Lia Chang: Pan Asian Rep’s 35th Anniversary Gala on March 19 honors Daniel Dae Kim and Dr. Patrica E. Taylor; New Season includes Stella Rising, BAUDELAIRE: La Mort

Daniel Dae Kim and Dr. Patricia E. Taylor will be honored at Pan Asian Repertory Theatre’s 35th Anniversary Gala on Monday, March 19, 2012, at the Edison Ballroom, 240 W 47th Street in New York. Tickets are $350, $500 and $1,000; tables begin at $5,000. Call 212-868-4030 or visit www.panasianrep.org to purchase.

Daniel Dae Kim image courtesy of DDK Entertainment

The evening will be co-emceed by Broadway performer Raul Aranas (Miss Saigon), and SLANT’s Richard Ebihara and Perry Yung. Pan Asian Rep will honor Daniel Dae Kim, alum from Pan Asian Rep’s 1993 production of A Doll House and star of television series “Hawaii Five-O,” “Lost,” and Academy Award-winning film Crash; and Dr. Patricia E. Taylor, research scientist, who with husband Kenneth Taylor, former Canadian Ambassador to Iran in the 70′s, was a key player in the escape of 6 Americans during the Iran hostage crisis.

The 7th Annual Red Socks Award, established to honor the memory of Lilah Kan, will be given to an Asian-American performer, to be announced at the event. The evening’s entertainment will also present highlights from Pan Asian’s musicals, andspecial In Memoriam photo tributes to Ellen Stewart founder of La Mama E.T.C. and Jadin Wong entertainer and artists manager.

The evening opens with a cocktail hour and dinner, and continues with the awards ceremony, dancing and a raffle, proceeds of which will benefit Pan Asian Repertory’s continuing commitment to nurturing the next generation of Asian-American artists and
audiences.

Pan Asian Rep is also launching their spring season this month with STELLA RISING and BAUDELAIRE: La Mort, two unique productions featuring veteran artists from the jazz, dance, theatre and experimental music communities. STELLA RISING and BAUDELAIRE: La Mort play off-Broadway at the West End Theatre (263 W. 86th Street between Broadway & West End Avenue in the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, 2nd floor). STELLA RISING runs March 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 at 7:30pm; and March 11 at 3:00pm; and BAUDELAIRE: La Mort runs March 23, 24, 28, 29, 30 and 31 at 7:30pm; and March 25 and April 1 at 3:00pm.

STELLA RISING
Written and performed by Napua Davoy
Directed by Karine Plantadit
March 8- 17, 2012
Tony Award©-nominated dancer Karine Plantadit (Come Fly Away) makes her directorial debut with Stella Rising, a new musical play. This Hawaiian-paradise-meets-The-Grapes-of-Wrath story of a mother and daughter reconciliation, features an original jazz and classical score written and performed by Napua Davoy (who has been called “one of the most extraordinary song stylists in today’s jazz world” by Newport Jazz Festival creator George Wein).

BAUDELAIRE: La Mort
Directed and Choreographed by Shigeko Sara Suga
Co-created with Ernest Abuba, Anna Gheesling and Minouche Waring
March 23- April 1, 2012
Inspired by Baudelaire’s masterpiece Les Fleur du Mal, Baudelaire: La Mort is dance theatre that fuses Butoh, Flamenco and French poetry, featuring Ernest Abuba, Anna Gheesling, and Shigeko Sara Suga with Tiffany Chen, Aaron Chieu, and Timothy Liu.
Baudelaire: La Mort features an original score written and performed live by Yukio Tsuji, and a Flamenco guitar performance by Arturo Martinez. The scenic design is by Gian Marco Lo Forte & Justin West; lighting design by Marie Yokoyama; co-Costume Design by Keiko Obremski; and Stage Managed by Katie Kavett and Ada Chau.

Via Subway, take the 1 train to 86th Street. Tickets $35 with discounts for seniors and students, tickets for performances
March 8 and 23 are $50 and include post-show party, call OvationTix 212-352-3101, or visit www.panasianrep.org.

About Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Founded 35 years ago, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre is dedicated to providing a professional outlet to Asian American and minority artists. Led by Tisa Chang, Pan Asian Rep celebrates the talent and creativity of professional Asian American Theatre Artists. It has opened doors for many who enjoy careers in film, television and on Broadway. Daniel Dae Kim, Lucy Liu, David Henry Hwang and Philip Ken Gotanda are several actors and playwrights who have collaborated with Pan Asian Rep over the years. Notable past productions include: Ghashiram Kotwal, the Marathi play with music, exposing Brahmin abuse of privilege in 18th century India; Teahouse by Lao She, which spanned fifty years of modern Chinese history; Yellow Fever, the first of a trilogy of “Sam Shikaze, Private Eye” plays; and the musical commission Cambodia Agonistes – a mosaic of songs and ballets, with music composed by Louis Stewart, and text and lyrics by Ernest Abuba. Recent New York premieres include the musical Shanghai Lil’s by Lilah Kan and Louis Stewart; The Joy Luck Club by Susan Kim, based on the novel by Amy Tan, and the acclaimed revival of The Teahouse Of The August Moon directed by Ron Nakahara. January 2001 kicked off Pan Asian’s move into a new homebase, with the Legend of White Snake adapted & directed by Lu Yu followed by the momentous Rashomon. The company has been invited to many international theater festivals including Edinburgh, Singapore, Cairo and Johannesburg. It was the first professional theater from the United States to be requested at the Havana Theatre Festival in 2003. Variety Magazine continued to note “….the aesthetic mission and professional chops of the Pan Asian Repertory Theater are admirable.”

Other articles by Lia Chang:
David Henry Hwang to Receive 2012 William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright & Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
Randy Reyes Embraces his Passion for Storytelling as an Actor, Director and Theater Educator
Photos: BD Wong in Rehearsal for “Passing It On: An Evening of Mentorship to Benefit Rosie’s Theater Kids”
SIS Productions presents the Premiere & Grand Finale of Sex in Seattle 20: Happily Ever After . . ..4/27-5/26, 2012
Jeanne Sakata Set for SEVEN on March 21, 2012
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
Thom Sesma, Cindy Cheung, Ken Leung, Jennifer Lim, Sab Shimono, James Yaegashi and more set for Shinsai: Theaters for Japan Benefit on March 11 at the Great Hall at Cooper Union in New York
Randy Reyes directs Mu Performing Arts’ production of EDITH CAN SHOOT THINGS AND HIT THEM by A. Rey Pamatmat at Mixed Blood Theatre, March 13-April 1, 2012
Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) Media Advisory on Jeremy Lin News Coverage
The SFIAAFF30 Kicks Off with World Premiere of White Frog Featuring Booboo Stewart, Harry Shum, Jr., Joan Chen, Kelly Hu and BD Wong, at the Castro Theater on March 8
Tony award-winning actor BD Wong stars in NBC’s Awake; video preview and interview
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: “How To Succeed” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rose Hemingway and John Larroquette at Lord & Taylor for Windows Unveiling
Multimedia: Promises, Promises’ Stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo at Opening Night Party of Neil LaBute’s Break of Noon
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Celebrating my mom – AN ACTIVE VISION: BEVERLY UMEHARA…LABOR ACTIVIST…1945-1999
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 lia@backstagepasswithliachang.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: Christine Toy Johnson Leads the Cast of Pan Asian Repertory Theatre’s Shanghai Lil’s, 11/11-11/27/11

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Christine Toy Johnson Photo by Bruce Alan Johnson

Christine Toy Johnson (The Music Man, Grease!) plays the title character in Pan Asian Repertory Theatre’s new production of Shanghai Lil’s at the West End Theatre (263 W. 86th Street between Broadway & West End Avenue in the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, 2nd floor), with performances November 11th-27th. Tisa Chang who directed and created the dances in 1997 has re-envisioned a new production to introduce Chinese musical history of the 40′s for a new generation of audiences. Pan Asian Rep commissioned Shanghai Lil’s with book and lyrics by Lilah Kan, music by Louis Stewart, directed by Tisa Chang, and now adds choreography by Susan Ancheta, who portrayed the dancing lead in the 1997 premiere. Opening night is Wednesday November 16th at 7:00PM.

Shanghai Lil’s is set in a 1940′s San Francisco nightclub. In a world where the American musical embodies the optimism of boy-meets-girl romance and the American Dream, a cast of Asian American performers charm their audience with song, dance and comedy in spite of the looming specter of WWII and internment.

Jaygee Macapugay

Shanghai Lil’s, also stars Jaygee Macapugay (last seen in Pan Asian Rep’s Imelda) and features Leanne Cabrera, Whitney Kam Lee, Rebecca Lee Lerman, Timothy Ng, and Lisa Villamaria. Musical direction is by Sarah Brett England; set design by Gian Marco Lo Forte; costume design by Kate Mincer; and lighting design by Jiyoun Chang.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Tisa Chang (Director) has a lifetime love for the musical theatre form, having danced at an early age and in Broadway musical classics in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, King and I, Flower Drum Song, Sweet Charity, Pacific Overtures, which has informed her directing career at Ellen Stewart’s La Mama Chinese Theatre Group with bilingual premieres of Return of the Phoenix, A Servant of Two Masters, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Thunderstorm and highlights at Pan Asian Rep including: The Joy Luck Club, Cambodia Agonistes, Rashomon which was invited to the Havana Theatre Festival in September 2003. Tisa will celebrate 35 years at Pan Asian Rep with a Gala Benefit on March 19, 2012 at the glamorous Edison Ballroom.

Lilah Kan (Book and Lyrics) acted with San Francisco’s Inter Players in the 50′s and made her New York acting debut in Frank Chin’s Year of the Dragon at American Place Theatre (televised for PBS’s “Theatre in America”) and had a longtime association with Pan Asian Rep as an actor- Legend of Wu Chang, Flowers and Household Gods, Sunrise, Monkey Music- and also acted in Paper Angels directed by John Lone.

Louis Stewart (Composer) Specializing in New Music, he has conducted and played premieres in New York, Seattle, Boston and Baltimore, and has guest conducted in the US and Southeast Asia. One of his many acclaimed compositions is Ballet Beat Café, which was premiered by American Concert Ballet. His recordings include Sleepwalking In Singapore, in collaboration with the Baltimore Improvisation Ensemble, and scores for two documentary films aired on PBS. Shanghai Lil’s renews a series of collaborations with Tisa Chang, which began in 1973 with the musical compostion for The Return of the Phoenix, and includes Cambodia Agonistes. He currently teaches at Berkelee College.

PAN ASIAN REPERTORY THEATRE, founded in 1977, is the East Coast’s most veteran producer of Asian American theatre. For 35 years, Pan Asian Rep has celebrated the artistic expressiveness of Asian and American theatre artists under the highest standards of professional excellence creating Asian classics and new works. Under the direction of Tisa Chang, the company’s renowned Masterpieces from China, Japan, India, Korea, Cambodia, Tibet, and Asian America, bring underrepresented themes to American audiences while deepening their understanding of Asian American cultural heritage. Pan Asian is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State’s 62 counties; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; City Council members Peter Koo and Gale Brewer; Shubert and Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundations; and The New York Community Trust and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Educational programs are supported, in part, by MetLife Foundation and Con Edison.

Pan Asian Rep’s Shanghai Lil’s runs November 11th – 27th at the West End Theatre (263 W. 86th Street between Broadway & West End Avenue in the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, 2nd floor). Via Subway, take the 1 train to 86th Street. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 pm. (Additional performance Monday November 14th at 7:30 pm; Wednesday November 23rd performance at 2:30 pm only.) Tickets are $39 with discounts available for seniors and students, call OvationTix at 212-352-3101. Group discounts are available by calling 212-868-4030. For more information about Shanghai Lil’s, Pan Asian Rep and a schedule of weekday student matinee performances for middle and high school students, visit www.PanAsianRep.org.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Photos: Leviathan Lab’s Twelfth Night at the Arclight through 11/19
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
Photos of AEA’s Asian Heritage Celebration, featuring the Leviathan Lab Asian American Women Writers Workshop
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Jennifer Lim, Leigh Silverman, Samuel L. Jackson, Kenny Leon, David Ives, Douglas Carter Beane and More at The Drama Desk & Fordham University Theatre Program’s “Anatomy of a Breakout” Panel
Ma-Yi Presents Carla Ching’s The Sugar House at The Edge of The Wilderness at The Connelly Theater, 11/8-12/4
Knock Me a Kiss Sweeps Audelcos with 9 Wins Including Best Dramatic Play, André De Shields, Marie Thomas, Charles Smith and Chuck Smith
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Jennifer Lim, Leigh Silverman, Samuel L. Jackson, Kenny Leon, David Ives, Douglas Carter Beane and More at The Drama Desk & Fordham University Theatre Program’s “Anatomy of a Breakout” Panel
David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish Takes Home 2 Jeff Awards
Cathy Foy-Mahi Plays Bloody Mary in 2011-2012 National Tour of South Pacific
Photos: Backstage with the Cast of Chinglish and David Henry Hwang at the Longacre Theatre
Lia Chang Photos: Opening Night of Mu Performing Arts’ Katie Hae Leo’s Four Destinies
Lia Chang Photos: Backstage at Mu Performing Arts’ Four Destinies by Katie Hae Leo
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
Photos: Crossroads’ Ain’t Misbehavin’
Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright and Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
Photos: Christine Toy Johnson, Angela Lin, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Jake Manabat, David Shih in Jen Silverman’s Crane Story at The Cherry Lane
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: “How To Succeed” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rose Hemingway & John Larroquette at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo at Opening Night Party of Neil LaBute’s Break of Noon
Multimedia: Promises, Promises’ Stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
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 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 Photos: On the Town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in Washington D.C. and New York

R.A. Shiomi's Yellow Fever. Photo by Lia Chang

On Wednesday, July 27, I reconnected with Rick Shiomi, the author of one of my favorite plays, “Yellow Fever,” when we were both in Washington D.C. at the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress in the Thomas Jefferson Building. The groundbreaking Asian-North American playwright, taiko troupe leader, and artistic director of Mu Performing Arts, was on a week long book tour to promote “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” (Temple University Press, June 2011), which he co-edited with Josephine Lee and Don Eitel.

Rick Shiomi with my display of photos “In Rehearsal”, drawn from the Lia Chang Theater Portfolio at the Library of Congress/AAPI Collection. Photo by Lia Chang

Reme Grefalda, the curator of the Asian Pacific Islander Collection, had put together a marvelous program which included his talk about the Anthology, and a week-long display in the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress.

Rick Shiomi looks at a glass case of the published works of his fellow Asian American Theater Pioneering peers including Frank Chin, Philip Kan Gotanda, David Henry Hwang, Velina Hasu Houston and Genny Lim. Photo by Lia Chang

The display featured 37 photographs drawn from the Lia Chang Theater Portfolio including Thom Sesma’s Makeup Transformation as Scar in Disney’s “The Lion King Las Vegas”; rehearsals of a staged concert of Robert Lee and Leon Ko’s musical “Heading East” starring BD Wong at the Asia Society in New York; of David Henry Hwang’s play, “ChingLish,” which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago this summer and is bound for Broadway this fall; and of “Bakwas Bumbug!,” a pop opera by Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri, which recently made its off-Broadway debut.

Original scripts by Carlene Sobrino Bonnivier, Velina Hasu Houston, Christine Toy Johnson, Lani Montreal, Edgar Mendoza and Jeanne Sakata. Photo by Lia Chang

The Library of Congress’ goal is to establish a national Asian Pacific American holdings, with a nationwide outreach, and the focus of the display was in celebration of works by Asian American playwrights.

The published works by Asian American Playwrights at The Library of Congress. Photo by Lia Chang

Drawn from the Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection, original scripts by Carlene Sobrino Bonnivier, Velina Hasu Houston, Christine Toy Johnson, Lani Montreal, Edgar Mendoza and Jeanne Sakata are on view. The display also highlights works by Frank Chin, Philip Kan Gotanda, Jessica Hagedorn, David Henry Hwang, Genny Lim, Chay Yew and others.

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

Two days later, I joined Rick at Julie Azuma and Tamio Spiegel’s apartment in New York, where they hosted a swell book party for him.

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

The Asian American Arts scene turned out in this reunion of sorts, including Tisa Chang, Artistic Producing Director of Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Carla Ching, Artistic Director of Second Generation, and Jorge Ortoll, Executive Director of Ma-Yi Theater; authors Henry Chang and Ed Lin; actors Raul Aranas and Henry Yuk; artist Tomie Arai, director Stann Nakazono; and Kentaro Ando and Masakazu Kigure, from the Consulate General of Japan. Cathie Hartnett of My Talk Radio in St Paul, Carol Connolly, the poet Laureate of St. Paul and Phil Nash from Washington D.C., stopped in as well.

Happy Valley playwright Aurorae Khoo and Rick Shiomi Photo by Lia Chang

Playwright Aurorae Khoo, whose play “Happy Valley” is in the anthology, talked about the process of developing her play with Mu Performing Arts, while actors Cindy Cheung, Fay Ann Lee, Amy Chang and Sean Tarjoto read excerpts from plays featured in the book.

Sean Tarjoto, Rick Shiomi, Cindy Cheung, Fay Ann Lee, Amy Chang Photo by Lia Chang

Rick took the time to answer some questions about “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”.

Rick Shiomi Photo by Lia Chang

How does this anthology live up to its title?
Rick: The plays in this anthology were all written and produced after 2004 and reflect a larger horizon of Asian American issues and communities while still dealing with existing challenges in playful and different ways. There is a play about the Hmong American community and experience which is just now receiving attention within Asian American theater world. There’s a play about Korean adoption which has been a major focus of attention in Minnesota but only now coming to wider national attention (including an upcoming forum on this
issue at the Library of Congress). But there are also plays about LGBTQI issues in Asian American families, transnational events such as the transfer of Hong Kong to China and the history of women in the media and performance. So I feel the anthology truly addresses the issues and conversational framework for Asian Americans in the 21st century.

Carol Connolly, the poet Laureate of St. Paul, Rick Shiomi and Cathie Hartnett of My Talk Radio in St. Paul. Photo by Lia Chang

How was Mu Performing Arts involved in the book?
Rick: Mu Performing Arts helped to develop and produce the world premiere of six of the seven plays in this anthology. Through programs funded by the Jerome and Ford Foundations, we have been able to focus on developing new work by emerging Asian American writers. With two of the three book editors on staff at Mu, we were able to look at over a dozen new plays produced by Mu in the past decade and other plays we felt were in the same realm, before we selected the ones in this anthology.

Rick Shiomi with novelist Ed Lin and his wife Cindy Cheung, an actress who read excerpts from the Anthology. Photo by Lia Chang

What’s your favorite story in regards to the plays in this book?
Rick: I have two stories and both reflect how initial problems in the development of plays can be deceiving and ultimately overcome. The first is about “Asiamnesia” by Sun Mee Chomet. It started as a group writing effort in our Jerome New Performance Program. Sun Mee had gathered a group of Asian American women writers to create the play but through several drafts we never thought it worked well because the writing was too disparate. Finally, we asked Sun Mee to write the play herself and she did with great success as the play was recognized by the Minneapolis Star Tribune critic, Rohan Preston, as the “best new script” of 2008, So in a way I feel Sun Mee failed her way to success, through talent and determination. The second story is about “Bahala Na,” by Clarence Coo. When we first read it, we felt it was too poetic to work on stage but when we actually did a reading of it, we all loved the style because it fit the epic nature of play. So we decided to work on it as part of our Ford Foundation, Emerging Writers of Color Program and eventually produced the world premiere of the play in 2007.

Rick Shiomi with Kentaro Ando and Masakazu Kigure, from the Consulate General of Japan Photo by Lia Chang

Rick Shiomi and Phil Nash Photo by Lia Chang

A Soh Daiko reunion for Peter Wong, Teddy Yoshikami and Rick Shiomi Photo by Lia Chang

“Asian American Plays for a New Generation” is available online at Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Asian-American-Plays-New-Generation/dp/1439905169

Henry Chang, noted mystery/crime fiction novelist, surprised Rick with an original script of Yellow Fever for him to sign. Photo by Lia Chang

Mu Performing Arts Website
For more information about the division and its holdings, go to www.loc.gov/rr/asian/.

Other Articles on “Asian American Plays for a New Generation” & “In Rehearsal”
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
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
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.

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