Lia Chang: Thom Sesma is the keynote speaker for the Library of Congress celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) at the Mary Pickford Theater on May 17

Thom Sesma. (Photo by Lia Chang)

On Thursday, May 17, 2012, actor/director Thom Sesma, who just completed a two and half year run as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas, will speak at the Mary Pickford Theater located on the third floor of the Library of Congress James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. at noon. His talk is part of the Library of Congress celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) noon events in May, sponsored by the LC Asian American Association.

Sesma just participated in the all-star Shinsai: Theaters for Japan benefit at Cooper Union’s Great Hall in NYC, in memory of the tragic events of March 2011 and in tribute to the heroic recovery efforts of the Japanese people.

In rehearsal at Lincoln Center for Shinsai: Theaters for Japan, a collaborative benefit by New York’s leading theater companies as a gesture of solidarity with theater communities in Japan devastated by the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami, on March 9, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Photos: In Rehearsal with Director Bartlett Sher and the cast of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan
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

The Broadway vet is a familiar presence on the Great White Way, Off-Broadway, in regional theatres, and on television. In January 2012, he returned to New York from Las Vegas where he played Scar in Disney’s The Lion King for a two and a half year run at The Mandalay Bay Theatre.

Thom Sesma (Photo by Lia Chang)

On Broadway he starred in the Twyla Tharp-Bob Dylan collaboration, The Time They Are A Changin’. Other credits on and off Broadway and in national tours include leading roles in Miss Saigon, Titanic, Search & Destroy, Man of La Mancha (2003), and in Ivanov, Rashomon, Baba Goya, In a Pig’s Valise, As Thousands Cheer, A Hard Heart, Cymbeline, and Othello. Other credits include Durango, Dinner with Friends, The Molly Maguires, Romeo & Juliet, The Normal Heart, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale and The King & I, at some of America’s leading theatres including Yale Rep, The McCarter, The Old Globe, Arena Stage, Baltimore Centre Stage, Berkeley Rep, and others.

TV and film credits include guest starring roles on “Person of Interest,” “Third Watch,” “Law & Order,” “Whoopi,” “Trinity,” “Lay the Favorite,” “Over/Under,” among many others and daytime soaps. He trained for several years with the late Uta Hagen, with Sam Waterston, and voice with Joan Lader.

His directing credits include Jennifer Camp’s Natural History, (Walnut Street Theatre), LIFE (x) 3 (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), and Outcry (NAATCO), along with Hair, Lend Me a Tenor, The Drawer Boy, Once in a Lifetime, Waiting for Lefty and others in various regional and stock theatres across the country.

Sesma as a member of Actors Equity Association (AEA), Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA), and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).

Thom was born in Sasebo, Japan (his mother is Japanese and his father was a Latino-American) and raised in San Diego, California. He is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, where he holds a degree in Modern European Intellectual History.

Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
From May 1 through May 31, 2012, “In Rehearsal”, a display of photographs drawn from the Library of Congress’ Asian American Pacific Islander Collection, is on view in the Library of Congress’ Asian Reading Room, located in Room 150 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The hours of the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room are 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Lia Chang with her Lia Chang Theater Portfolio “In Rehearsal” photographs on view through May 31, 2012, in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room, in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C, on May 5, 2012.

Sponsored by the Library of Congress’ Asian Division, the display of “In Rehearsal” photographs, drawn from the AAPI Collection’s Lia Chang Theater Portfolio, along with select working scripts from the Playwrights’ Archives including the plays of Rick Shiomi, Velina Hasu Houston, Christine Toy Johnson, Reme Grefalda, Jeanne Sakata, and Lani Montreal, is being held in conjunction with the Library of Congress celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM).

Selected scripts from the Performing Arts Playwright Series in the Library of Congress’ AAPI Collection. Photo by Lia Chang

The 54 photographs on display feature the following artists rehearsing for “opening night”: Shinsai: Theaters for Japan, a collaborative benefit by New York’s leading theater companies as a gesture of solidarity with theater communities in Japan devastated by the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami; Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies, produced by Mu Performing Arts in Minneapolis MN; BD Wong and Wayne Barker’s King Matt the First with Wong directing Rosie O’Donnell’s Theater Kids; Cindy Cheung’s SPEAK UP CONNIE a one-person show also directed by BD Wong; David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at the Goodman Theatre, prior to its Broadway run; Darren Lee, Director/Choregrapher of Disney Wishes; Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas; and the cast of Bakwas Bumbug!, a pop opera by Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri.

Thom Sesma, who portrayed Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay, in his dressing room on August 23, 2010. Photo by Lia Chang

Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
“The historical importance of these rehearsal photographs by photographer Lia Chang is in its documentation of Asian American theater in a working and evolving environment. The camera captures the spontaneous interactions among actors, playwright, stage director, choreographer, producer, and musicians before opening night,” said Remé Grefalda, curator of the AAPI Collection at the Library of Congress.

The Library of Congress’ Asian Reading Room is located in Room 150 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The hours of the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room are 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Selected scripts from the Performing Arts Playwright Series in the Library of Congress’ AAPI Collection. Photo by Lia Chang

The Library of Congress is the central repository for all types of Asian publications that are not broadly available at other locations in the United States. Initiated in 1869 with a gift of 10 works in 934 volumes offered to the United States by the Emperor of China, the Library’s Asian collection of more than 2 million items is the largest and most comprehensive outside of Asia. For more information about the division and its holdings, go to www.loc.gov/rr/asian/.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.

Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C. Photo by Lia Chang

Click here for more articles on Thom Sesma.
Other Articles by Lia Chang
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Portraits of New York Chinatown after 9/11 by Lia Chang in “Post 9/11″: Commemorative Display at Library of Congress
Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright & Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
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
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Epic Theatre Presents Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths, starring Joel de la Fuente, May 20-21, 2012
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
Raymond J. Lee and Ali Ewoldt star in Concert Reading of Jason Ma’s Gold Mountain on May 21, 2012
BD Wong to Star in Live Concert Recording of HERRINGBONE for 2 Nights Only as a Benefit for Dixon Place, 5/21, 5/22
Filmmaker Justin Lin Acquires Film Rights to David Henry Hwang’s Critically Acclaimed Broadway Comedy Chinglish

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

Lia Chang: Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month

From May 1 through May 31, 2012, “In Rehearsal”, a display of photographs drawn from the Library of Congress’ Asian American Pacific Islander Collection, is on view in the Library of Congress’ Asian Reading Room, located in Room 150 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The hours of the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room are 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Lia Chang with her Lia Chang Theater Portfolio “In Rehearsal” photographs on view through May 31, 2012, in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room, in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C, on May 5, 2012.

Selected scripts from the Performing Arts Playwright Series in the Library of Congress’ AAPI Collection. Photo by Lia Chang

Sponsored by the Library of Congress’ Asian Division, the display of “In Rehearsal” photographs, drawn from the AAPI Collection’s Lia Chang Theater Portfolio, along with select working scripts from the Playwrights’ Archives including the plays of Rick Shiomi, Velina Hasu Houston, Christine Toy Johnson, Reme Grefalda, Jeanne Sakata, and Lani Montreal, is being held in conjunction with the Library of Congress celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM).

Selected scripts from the Performing Arts Playwright Series in the Library of Congress’ AAPI Collection. Photo by Lia Chang

The 54 photographs on display feature the following artists rehearsing for “opening night”: Shinsai: Theaters for Japan, a collaborative benefit by New York’s leading theater companies as a gesture of solidarity with theater communities in Japan devastated by the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami; Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies, produced by Mu Performing Arts in Minneapolis MN; BD Wong and Wayne Barker’s King Matt the First with Wong directing Rosie O’Donnell’s Theater Kids; Cindy Cheung’s SPEAK UP CONNIE a one-person show also directed by BD Wong; David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at the Goodman Theatre, prior to its Broadway run; Darren Lee, Director/Choregrapher of Disney Wishes; Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas; and the cast of Bakwas Bumbug!, a pop opera by Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri.

In rehearsal at Lincoln Center for Shinsai: Theaters for Japan, a collaborative benefit by New York’s leading theater companies as a gesture of solidarity with theater communities in Japan devastated by the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami, on March 9, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Photos: In Rehearsal with Director Bartlett Sher and the cast of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan
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

In rehearsal for Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies, produced by Mu Performing Arts in Minneapolis, MN, at Mixed Blood Theatre on October 15, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

Photos: Backstage at Mu Performing Arts’ Four Destinies by Katie Hae Leo, October 15-30, 2011
“The historical importance of these rehearsal photographs by photographer Lia Chang is in its documentation of Asian American theater in a working and evolving environment. The camera captures the spontaneous interactions among actors, playwright, stage director, choreographer, producer, and musicians before opening night,” said Remé Grefalda, curator of the AAPI Collection at the Library of Congress.

Thom Sesma, who portrayed Scar in The Lion King Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay, in his dressing room on August 23, 2010. Photo by Lia Chang

APAHM noon events in May are sponsored by the LC Asian American Association. They will be held at the Mary Pickford Theater located on the third floor of the Library of Congress James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The first event opened with author Ed Lin reading from his newest detective mystery, One Red Bastard on May 3. Special guest actor/director Thom Sesma will give an address on May 17. Sesma played Scar in Disney’s The Lion King in Las Vegas. A two-part film screening of Ma-Yi Theater’s stage production, The Romance of Magno Rubio, (Carlos Bulosan’s short story by the same name) will be held on May 30 and June 6. Playwright Lonnie Carter will talk about the process of adapting it from a short story format to the stage.
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma

In rehearsal for David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, prior to its Broadway run, on June 5, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

Photos: Playwright David Henry Hwang in rehearsal at the Goodman Theatre for World Premiere of Chinglish
The Library of Congress’ Asian Reading Room is located in Room 150 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The hours of the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room are 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

The cast of Bakwas Bumbug in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on June 16, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

Photos: Christmas in June w/ Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s “Bakwas Bumbug” at The Wild Project in NY
The Library of Congress is the central repository for all types of Asian publications that are not broadly available at other locations in the United States. Initiated in 1869 with a gift of 10 works in 934 volumes offered to the United States by the Emperor of China, the Library’s Asian collection of more than 2 million items is the largest and most comprehensive outside of Asia. For more information about the division and its holdings, go to www.loc.gov/rr/asian/.

BD Wong rehearses King Matt the First, with Rosie’s Theater Kids at the Maravel Arts Center on 445 W. 45th St. in New York on March 17, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Photos: BD Wong in Rehearsal for “Passing It On: An Evening of Mentorship to Benefit Rosie’s Theater Kids”
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”
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.

BD Wong directs Cindy Cheung in SPEAK UP CONNIE at Stage Left Studio in New York on January 15, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Cindy Cheung Debuts solo show SPEAK UP CONNIE, directed by BD Wong at Stage Left Studio, January 17-25, 2012

Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C. Photo by Lia Chang

Members of the Mabuhay Inc. Culture School in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C. on May 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Lia Chang with her Lia Chang Theater Portfolio “In Rehearsal” photographs on view through May 31, 2012, in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room, in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C, on May 5, 2012.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Thom Sesma is the keynote speaker for the Library of Congress celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) at the Mary Pickford Theater on May 17
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Portraits of New York Chinatown after 9/11 by Lia Chang in “Post 9/11″: Commemorative Display at Library of Congress
Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright & Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
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
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Epic Theatre Presents Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths, starring Joel de la Fuente, May 20-21, 2012
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
Raymond J. Lee and Ali Ewoldt star in Concert Reading of Jason Ma’s Gold Mountain on May 21, 2012
BD Wong to Star in Live Concert Recording of HERRINGBONE for 2 Nights Only as a Benefit for Dixon Place, 5/21, 5/22
Filmmaker Justin Lin Acquires Film Rights to David Henry Hwang’s Critically Acclaimed Broadway Comedy Chinglish

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

Lia Chang: Mabuhay Inc. Culture School students discover a treasure trove of children’s books by Filipino authors and more in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room

Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C. Photo by Lia Chang

On the first Saturday in May, I was in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room, located in Room 150 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E. in Washington, D.C., to photograph the Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection, on display through May 31, 2012.

Selected scripts from the Performing Arts Playwright Series in the Library of Congress’ AAPI Collection. Photo by Lia Chang

Sponsored by the Library of Congress’ Asian Division, the display of 54 of my “In Rehearsal” photographs, drawn from the AAPI Collection’s Lia Chang Theater Portfolio, along with select working scripts from the Playwrights’ Archives including the plays of Rick Shiomi, Velina Hasu Houston, Christine Toy Johnson, Reme Grefalda, Jeanne Sakata, and Lani Montreal, is being held in conjunction with the Library of Congress celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM).

Members of the Mabuhay Inc. Culture School in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C. on May 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

I was delighted to meet up with 10 children, their parents and chaperones from the Mabuhay Inc. Culture School, who had driven in from College Park, Maryland, for their second field trip in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room.

Members of the Mabuhay Inc. Culture School in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C. on May 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

More than 20 years ago, Mencie Y. Hairston and a group of parents established Mabuhay Inc. Culture School, a terrific weekend cultural and educational enrichment program where Filipino-American children ages 4 – 16, learn the common bonds of history, geography and culture between the United States and the Philippines.

Members of the Mabuhay Inc. Culture School in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C. on May 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Arts and crafts, music, folk dancing, literature, history and Tagalog are part of the program. The mission of Mabuhay Inc. Culture School is to enhance the self-esteem and “cultural competence” of young Filipino Americans – children who know, share, and are proud of their parents’’ customs and traditions.

Members of the Mabuhay Inc. Culture School in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C. on May 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Reme Grefalda, curator of the AAPI Collection at the Library of Congress, handpicked a selection of children’s books by Filipino authors for them.

Sofia Escalante, age 4, of the Mabuhay Inc. Culture School reads a book by a Filipino author in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C. on May 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Each student chose a book to read, and then shared its synopsis with the whole group.

“We are grateful to Reme Grefalda for continuing to make the Library’s Asian American Collection accessible to our young readers,” said Hairston. “The field trip was focused on children’s books by Filipino authors. Reme totally gets it! She has gone out of her way to make the whole experience ‘kid friendly’. As Filipino Americans, our children read “Green Eggs and Ham” and “The Velveteen Rabbit”. We wanted them to also know first hand what stories Filipino children listened to or read.”

Members of the Mabuhay Inc. Culture School reads a book by a Filipino author in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C. on May 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

“I asked them to identify the author and illustrator of their chosen book to drive the point that Filipinos are creative people,” said Hairston. “A majority of the books we read were based on Philippine legends. At the end of the book reading, the students deduced that the legends explained how things/beings/animals came to be but more importantly, they taught life lessons. Discussions continued at the cafeteria between bites of pizza and spoonfuls of rice! This was the best field trip ever!”

Katherine Argente (age 10), Lia Chang, Kayla Argente (age 13) and Liezl Argente. Photo by Leon Argente

MABUHAY, INC.
(A Filipino American Association) www.mabuhayinc-md.org/

Lia Chang with her Lia Chang Theater Portfolio “In Rehearsal” photographs on view through May 31, 2012, in the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room, in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington D.C, on May 5, 2012.

“In Rehearsal” Photographs from AAPI Collection’s Lia Chang Theater Portfolio on view through May 31, 2012 The 54 photographs on display feature the following artists rehearsing for “opening night”: Shinsai: Theaters for Japan, a collaborative benefit by New York’s leading theater companies as a gesture of solidarity with theater communities in Japan devastated by the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami; Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies, produced by Mu Performing Arts in Minneapolis MN; BD Wong and Wayne Barker’s King Matt the First with Wong directing Rosie O’Donnell’s Theater Kids; Cindy Cheung’s SPEAK UP CONNIE a one-person show also directed by BD Wong; David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at the Goodman Theatre, prior to its Broadway run; Darren Lee, Director/Choregrapher of Disney Wishes; Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas; and the cast of Bakwas Bumbug!, a pop opera by Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri.

In rehearsal at Lincoln Center for Shinsai: Theaters for Japan, a collaborative benefit by New York’s leading theater companies as a gesture of solidarity with theater communities in Japan devastated by the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami, on March 9, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Photos: In Rehearsal with Director Bartlett Sher and the cast of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan
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
The Library of Congress’ Asian Reading Room is located in Room 150 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The hours of the Library of Congress’ Asian Division Reading Room are 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

In rehearsal for Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies, produced by Mu Performing Arts in Minneapolis, MN, at Mixed Blood Theatre on October 15, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

Lia Chang Photos: Backstage at Mu Performing Arts’ Four Destinies by Katie Hae Leo, 10/15-10/30 The Library of Congress is the central repository for all types of Asian publications that are not broadly available at other locations in the United States. Initiated in 1869 with a gift of 10 works in 934 volumes offered to the United States by the Emperor of China, the Library’s Asian collection of more than 2 million items is the largest and most comprehensive outside of Asia. For more information about the division and its holdings, go to www.loc.gov/rr/asian/.

In rehearsal for David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, prior to its Broadway run, on June 5, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

Photos: Playwright David Henry Hwang in rehearsal at the Goodman Theatre for World Premiere of ChinglishFounded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.

The cast of Bakwas Bumbug in rehearsal at DANY Studios in New York on June 16, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

Photos: Christmas in June w/ Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s “Bakwas Bumbug” at The Wild Project in NY

BD Wong rehearses King Matt the First, with Rosie’s Theater Kids at the Maravel Arts Center on 445 W. 45th St. in New York on March 17, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Photos: BD Wong in Rehearsal for “Passing It On: An Evening of Mentorship to Benefit Rosie’s Theater Kids”
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”

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Portraits of New York Chinatown after 9/11 by Lia Chang in “Post 9/11″: Commemorative Display at Library of Congress
Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright & Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
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
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal
Epic Theatre Presents Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths, starring Joel de la Fuente, May 20-21, 2012
President Obama Names Asian American Civil Rights Hero Gordon Hirabayashi Recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom
Remembering Civil Rights Leader Gordon Hirabayashi,1918- 2012
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
Raymond J. Lee and Ali Ewoldt star in Concert Reading of Jason Ma’s Gold Mountain on May 21, 2012
BD Wong to Star in Live Concert Recording of HERRINGBONE for 2 Nights Only as a Benefit for Dixon Place, 5/21, 5/22
Filmmaker Justin Lin Acquires Film Rights to David Henry Hwang’s Critically Acclaimed Broadway Comedy Chinglish
David Henry Hwang Set as Signature Theatre’s Residency One Playwright for the 2012-2013 Season
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
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

Lia Chang Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast

Christmas came early for me this year, in the form of R.A. Shiomi’s award-winning play Yellow Fever, when I played the lead, Japanese-Canadian gumshoe, Sam Shikaze, in an all-female cast reading of the play at the home of Julie Azuma and Tamio Spiegel on December 5, 2011.

Playwright and co-director Rick Shiomi, Cindy Cheung, Susan Dalton Quinn, Amanda Galang, Ako, Katie Lee Hill, Lia Chang, Gyu Jin Lim and co-director Raul Aranas.

The reading was co-directed by playwright Rick Shiomi and actor/director Raul Aranas, who helmed Pan Asian Repertory Theatre’s critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production in 1982. It was an exhilarating and historic evening to be performing in my favorite play with my longtime colleagues Cindy Cheung (Captain Kadota) and Ako (Rosie); in addition to Susan Dalton Quinn (Sergeant Mackenzie), Katie Lee Hill (Nancy Wing), Gyu Jin Lim (Chuck Chan) and Amanda Galang (Superintendent Jameson, Goldberg).

Rick Shiomi, Julie Azuma and Tamio Spiegel Photo by Lia Chang

In the house to support- Reme Grefalda, curator of ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection; actors BD Wong, Gordana Rashovich, Jarlath Conroy and Karen Tsen Lee; Heading East lyricist and librettist Robert Lee, novelist Ed Lin, photographer Brianne Michelle Planko; and Mina Manalac.

Rick Shiomi, Lia Chang, Robert Lee and BD Wong. Photo by Masao

On March 10, 1982, Yellow Fever premiered at the Asian American Theater Company and garnered Shiomi numerous awards including a 1982 Bay Area Theater Circle Critics Award and a 1982 “Bernie” for new play from the San Francisco Chronicle. The play opened in New York on December 1, 1982, and has received productions around the world including Los Angeles, Toronto (1984 Ontario Multicultural Theater Award), Seattle and in Japan.

Raul Aranas, Reme Grefalda and Rick Shiomi Photo by Lia Chang

Yellow Fever‘s Sam Shikaze is a Japanese-Canadian private eye from the Sam Spade School of life who lives and works on Powell Street in Vancouver. In Sam’s words, “Being a private eye doesn’t give you that nine-to-five respectability, but you call your own shots and you don’t have to smile for a living…and that’s the way I like it.” Sam’s life is complicated by the disappearance of the local Cherry Blossom Queen. Hired to find her, he soon falls into a maelstrom of deception, racism, and political intrigue, all of which lead him to the Sons of the Western Guard.

Reme Grefalda, Rick Shiomi and Lia Chang

R.A. Shiomi's award-winning play Yellow Fever. Photo by John To

When Yellow Fever was produced in New York by Pan Asian Repertory Theatre in 1982, Mel Gussow of The New York Times wrote, “As a playwright, Mr. Shiomi is his own crafty private investigator, making his points through indirection and droll humour….Mr. Shiomi’s Yellow Fever is so captivating that it makes one eager for further adventures of the inimitable Sam Shikaze.”

Edith Oliver of the New Yorker wrote, “Yellow Fever is a funny mystery-a real mystery, that is, which parodies private eye movies and also tucks in quite a lot of social comment without ever breaking its own comic mood.”

Lia: Where did you get the idea for an all-female cast?
Rick: This idea for an all-female cast reading of Yellow Fever came from Raul Aranas. And candidly my first reaction was that would be odd, because the play comes from such a deep male perspective and reflects many of those old fashioned male values (think detectives and film noir).

But when I saw Raul at a performance of Twelfth Night produced by Leviathan Theatre Lab in New York in November, he urged me to consider it again and I decided to pursue the idea. And as I thought about it and talked with my peers, the idea became more and more fascinating. We were quickly able to put together the reading with actors we both knew.

Lia: What were you thinking as the evening unfolded?
Rick: It was a mind opening experience to realize how the universal qualities of the characters and story could be embodied by the female actress in a new way, and not simply women trying to be men. The reading became a new way to look at the play and the performers and that was exciting.

I want to thank the cast for their participation and instant willingness to dive into this reading with great skill and enthusiasm.

Gordana Rashovich, Lia Chang and Jarlath Conroy. Photo by Robert Lee

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: Playwright Lonnie Carter Talks TRIM, The Tiger Woods What If Story, The Romance of Magno Rubio and The Lost Boys of Sudan
Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright and Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
Photos: Opening Night of Mu Performing Arts’ Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies
Photos: Backstage at Mu Performing Arts’ Four Destinies by Katie Hae Leo
Photos: On the town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in D.C. & NY
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 “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, A New Anthology of Asian American Plays Is Subject of Book Talk
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Crafting a Career
Nurse Lia on One Life to Live
Click here for more articles on Rick Shiomi.
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang as Sam Shikaze in Rick Shiomi's Yellow Fever Photo by Lia Chang

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

Lia made her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden, and has since documented her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism as a photographer and videographer, collaborating with other artists, organizations and companies to establish their documentary photo archive and social media presence.

Lia 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.

Her Off-Broadway credits include: Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott’s Marie Laveau (Castillo Theatre), Jeff Weiss’ Obie Award winning Hot Keys (Naked Angels), Raunchy Asian Women (Ohio Theatre), The Confirmation (The Vineyard), Behind Closed Doors (MCC), Lonnie Carter’s Gulliver opposite Andre De Shields (La MaMa Etc.), Power Play (Billie Holiday Theatre), Two Gentlemen of Verona, Underground Soap, and Famine Plays (Cucaracha Theatre). Film and TV credits include: Wolf, New Jack City, Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman, “As the World Turns,” “Another World,” and “New York Undercover”. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”.

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.

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: Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright & Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts

Rick Shiomi at a book party in New York for Asian American Plays for a New Generation on July 29, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

For nearly 30 years, groundbreaking Asian-North American playwright Rick Shiomi has worked as a successful theater and taiko artist, a theater director, and a composer. The Toronto native is the author of more than twenty plays, including my favorite, the award-winning Yellow Fever, which garnered Shiomi a 1982 Bay Area Theater Circle Critics Award, a 1982 “Bernie” for new play from the San Francisco Chronicle , and a 1984 Ontario Multicultural Theater Award.

Mask Dance, written and directed by Shiomi. Photo credit: Charissa Uemura Photography

Shiomi resides in Minneapolis, MN, where he has served as the artistic director of Mu Performing Arts, a pan-Asian performing arts organization he helped to co-found, for 19 years.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Rick Shiomi. Photo credit: Charissa Uemura Photography

Lauded as a visionary force who has paved the way and provided opportunities for a generation of Asian American theater artists in the Midwest,Shiomi has been recognized with a 1990 Ruby Schaar Yoshino Playwriting Award for Uncle Tadao, a 2000 Minnesota State Arts Board Cultural Collaborations Award with Cha Yang and SteppingStone Theatre for Tiger Tales: Hmong Folktales, 2002 Asian-Pacific Leadership Award for Excellence & Innovation in the Arts from the State of Minnesota Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans , a 2006 Award from the Powell Street Festival on the 30th anniversary of the Festival, and a 2007 Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Vision.

As the founder and artistic director of Mu Daiko, Mu Performing Arts’ taiko division, Shiomi was honored with a 1998 MN State Arts Board Cultural Collaborations Award for taiko drumming, a collaboration with Ragamala Music and Dance Theater, a 2002 Paddle and Drum Composition Award for Chrysanthemum Dawn and a 2004 Paddle and Drum Composition Award for Kiyomizu Cascade. He recently retired as the taiko leader with Iris Shiraishi taking over the leadership of Mu Daiko.

Rogers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song, with a new book by David Henry Hwang, directed by Rick Shiomi. Photo by Michal Daniel

This summer, Shiomi was on a week long book tour for Mu Performing Arts in Philadelphia, in Washington D.C. at the Library of Congress, and in New York, promoting “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” (Temple University Press, June 2011), which he co-edited with Josephine Lee and Don Eitel. Click here to read more about “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, available online at Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Asian-American-Plays-New-Generation/dp/1439905169

Mu Performing Arts kicks off their 20th Anniversary with Four Destinies. Photo by Stephen Geffre

He is in pre-production as Mu Performing Arts’ kicks off their new season with the world premiere of Katie Hae Leo’s satirical exploration of adoption Four Destinies, directed by Suzy Messerole, on October 15 at Mixed Blood Theatre.

Playwrights David Henry Hwang, Philip Kan Gotanda and Rick Shiomi in San Francisco in 1988. A version of this photo appeared in a feature article in the Feb.- Mar. 1989 edition of Mother Jones. Photo by Cynthia Wallace

Shiomi is clad in a striped black shirt and black slacks when he slides into the banquette at Cinema Brasserie for our lunch during his short visit to New York. While noshing on fried calamari and a roasted turkey club, he reminisced about the good old days with fellow pioneering theater artists Philip Kan Gotanda, Marc Hayashi, David Henry Hwang and Lane Nishikawa, how he became a playwright, his path to success, the genesis of Mu Performing Arts, the Library of Congress, projects in the works and what’s in store as the company celebrates its 20th anniversary.

LC: How did you get into playwriting?
RS: For as long as I can remember, perhaps even into childhood, I felt this urge to write stories. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to firstly find something of my own to say and secondly, the medium of writing to express it. For example, I dreamed of writing the valedictorian speech for my high school graduation, but when I sat down to write nothing came out. So I put that dream away.

Rick Shiomi Photo by Lia Chang

During my university days I thought of writing but felt too inadequate to study English so I studied history and then political science. I graduated and left Toronto and moved to Vancouver, where I got my teaching diploma in 1972 and promptly left to travel the world. That trip around the world took two years but even then, when I tried to write some short stories in Hong Kong, nothing came out.

I returned to Vancouver in 1974 and gradually became involved in an Asian Canadian activist group that included a lot of artists, including many poets. I knew early on that I was a poor poet, and struggled mightily with my prose writing. I did get one story published in Time Capsule, a New York magazine but the primary discovery for me was that of Japanese Canadian history and the internment camps. I felt I had found my own motherlode of artistic treasure and now only needed to find the way to express it. The first incarnation was a Woody Allenesque short story detective comedy, with the main character inspired by a Nisei man who reminded me of the tv detective, Columbo. I wrote a hundred pages almost overnight.

Philip Kan Gotanda, Rick Shiomi and David Henry Hwang photos by Lia Chang

I had had the good fortune to get to know Philip Gotanda through his music but I knew he was also an emerging playwright at the time. And I asked him to read my detective comedy. After a few days, I asked Philip what he thought of my story and he pulled out one page and said he liked that one. He said he liked the dialogue, because it was tight and seemed to flow easily. He asked me if I had ever thought of turning it into a play and I said I hadn’t because there was no such thing as Asian Canadian theater at the time (circa 1979). So he suggested I submit the story to the Asian American Workshop in San Francisco, the company he had worked with on his plays. And that started me on a two year journey to adapt the short story into a play.

R.A. Shiomi's award-winning play Yellow Fever. Photo by John To

LC: What was the process of writing your first play like?
RS: I had to learn about playwriting from the ground up, with many laughable moments along the way. When the company asked me to submit an outline for the play, I put together an eight act, fifty scene outline. They eventually asked me to write a first draft of a the first act and I did so. On the basis of that, they took on my project with Marc Hayashi as my dramaturg. Marc worked with me for about a year, in which he guided me to my own writing, even to the extent of telling me to concentrate on the conflicts I had created in the first act. When I did, the lighbulb in my head began to turn on.

As fate would have it, Marc was cast in a show in New York and Lane Nishikawa was assigned to be my director for the actual production. As we worked through rehearsal and I rewrote virtually every scene, I felt like this was a time of grace for me because playwriting could not be this easy. I was right (fortunately and unfortunately) and as the play came together, I discovered my own particular style. The play, Yellow Fever, was produced in March 1982 and was a big hit for the company. It won both the Bay Area Theater Circle Critics Award and a “Bernie” for new play.

LC: What happened with you and Yellow Fever after that initial production?
RS: I sent it to Pan Asian Repertory Theater in New York and they produced it in December of that same year and it received rave reviews by Mel Gussow in the New York Times and Edith Oliver in the New Yorker Magazine. And suddenly I was a playwright, as if overnight, but in fact after fifteen years of searching for my own story and voice.

Tisa Chang, Artistic Producing Director of Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Carla Ching, Artistic Director of Second Generation, Rick Shiomi, Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts, Jorge Ortoll, Executive Director of Ma-Yi Theater Photo by Lia Chang

I would never have the same level of success again, having written over twenty plays over the past thirty years, but I am still a playwright and feel blessed for having that. My writing career of course never went as smoothly as that first play. I wrote such plays as Rosie’s Café, Uncle Tadao and Play Ball in the latter 1980’s into the 1990’s but though they got a number of productions, I never had the same success. Of course, Yellow Fever itself went on to be produced across the country over the next several years and cyclically gets revival productions as part of the classic canon of Asian American theater. By the early 1990’s I felt that I had somehow written the plays I had wanted to.

The Magic Bus to Asian Folktales by R.A. Shiomi, Cha Yang and Jaz Canlas. Photo courtesy of Mu Performing Arts

LC: What was the genesis of Mu Performing Arts?
RS: It began with Dong-il Lee, a U of M graduate student asking me to help him start an Asian American company in 1992. We involved theater professor Martha Johnson of Augsburg College, Diane Espaldon as the managing director and young artist Andrew Kim. Dong-il was the initial artistic director but left Minnesota after the first year and I took over. It took at least ten years to develop the core of our company but we are now riding a wave of talented young (under forty year olds) theater artists.

Walleye Kid: The Musical! by R.A. Shiomi and Sundraya Kase; Music by Kurt Miyashiro. Photo by John Autey

LC: What makes Mu Performing Arts unique?
RS: Mu has been in the forefront of not only developing new plays like Ching Chong Chinaman by Lauren Yee, Cowboy Versus Samurai by Michael Golamco and Asiamnesia by Sun Mee Chomet, but also combining traditional Asian art forms with contemporary Asian American stories, as in Walleye Kid, The Musical, and Filipino Hearts.

Filipino Hearts by R. A. Shiomi and Allen Malicsi, Music and Lyrics by Kurt Miyashiro. Photo courtesy of MU Performing Arts

LC: The Library of Congress just celebrated the launch of “Asian American Plays for A New Generation,” an anthology co-edited by you, Josephine Lee and Don Eitel, of a number of plays that were developed at Mu. In addition, LOC just created a collection in your name in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection, and will also be a repository for the archives of Mu Performing Arts. What does this mean to you?
RS: It means a tremendous step forward for our company. The anthology by Temple University Press gives a national recognition to our work this past ten years and ensures our company will be studied by the next generation of students at the university level. And a hundred years from now Mu Performing Arts may not exist, but our place in Asian American theater history will be secure in the Library of Congress.

Rick Shiomi in the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. on July 27, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

LC: Do you have any writing projects in the works?
RS: I am in the process of talking to several prose writers about possible adaptations of their work for the stage, plus I have a few musical theater projects in the works. And as I myself am in the process of submitting my own personal files to the Library of Congress, I have come across several plays that have sparked my interest again.

LC: Is there a common theme in your plays?
RS: I am an Asian American playwright without doubt and so that’s my territory, but over the years I have become aware of how increasingly complex that territory is, and how much more fun and sophisticated we can all be as artists and activists.

LC: Where do you see yourself in three years?
RS: In three years I will be retired from Mu Performing Arts, leaving it with a bright future, I hope. I will, of course, continue as a consulting artist to Mu, but there are so many new and exciting ideas and talented Asian American artists that I feel free to take up any challenge or project and go with it.

LC: What inspires you?
RS: Talented people and challenging situations/issues. When I encounter someone with talent I am excited to work with them and give them whatever support I can. When I encounter difficult situations, like the issue of Korean adoption and the Hmong immigration, I want to bring more attention to it through our art.

LC: What are you most passionate about?
RS: I am most passionate about the next generation of Asian American theater artists and how they will find their place in the world, not just the American, theater landscape.

Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods, reimagined and directed by Rick Shiomi. Photo by Stephen Geffre

LC: What’s on tap for the 2011-2012 Mu Performing Arts season, as the company celebrates its 20th year?
RS: We have new plays dealing with adoption (Four Destinies) and LGBTQI issues (Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them) and an Asian American re-imagining of the classic musical Into The Woods by Stephen Sondheim, which I will direct. We are always looking forward and yet respecting and interpreting the past. Click here to read more about Mu Performing Arts 2011-2012 20th Anniversary Season.
Mu Performing Arts Website

Other Articles by Lia Chang
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
Photos: On the town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in D.C. & NY
Temple Press: Rick Shiomi recounts his tour for “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”
Mu Blog: Rick Shiomi’s Book Tour Logbook
knightarts.org: Reading on the road inside the book tour
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
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
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
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 “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, A New Anthology of Asian American Plays Is Subject of Book Talk
broadwayworld.com: Chinglish in Rehearsal
asiancemagazine.com: New Anthology of Asian American Plays Book Talk
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
Photos: Christine Toy Johnson, Angela Lin, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Jake Manabat, David Shih in Jen Silverman’s Crane Story at The Cherry Lane
Goodman Theatre World Premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Broadway Bound “Chinglish” Scores 5 Jeff Award Nods
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
Tony Award Winner Lea Salonga Leads Stellar Cast in First All-Filipino Concert for Philippine Development Foundation, “PhilDev Celebrates Broadway: Suites by Sondheim” at Alice Tully Hall on 11/7
OCA Awards Gala Photos: David Henry Hwang, Tamlyn Tomita, BD Wong, Dr. Bobby Fong & Tammy Duckworth
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, 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 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.

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.