Lia Chang
The latest installment in Leviathan Lab’s 2nd season is MIGRATION NATION: IMPORTED AND EXPLOITED, featuring 9 world-premiere plays from Leviathan’s Women Writer’s Group exploring the experiences of immigrant Filipinos who have taken jobs as overseas workers (OFW’s) worldwide. Performances are at 7pm and 9pm on October 26th and 27th at Space on White, 81 White Street in New York. Tickets are $15 each. Pre-show talk at 6:15pm both nights. To buy tickets, click here: http://bpt.me/281856 or call 212.227.8600 for more information.
Karen Tsen Lee
OFWs, the majority of them women, constitute the Philippines’ largest export, totaling 11% of the Philippine economy. These women, without the benefit of citizenship or workers’ rights, suffer a huge number of human rights abuses, including rape, torture, and death. MIGRATION NATION seeks to explore the experiences of these workers in a new context by creating a theater experience like none other.
Jaygee Macapugay
“Migration Nation is an attempt to theatrically re-create the experience of the OFW,” said Leviathan Lab Artistic Director Nelson T. Eusebio III. “We feel that by bringing the audience into this experience – an entire house of their stories, reflecting the diasporatic experience of the OFWs – that it will enable us to both engage, enlighten and entertain our audiences. The goal of the event is to merge the political theatrical aspirations of Brecht with the voyeuristic and inclusionary experience of ‘Sleep No More’.”
“We are thrilled to be able to perform and be part of Filipino history month. These stories not only mean a tremendous amount to our community, but are stories of humanity and our rights as human beings. We hope that Migration Nation will help bring focus to a largely underserved and overlooked community,” said Executive Director and company Founder Ariel Estrada.
Christine Toy Johnson Photo by Bruce Alan Johnson
The playwrights of MIGRATION NATION include Nancy Eng, Christine Toy Johnson, Dorim Lee, Karen Lee, Marisa Marquez, May Nazareno, Kristine M. Reyes, Eileen Rivera and Nandita Shenoy. The plays will be directed by Tea Alagic, Jo Cattell, Elyzabeth Gorman, Larissa Lury and Kira Onodera. The cast includes Leanne Cabrera, Kitty Chen, Patricia Cancio, Claro de los Reyes, Ariel Estrada, Karen Tsen Lee, Jaygee Macapugay, Jake Myers, Mizuo Peck, Diane Phelan, Krystal Seli, Kurt Uy and Yan Xi.
MIGRATION NATION has successfully completed their 40 DAYS TO $4000 campaign; From Leviathan: “We ask you to help share these important stories with our community, and ask you to give what you can; your tax-deductible donation will go toward sets, costumes, performer and technician stipends, and more. MIGRATION NATION is funded, in part, by generous support from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Yet even with their funding, this ambitious live performance work is in need of your support. To make a contribution, go http://bit.ly/PEAKZR
MIGRATION NATION is made possible by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Community partners for this project are FAHNS, NAFAA and UniPro.
Website: www.leviathanlab.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeviathanLab
Twitter: @LeviathanLab
Help Leviathan Lab reach their goal of 40 Days to $4K www.leviathanlab.com
Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Mel Sagrado Maghuyop, Tamara Jenkins, Christine Toy Johnson and Ron Domingo Lead the Cast of Harbor Lights Theater Company’s Production of The King and I, directed by Alan Muraoka, November 2-18, 2012
Tina Chilip, Jojo Gonzalez, Marcus Ho and More in Leviathan Lab’s Twelfth Night Production Photos
Tina Chilip and Jojo Gonzalez Star in Leviathan Lab’s Dynamic Hong Kong Re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night Featuring an All-Asian American Cast, at the Arclight in NY, 11/3-11/19, 2012
Photos: Ching Valdes-Aran: New and Selected Work on View at the Philippine Center Gallery in New York, October 22-November 2, 2012
Lorey Hayes’ Power Play Reading at Schomburg Center with Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, Lia Chang, Lorey Hayes, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney and Jeff Wallner, October 18, 2012
Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Hosts 1st Annual Varli Culinary Awards with Co-hosts Manu Narayan and Pooja Kumar in New York on November 15, 2012
Multimedia: Manu Narayan Dazzles as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s Revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross
Photos: Maurice Hines, Jonathan Groff, Mercedes Ellington, Charles Randolph Wright at The Laurie Beechman for André De Shields’s I PUT A SPELL ON YOU
Signature Theatre’s Production of Golden Child by David Henry Hwang has been extended through December 9, 2012
David Henry Hwang to Receive the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the 5th Annual Steinberg Playwright “Mimi” Awards on October 29, 2012
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
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
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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.
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