting in Passaic County Jail in New Jersey, a communing of souls takes place as Farouk invokes the World War Two internment as a parallel to his own situation, and Aderer learns how being born a stateless Palestinian has shaped Farouk’s world view. In the course of this story the filmmaker asks his grandmother about her incarceration for the first time, and finds inspiration in his grandfather’s poignant photos of life under incarceration.

Director’s grandparents & mother in Topaz camp (photo by Hiroshi Takayama, director’s grandfather)

Through Aderer’s eyes we join with activists and lawyers in the escalating struggle to free Abdel-Muhti, where Orwellian terror of one’s own government becomes the dominant theme. Aderer turns the tools of surveillance back on the government, incorporating his secret recordings of the immigration and counterterrorism agents he comes in contact with through the story, giving audiences an unprecedented glimpse behind the veil of the Homeland Security State.

“I honestly didn’t start this film with myself in it. But when the documentary itself was investigated by the New Jersey office of counterterrorism, and they arrested Farouk’s son, that added a whole new level that demanded the audience know who’s telling the story,” said Aderer.

As a landmark legal battle is waged by attorney Shayana Kadidal of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Abdel-Muhti organizes resistance with his fellow detainees. But as the retaliatory abuse Abdel-Muhti endures from immigration and prison officials begins to take its toll on his health, it becomes clear the fight for his freedom is also a fight for his life.

The film premiered at Anthology Film Archives’ New Filmmakers last year, and has since screened at Palestinian film festivals in Toronto and Chicago. At DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon this year, the film was presented with the Jason D. Mak Award for Social Justice and the Pacific Asian Community Alliance’s Courage Award.

On September 8, 2012, the film will be screened at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, with Aderer present for discussion. The event is co-sponsored by CAIR – Council on American-Islamic Relations of the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Aderer has been sharing Enemy Alien in community and university settings across the country, and he started the indiegogo fundraising campaign in order to fulfill the outreach and educational potential of this film. Enemy Alien has been recommended for young adults by respected educational reviewer Booklist Online and praised by historian Gary Okihiro: “Of great importance to American democracy, Enemy Alien is both timely and moving. We ignore its message at our peril.”

To be shown in many classrooms, a 60-minute cut with educational materials needs to be completed, and to do that Aderer needs to replace an edit system that broke down in April, for starters. Enemy Alien is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of Enemy Alien must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Click here to learn more about the project and how you can help Aderer see it through.

Aderer began his career as a documentary filmmaker in November 2001, when he decided to investigate post-9/11 detentions and shot what the New York Observer called a “particularly stunning” scene that unfolds near the beginning of Enemy Alien: a Congressional hopeful, interviewed in his plush office, defends the internment of Japanese Americans as justified in “exigent times.” Galvanized by this exchange, Aderer began producing short documentaries on immigrants targeted by heightened enforcement, under the rubric of his nonprofit project Life or Liberty (lifeorliberty.org).

Aderer’s work with Life or Liberty has been supported by the Center for Asian American Media, New York State Council of the Arts, The Fledgling Fund, and other grantmakers. His previous documentaries include Rising Up: The Alams, which told the story of a Bangladeshi American family fighting back against deportation. In 2005, life handed Aderer a detour from his previous subject matter, when he and his brothers found themselves in the direct path of Hurricane Katrina, a life-changing experience which became his first personal documentary, A Corner of Her Eye. In addition to his independent work, Aderer freelances as a documentary producer, shooter and editor.

Enemy Alien is Aderer’s first feature documentary, which he showed as a work in progress for several years, getting to know the West Coast Japanese American community in the process. He was particularly moved by the experience of presenting his film and participating in the Tule Lake Pilgrimage in 2010 and this past July and has begun work on a yet-untitled Tule Lake project, a documentary on the explosive history of Japanese Americans branded as “disloyals” and “no-no’s” which unfolded at Tule Lake Segregation Center near the California-Oregon border.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
10 minutes with Sullivan & Son’s Jodi Long, Award Winning Actor and Filmmaker
Multimedia: Screen Actors Guild Foundation’s Conversations with Derek Ting, Linus Roache and Michael Park of $upercapitalist
Victor Lirio, Curran Connor, Dawn Evans and Bree Michael Warner Set for Diverse City Theater Company’s Production of Lee Blessing’s Two Rooms, August 9-25, 2012
Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, Jayshree Janu Kharpade’s Fire in Our Hearts, Eliaichi Kimaro’s A Lot Like You, Vincent Sandoval’s Señorita, and Liang Cheng’s My Spiritual Medicine among AAIFF’12 Award Winners
George Takei, Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Paolo Montalban star in the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical at The Old Globe, September 7 – October 21, 2012
Catch Grammy-winning Drummer Will Calhoun in August at The Iridium, Jazzmobile Summerfest 2012, The Blue Note, Hudson Valley Jazz Festival, and WimBash
Three Year Swim Club, Encounter, TEA, Christmas in Hanoi and Chess set for East West Players 47th Anniversary Season
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Asian American Civil Rights Groups Angered by Acquittal and Lenient Sentence in Military Hazing Case of Pvt. Danny Chen
AAIFF’12: Richard Wong & H.P. Mendoza’s Yes, We’re Open, starring Lynn Chen, Parry Shen, Sheetal Sheth, & Kerry McCrohan, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 4, 2012
AAIFF’12: Knots, written by and starring Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Illeana Douglas, Sung Kang, Mia Riverton, Janel Parrish and Cathy Foy, and directed by Michael Kang, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 5, 2012
AAIFF’12: Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, starring Jessica Tuck, Nichole Bloom, Chris Tashima, Helen Slater, Laura Innes and Takayo Fisher, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 4, 2012
Daniel Hsia’s Shanghai Calling, Simon Yin’s Supercapitalist & Michael Kang’s Knots to Screen at 35th annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) in New York, which runs July 25 – August 5, 2012
35th Asian American International Film Festival Line-up in New York
Janet Yang to receive 2012 Asian American Media Award at AAIFF’12 Opening Night Presentation of Shanghai Calling on July 25, 2012
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Photos: BD Wong, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brandon Victor Dixon, Tom Viola at “Passing It On: An Evening of Mentorship to Benefit Rosie’s Theater Kids”
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (3pm) with Andre Bishop, Mary Beth Hurt, Jennifer Lim, Angela Lin, Philip Kan Gotanda, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Richard Thomas, Jay O. Sanders, and more
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (8pm) with Oskar Eustis, Patti LuPone, Lisa Emery, Ann Harada, Paolo Montalban, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Henry Stram, Richard Thomas, John Weidman and more
Photos: In Rehearsal with Director Bartlett Sher and the cast of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan
David Henry Hwang Set as Signature Theatre’s Residency One Playwright for the 2012-2013 Season
Photos: In Rehearsal with BD Wong at Dixon Place for Live Concert Recording of Herringbone
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Oskar Eustis, BD Wong, Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and Leigh Silverman at WNYC’s The Greene Space
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Remembering Civil Rights Leader Gordon Hirabayashi,1918- 2012

SAN FRANCISCO – The Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education, along with the members of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice) – Asian Law Caucus, Asian American Justice Center, Asian American Institute and Asian Pacific American Legal Center – mourn the loss of civil rights leader Gordon Hirabayashi, who passed away on January 2, 2012 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at the age of 93. His former wife, Esther Hirabayashi, passed away in Edmonton just hours later on the same day. She was 87.

He is survived by his wife, Susan, his children, Marion, Sharon, and Jay, his brother, James, and his sister Esther (also known as Tosh Furugori). “He was a great father who taught me about the values of honesty, integrity and justice,” says his son, Jay Hirabayashi. “He was rightly recognized as a hero, but he never saw himself that way. He saw himself as someone who did what he had to do to stand up for the rights he believed in.”

In 1942, Hirabayashi was a 24-year-old student at the University of Washington when President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, ordering the incarceration of 120,000 innocent people of Japanese ancestry. Hirabayashi, an American citizen, turned himself into the FBI in order to intentionally defy a curfew law imposed on all west coast residents of Japanese ancestry. After he was arrested and convicted, Hirabayashi appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Similar to Korematsu v. United States (1944), and Yasui v. United States (1943), the Supreme Court sadly ruled in Hirabayashi v United States (1943) that the curfew law was justified due to military necessity. Hirabayashi was sent to a prison camp in Arizona.

In 1983 and 1987, after the discovery of new evidence proving the government had known there was no grounds for the mass incarceration, both Korematsu and Hirabayashi re-opened their cases, leading their convictions to be overturned in the U.S. District Court N.D. Cal. and the U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Cir., respectively. Their cases never reached the U.S. Supreme Court again, and the high court’s decisions in Korematsu v. United States and Hirabayashi v. United States are widely condemned as one of the darkest chapters in American legal history. Min Yasui’s case was also re-opened in the 1980s, but Yasui passed away in 1986 before his second case was decided.

“Gordon Hirabayashi was a principled man of peace who, with the courage of his convictions, left us with an enduring legal and social legacy,” says Rodney L. Kawakami, lead attorney for the Hirabayashi 1980s legal team. “He inspired us to remember that our Constitutional rights come with a price and that we have an obligation to be constantly vigilant to protect these cherished rights by speaking out in times of crisis, even when unpopular.”

Hirabayashi went on to teach sociology for many years at the University of Alberta in Canada. In 1999, the former Catalina Federal Honor Camp near Tucson, AZ, where Hirabayashi was sentenced to hard labor in the 1940s, was renamed the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site. Since 2007, the East West Players, an Asian American theater company, has produced stage productions based on his life, entitled, “Hold These Truths” by Jeanne Sakata. In May 2011, acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal released an unprecedented “confession of error” in the Korematsu and Hirabayashi cases.

MEMORIAL SERVICE, DONATIONS

Quaker Memorial Meeting for Worship
1:00pm Friday, January 6, 2012
Edmonton Japanese Community Association
6750 88 Street Northwest Edmonton, AB T6E 5H6
(780) 466-8166

In lieu of flowers for Gordon Hirabayashi, donations can be made to:
The CapitalCare Lynwood, where Gordon Hirabayashi was cared for in the last three years of his life.
The Gordon K. Hirabayashi Scholarship Fund within the Dept. of Sociology at the University of Alberta.
The Gordon K. Hirabayashi Endowment Fund at the University of Washington.
In lieu of flowers for Esther Hirabayashi, donations may be made to the Canadian Association of Medical Teams Abroad, c/o 103 Laurier Drive, Edmonton, AB, Canada T5R 5P6.

UPCOMING EVENTS
On February 11, 2012, the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality at Seattle University School of Law will hold a day-long event commemorating the 25th anniversary of the overturning ofHirabayashi v. United States. The event will feature multiple panels and an exhibit. For more information, visit www.law.seattleu.edu.

The University of Washington Press is planning to release a biography of Gordon Hirabayashi co-authored by his brother, James, and nephew, Lane. The working title is A Principled Stand: Gordon Hirabayashi v. the United States.

The Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education (www.korematsuinstitute.org), a program of the Asian Law Caucus, is dedicated to advancing pan-ethnic civil rights and human rights through education.

The Asian American Center for Advancing Justice (www.advancingjustice.org) works to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities, and is comprised of the Asian American Justice Center (www.advancingequality.org), the Asian American Institute (www.aaichicago.org), the Asian Law Caucus (www.asianlawcaucus.org) and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (www.apalc.org).

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Reading of Jeanne Sakata’s Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi Starring Joel de la Fuente in New York
Thom Sesma Stars in Jeanne Sakata’s Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi
AALDEF Honors Dale Minami, Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl Wudunn and Sandra Leung with 2009 Justice in Action Awards
Fred Korematsu, American Hero and Civil Rights Activist Dies at 86
Celebrating my mom – AN ACTIVE VISION: BEVERLY UMEHARA…LABOR ACTIVIST…1945-1999
Mu Daiko 15th Anniversary Concert and Minnesota Tour, February 9-19, 2012
Photos: Maya Lin, BD Wong, David Henry Hwang, Yeohlee, Oscar L. Tang and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg at MOCA Legacy Awards Gala
Portraits of New York Chinatown After 9/11 Featured in “Post 9/11”: Commemorative Display at Library of Congress Asian Reading Room, 8/30-9/15
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
OCA Awards Gala Photos: David Henry Hwang, Tamlyn Tomita, BD Wong, Dr. Bobby Fong & Tammy Duckworth
Dr. Bobby Fong, BD Wong & Honorable L. Tammy Duckworth to Receive Awards at National OCA Convention in NY on 8/6
Photos: A.B. Cruz III and Lillian Kimura Receive 2011 AALDEF Justice in Action Awards
Reverend Jesse Jackson & Beau Sia slated for 1st Annual Fred Korematsu Day Celebration at UC Berkeley
Making the Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution Bill a Reality
Dr. Leroy Chiao and Wat Misaka to Receive 2010 OCA Pioneer Awards in Houston
Juan Gonzalez and Larry Tu Received AALDEF 2010 Justice in Action Awards in New York
Multimedia: AALDEF Celebrates 35 Years of Protecting and Promoting the Civil Rights of Asian Americans

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com.

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

Art by Nicholas Galanin Featured in Kindred Spirits, Native American Influences on 20th Century Art, at Peter Blum Soho in NY, 10/29/11-1/14/12

Nicholas Galanin Photo by Lia Chang

The exhibition Kindred Spirits, Native American Influences on 20th Century Art , will be on view at Peter Blum Soho, 99 Wooster Street in New York, from October 29, 2011 through January 14, 2012.

The exhibition features works of indigenous peoples from the Southwest region of the United States of America that illustrate their strong and often neglected influence on Modern and Contemporary art.

Funerary vessels, paintings, pottery, weavings, and baskets from fourteen tribes including the Apache, Hopi, Mimbres, Navajo, and Zuni are exhibited alongside Modern and Contemporary works by artists such as Josef Albers, Max Ernst, Agnes Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe and Jackson Pollock (see complete list below), illustrating the profound inspiration these artists found in the desert landscapes and Native American cultures of the Southwest.

Iconic photographs by Ansel Adams, Edward Curtis, Sumner Matteson, Paul Strand and Adam Clark Vroman are on view as well, providing both a historical and geographical framework for the objects and artworks.

Also on display is the full six-volume set of the legendary publication, Historical and Statistical Information, Respecting the History, Conditions and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft published between 1847 and 1857. Additionally, a selection of important mid-nineteenth century books by George Catlin and illustrations by Karl Bodmer, which were among the first publications to illustrate and document Native American life give further insight and reference.

Contemporary artists Andrea Geyer/Simon J. Ortiz and Nicholas Galanin offer reflection on the social and political significance of the Native American peoples and how these factors have shaped their artwork.

Works by the following tribes and artists are included in the exhibition:
Apache, Arapaho, Acoma, Cayuse, Havasupai, Hopi, Mimbres, Navajo, Panamint, Pueblo, Sioux, Yavapai, Zia, Zuni
Ansel Adams, Edward Curtis, John Karl Hillers, Lee Marmon, Sumner Matteson, Paul Strand, Adam Clark Vroman
Josef Albers, Max Ernst, Helmut Federle, Nicholas Galanin, Andrea Geyer/Simon J. Ortiz, Agnes Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Bruce Nauman, Jackson Pollock, Charles Simonds

Kindred Spirits, Native American Influences on 20th Century Art, a hardcover book published by Peter Blum Edition, includes 118 illustrations of all of the works in the exhibition and features texts by the poet and art critic Carter Ratcliff, and Comanche author, essayist and curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, Paul Chaat Smith.

In context of the exhibition, a series of discussions will take place at Peter Blum Soho, 99 Wooster Street, NY: Nicholas Galanin will give a presentation on Tuesday, November 1st at 6:30 pm. A poetry reading and discussion by Simon J. Ortiz will take place on Thursday, December 15th at 6:30 pm.

For additional information contact: soho@peterblumgallery.com.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 10am-6pm; Saturday 11am-6pm.
BLUMARTS INC.
99 Wooster Street
New York, N.Y. 10012
Tel (212) 343-0441
Fax (212) 343-0523
peterblumgallery.com

About Nicholas Galanin
Born in Sitka, Alaska, multi-disciplinary artist Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Aleut) has trained extensively in ‘traditional’ as well as ‘contemporary’ approaches to art, and pursues them both in parallel paths. Galanin, an accomplished visual artist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and the founder of Homeskillet Records, created the Homeskillet Fest in 2006 to showcase Alaskan musical talent and give Alaskan artists a chance to share the stage with professional musicians.

His stunning bodies of work simultaneously preserve his culture and explore new perceptual territory. Galanin comes from a long line of Northwest Coast artists – starting with his great-grandfather, who sculpted in wood, down through his father, who works in both precious metal and stone. Having always had an interest in creating, Galanin took on apprenticeships at an early age – first with his father and his uncle, then with other local, traditional artists. When he was about 18, he began to feel the strain of being pulled in two directions – working a day-job, with its requisite frustrations and energy drain, while simultaneously apprenticing in the arts. At that point he realized that he needed to commit himself totally to art-making, or it “wasn’t going to happen.” From early craft courses, he went on to study at the London Guildhall University (in London, England from 2000 to 2003), where he received a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts with honors in Jewelry Design and Silversmithing. Galanin discovered a graduate arts program at Massey University in New Zealand that meshed perfectly with his interests and concerns, and in 2004 he began earning a Master’s degree there in Indigenous Visual Arts. http://galan.in/
Other articles by Lia Chang
Nicholas Galanin featured in SEEING INDIGENOUS, Indigenous Art and Media Arts on Film, at the National Museum of the American Indian in NY on 5/7/11National Museum of the American Indian in NY, ESSENTIALLY INDIGENOUS?: Contemporary Native Arts Symposium, 5/5-6
Nicholas Galanin is among nine Native Artists featured in “Dry Ice” Exhibit in Princeton
Alaskan and National Acts to Share Stage at Sitka’s Homeskillet Fest, July 15-18
In Conversation with Nicholas Galanin
Nicholas Galanin is featured in Identity Exhibition at Alaska House in New York
Andy Warhol, Romare Bearden, Alexander Calder, Lia Chang in Art & Healing Exhibit at Snug Harbor on SI
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com.

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.
As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and “New York Undercover”.
Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.
Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.

Lia Chang: The Play Company Presents the Off-Broadway Run of Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s INVASION! at The Flea, 9/6-10/1

INVASION! — Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s Obie Award-winning play that enjoyed considerable critical and popular success during its U.S. premiere by The Play Company (Kate Loewald, Founding Producer, Lauren Weigel, Executive Producer ) last winter — will have a return engagement Off-Broadway this fall, again presented by The Play Company, with previews starting September 6 prior to an official press opening on September 13 at The Flea Theater (41 White Street) in New York, where PlayCo will be based for the 2011-12 season. Erica Schmidt will again direct.

INVASION! features South Asian actors Andrew Guilarte and Nick Choksi. The show’s return engagement coincides with the 10th anniversary of 9.11.01 and is a subversive comedy about identity and stereotypes, centering on “Abulkasem,” a name mysteriously belonging to a wide assortment of characters in the play, leaving us to wonder, “Who is Abulkasem?” Is he a character in a fairy tale, or an international super-spy? Is she a renowned auteur director? Does he/she pose a clear and present danger? And is there really more than one?

Members of the original NY cast of INVASION! returning for the Off-Broadway engagement this fall include Francis Benhamou (THREE WOMEN at 59E59 Theaters), Andrew Guilarte (MARAT/SADE at Classical Theatre of Harlem), Bobby Moreno (AL’S BUSINESS CARDS with At Play), who will be joined by new cast member Nick Choksi (TV’s “Royal Pains”).

Scheduled through October 1, INVASION! will perform Mondays through Fridays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 3 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 during preview performances (through September 12), and thereafter tickets are priced at $30 for regular seating and $40 for reserved seating. Tickets can be purchased by calling Ovation at 212 352 3101 or online at www.ovationtix.com.

The Flea Theater is located at 41 White Street between Church and Broadway, three blocks south of Canal, close to the A/C/E, N/R/Q, 6, J/M/Z and 1 subway lines.

For more information about The Play Company and INVASION! visit www.playco.org

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Photos: Christmas in June w/ Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s “Bakwas Bumbug” at The Wild Project in NY-6/26
Extended through 8/23- “In Rehearsal” Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Featuring Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, Thom Sesma as Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas
Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at Library of Congress Features Photos of Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s Heading East Starring BD Wong, David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, and Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s Bakwas Bumbug! on View Through August 2
Desipina & Co. Presents Pooja Kumar, Sunkrish Bala, Joe Petrilla, Eileen Rivera, Jon Norman Schneider & Rajeev Varma in Rehana Lew Mirza’s Barriers at HERE, 9/7-18
Mu Performing Arts 2011-2012 20th Anniversary Season: Four Destinies, Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them, Into the Woods, & Mu Daiko 15th Anniversary Concert
Henry Chang, Paula Bomer, Juliann Garey & Alex Shakar during Lit Crawl at Scratcher on 9/10
OCA Awards Gala Photos: David Henry Hwang, Tamlyn Tomita, BD Wong, Dr. Bobby Fong & Tammy Duckworth
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Photos: Rick Shiomi Checks out Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of Library of Congress; Attends “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” Book Signing in NY on 7/29 broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Celebrating my mom – AN ACTIVE VISION: BEVERLY UMEHARA…LABOR ACTIVIST…1945-1999
Photos:Meredith Anthony, David Levien, Lyndsay Faye, Henry Chang & Dr. Julie Salzano Discuss the Mind of Sexual Predators
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
H I R O S H I M A in Benefit Concert for Japan on 9/21 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in NY
Photo Preview of BD Wong and the Cast of Heading East at the Asia Society, May 24-26, 2010
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.
As a photographer and videographer, Chang has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Chang was featured as Joy in the Signature Theater Company’s revival of Sam Shepard’s 1965 Obie award winning play, Chicago directed by Joseph Chaikin at the Public Theater. She has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon and Taxman. Chang currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”.

Chang’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post.
Selections of Chang’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection. Photographs by Lia Chang are in the permanent collections of the Angel Island Immigration Station, Asian American Federation of New York (AAFNY), the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) in San Francisco, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation Art Collection and the New York Historical Society.
A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Chang is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.