David Henry Hwang + Golden Child

Tix info.

Dates

First: Saturday Feb 04, 2012 7:00 PM
Last: Saturday Feb 25, 2012 7:30 PM

Prices

$15.00 - $30.00

Location

10th Ave Theatre- 4th Floor CABARET (View Venue)
930 10th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
United States

Seattle SketchFest + Pork Filled Players

Who doesn't like bacon?

SketchFest Seattle, the first ever and longest running festival of its type, brings another hilarious conglomeration of sketch comedy from all over North America with SketchFest 2011! (October 6th-8th). This will be the lucky 13th festival, and we’re bringing acts from LA, Vancouver B.C., Chicago, and the exotic climes of Grand Rapids MI. Three days, five shows, fifteen groups, and one comedy film festival. It’s like comedy Christmas: you don’t know what you’re going to get… but you’re pretty darn sure it won’t be a sweater!

Thursday 10/6 - 7:00 p.m. – Opening night Smorgasbord/Comedy Video Contest

This is our opening night SketchFest Smorgasbord. From this buffet you will have the opportunity to sample more sketch comedy than you ever thought possible. Every single local group in the festival will be offering up a teaser taste to whet your comedy palate in this feast with a special, desert showcase from Seattle sketch legends, Disgruntled Bit Players. You will be drooling over the remaining four shows, planning the next courses of your comedy meal.

…But that's not all! We'll also be doing our annual comedy film festival, where you, the audience, get to choose what movie deserves our prize of 10,000 Cents! Also, this year we'll be giving out an additional 10,000 cents to the winner of our Celebrity Juried Award!

Saturday 10/8 -9:00 p.m.
Comedian Derek Sheen
Pork Filled Players
The Entertainment Show
Slow Children Crossing (LA)
Tickets: http://bit.ly/pcsoDO

Chay Yew, Version 3.0 + Julia Cho, Sung Rno, Han Ong, David Henry Hwang + More

From Theater Mania:

Playwright and director Chay Yew has edited Version 3.0, a major new collection of contemporary Asian American plays, which has just been published by Theatre Communications Group. Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang has written the forward for the volume.

The collection includes Julia Cho's Durango, Sunil Kuruvilla's Rice Boy, Han Ong's Swoony Planet, Sung Rno's wAve, Diana Son's Satellites, Alice Tuan's Last of the Suns and Chay Yew's Question 27, Question 28 [...]

Take Two: Direct Arts + Rahmin Bahrani + Eric Dufault

Sweet.

It's our last double bill of the year! Come have a drink with us, catch two wacky ecological parables and participate in a discussion with Tiokasin Ghosthorse, host of Indigenous Radio on WBAI.

7:00 Social (Half) Hour

7:30 Plastic Bag
Written & directed by Ramin Bahrani

The existential journey of a plastic bag (voiced by Werner Herzog) as it searches for his beloved maker. See this award-winning short film by the director of CHOP SHOP and MAN PUSH CART projected in all its glory at the Red Room!

8:00 The Desert Play
Written by Eric Dufault
Directed by Victoria Linchog

Coyote attempts to please the Sun and stave off the ending of the world by trapping children with scorpions, cacti and other irresistible child-bait. Anthropomorphizing was never so much fun! With Daniel Abeles, Miles Angerson, Julia Ahumaba Grob, Jake Hart, Megan Hart, Helen Kim, Nikaury Rodriguez and Elizabeth Ruf-Maldonado.

Followed by a discussion on indigenous rites and ecology with Tiokasin Ghosthorse, spiritual agitator, natural rights organizer and Indigenous thinking-process educator from the Cheyenne River Lakota (Sioux) Nation of South Dakota.

Refugee Nation + PFP

You can still catch some showings.

Refugee Nation tells the stories of a community created by a U.S. led secret war in Laos. Intricately connected to the Vietnam War, Laotian refugees struggle to create a future as their American descendants struggle to understand their past. Since 2005, collaborators Leilani Chan and Ova Saopeng have been collecting oral histories from family and community members across the country to create an interdisciplinary theater performance that explores a growing part of the Asian American Diaspora that is yet to be included as part of the American experience. Through theater and movement they re-construct the stories of families trying to rebuild a community that has been spread like ashes across the U.S. and the world.ONLY 3 PERFORMANCES

Thursday May 19, 2011; 7:30PM at Ethnic Cultural Theater at UW
Saturday May 21, 2011; 2:00PM at Ethnic Cultural Theater at UW
Sunday May 22, 2011; 7:30PM at Ethnic Cultural Theater at UW

TICKETS: $15 (general); $12 (students and seniors)
For tickets and info, visit www.refugeenation.com or call (253) 237-2336
Ethnic Cultural Theater at UW is located at 3940 Brooklyn Ave. NE

The Third National Asian American Theater Conference

From my inbox and now onto you (simply because I'm lazy as MF right now):

The Third National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival To Be Hosted In Los Angeles June 16-26, 2011

Proposals are now being accepted from theatre companies and individual artists from around the country for the Third National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival to be held in Los Angeles, CA from June 16-26, 2011. This event is a continuation of the momentum generated by the National Asian American Theater Conferences and Festivals held in Los Angeles, New York City, and Minneapolis since 2006 and marks the very first time that both conference and festival will be held simultaneously.

As Los Angeles representatives of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists (CAATA), East West Players and TeAda Productions will co-host this much-anticipated event, titled New Directions, which expects to lay the groundwork for the next five years for the Asian Pacific American (APA) performing arts as a national movement toward a richer and more multicultural America.

CAATA, a newly formed 501c3, is committed to establishing an inclusive, responsible, and relevant national artistic voice for the rapidly diversifying Asian Pacific American collective; and at the Third National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival, CAATA anticipates to host over 180 APA arts leaders, artists, and academics from around the country—shining a light on the diversity of today's performing art forms, addressing the needs of a rapidly shifting cultural landscape, as well as recognizing a well-rounded representation from different ethnic and gender identifications.

Proposals are being accepted right now for Festival productions and Conference registration—so apply to be a part of APA theatrical history! For guidelines, applications, and additional information, please visit www.caata.net.

Festival Application Deadline: 11:59pm PST on Saturday, October 30, 2010.
Conference Application Deadline: On-going until capacity is reached.

Cool.

3 For Price Of 1: Sex in Seattle 18

If you can't get something for free a deal is the next best thing.

Catch the latest installment of the nation's longest running serial theatre show from our good friends at SIS Production! Featuring some of your favorite Pork Filled Players! And at a very special price for PFP fans!

Sex in Seattle 18: An Everyday Kind of Love is at Seattle's Richard Hugo House (1134 11th Ave) this Friday, September 24 at 8 pm. Normally, tickets are $15 General, $12 Student/Seniors, but as a special gift to Pork Filled Phans, three of you can see the show for $15 (or $12, if you're all students or all seniors).

Simply email tickets@sis-productions.org and mention the 3 for 1 Offer and you can get in to see the show at the special discount! Fri, September 24 at 8pm: 3 for 1 special (only $5 each for 3 people) And okay, if you only have 2 people, we'll give you 2 for 1.

Sexy, sassy and laugh-out loud, Sex in Seattle is also new viewer friendly! You can dive right in and enjoy the snappy, high energy hijinks of four Asian American women trying to find true love in modern Seattle! And it's the 10th Anniversary production for SIS Productions!

BUT

• This offer is good only for the 8 pm show this Friday
• You MUST mention the 3 for 1 offer, and
• You MUST mention you're a Pork Filled Phan (otherwise our feelings would be very, very hurt).

PFP alums May Nguyen, Leilani Berinobis and Miko Premo lead a cast that also includes Alex Adisorn, Henry Drew, Tom Falcone, Kathy Hsieh, Sean O'Bannon, Nicholas Schell, Caleb Slavins, and Moses Yim!

What's it about?

Romance is great, but is true love the grand sweeping gestures of passion we fantasize about? Or is it those everyday moments that bring people closer together over time? Join Tess, Jenna, Elizabeth and Chloe as they discover their own answers in the nation's longest-running quirky romantic comedy about contemporary Asian American women, their lives and their loves.

Call (206) 323-9443 or email tickets@sis-productions.org for reservations at this price (remember, good for JUST the 8 pm show this Friday); for more information see the SIS website at www.sexinseattle.org.

Audiences over the past 17 episodes have shared the following accolades: "Funny as hell!" * "Wow ~ very funny & different!" * "LOVED IT!!!" * "I was totally blown away. It was certainly the best show I've seen all year." * "Thanks for making my visit to Seattle worth every cent" (Denver resident) * "This episode showed great depth, yet was even funnier than ever!" * "The script was so original, funny, and creative - our stomachs started hurting because we were laughing so hard." * "This is the best thing I've seen in Seattle!" * "We just love SIS and every one seems to get better and better!" * "They are so addicting!" * "cute and clever" * "We really liked the use of video…they were awesome!"

Rated "PG-13" for sexual innuendo and saucy situations.

Sex in Seattle 18: An Everyday Kind Of Love is written by Kathy Hsieh, directed by ShawnJ Westand produced by Lorna Chin, Kathy Hsieh, Miko Premo & Roger Tang with support from Elizabeth Daruthayan & Lisa Marie Nakamura.

SIS Productions is a production company that strives to create, develop and produce quality works that involve Asian American women, their themes, and Asian American issues. SIS Productions encourages opportunities and support for Asian American women to be involved in all aspects of the production of artistic endeavors.

Sex in Seattle is a dynamic, groundbreaking episodic theatre show that aims to:
* Portray contemporary Asian Americans in a truer light, reflecting our diversity and uniqueness of being both Asians and Americans.
* Believably address and explore the issues of womanhood ~ sexuality, struggles, identity, relationships, perceptions, and more, using humor and drama.

Getting Your Pork Fiction On

PFP's Pork Fiction opens in one week and yes - you should be there.

New sketch comedy from Seattle's old Asian American theatre group and sketch comedians! Co-produced by the Theatre Off Jackson!

At the Theatre Off Jackson (409 7th Ave. S., Seattle), Friday and Saturday at 8 pm

Special Guests: Seattle sketch comedians Charles
UW ASC Talent winners Clairbel Novelo Alice Leung/Eric Zhang

Buy tickets online and SAVE at brownpapertickets.com.
($11 Gen, $9 Student Senior)
($14/$12 at the door!)

Pork Filled Players
14810 Meridian Ave. N. Shoreline, WA 98133

EWP's New Season

You probably can't read that so just go here.

Audition For YELLOW FACE

Because one day you woke up and wondered to yourself what it would be like to stand on stage under semi-bright lights reciting the lines from a play from David Henry Hwang.

Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company is holding an EPA (Equity Principal Audition) for its upcoming production of YELLOW FACE by David Henry Hwang. Details below:

Production: YELLOW FACE by David Henry Hwang
YELLOW FACE has been published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc. and the script can be purchased from their website.

Director: Seema Sueko

Audition Date/Time: Sunday, April 25, 11 AM – 3 PM

Audition Location: The 10th Avenue Theatre
930 10th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101
Allow time to park. Street parking is free on Sundays.

Go here for the full information.

Rising Circle Theater Collective And Q Up

There's a great post up on the NY Daily about the Rising Circle Theater:

Of the many hands in the bowl from which Q Up sprang, none was more prominent than that of Nancy Kim, a Korean-American artist whose one-woman show, "How To Find My Inner Asian," provides both the idea and inspiration for it.

The play is Kim's take on a variety of issues affecting Asian women. She got the idea several years ago after she discovered several self-help books targeting Asian-Americans that she found hilarious.

"One was called 'Dating Asian: A Guide to How to Find Asians and Date them,'" Kim said.

"I wanted to do a show that kinda made fun of these books," Kim said.

"I mentioned that to some people in Rising Circle, and they encouraged me to make this happen."

Kim, 32, performed the piece at the Manhattan Theatre Source in 2008-2009. She kicked off Q Up with a Wednesday night performance for the students. Other instructors in the Q Up program include Brooklyn-based Taiwanese-American Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai and Indian artist Deepti Gupta. Kim said she has long wanted to mount a confidence-building program such as Q Up that would benefit young women like herself.

"When I was a young woman, if I wanted arts in my life, I had to go seek it out myself because I didn't see other people who looked like me doing that," said Kim, who grew up in Woodside, Queens, before moving to Syosset, L.I.

"I wanted to do something for the 16-year-old girl who didn't have a place to go and didn't have people to look up to." Fortunately, Kim also found Rising Circle, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Cool.

David Henry Hwang, Asians in the Media, Unpacking the Representations, And Getting On The Waiting List

I can't always be the Oracle Of Knowledge (as much as I try) and while tickets are apparently sold out - thought I'd post it up anyway because it sounds like it could be an interesting evening for anyone in attendance (and I guess there's also a waiting list):

In conjunction with Mu Performing Arts’ production of Yellow Face, join a distinguished panel of artists, activists, scholars, and journalists to discuss how Asians and Asian Americans are represented in today’s media. What is the standard narrative of Asian America? We aim to question Asian representations beyond tired stereotypes toward a deeper understanding of what this community has contributed to American culture and theater in particular. Audience and participants will come away with an appreciation of what it means to be an Asian American theater company, what Asian American theater is, who its artists are, and who it serves.

Panel

David Henry Hwang – Tony Award winning playwright (Yellow Face)
Susanna Song – KSTP Channel 5 reporter
Randy Reyes – Actor (Yellow Face)
Graydon Royce –Minneapolis Star Tribune theater critic
Josephine Lee – University of Minnesota - Asian American Studies

Moderated by Minnesota Public Radio’s Marianne Combs

When: 4:00 – 5:30pm, February 6 (opening day of Yellow Face)
Where: Dowling Studio, The Guthrie Theater

Tickets: THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT! email Stacey at Mu to be placed on the waiting list: Stacey@muperformingarts.org.

Cost: This event is free and open to the public thanks to support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Present in the audience will be representatives from the Yale Alumni Association, Asian American Journalists Association, Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association MN Chapter.

Esther Chae, The Asian Women Giving Circle, And So The Arrow Flies

I don't know about you - but I'm definitely intrigued:

“Amazing and beautiful show.” —David Henry Hwang (Tony award-winning author of M Butterfly)

“Chae skillfully absorbs the audience into a world of espionage and deception...fascinatingly gripping.” —Edinburgh ThreeWeeks festival magazine

The Asian Women Giving Circle is pleased to present

Introduced by the Fabulous Jeannie Park

Esther Chae
2009 Grantee in her one-woman performance So the Arrow Flies

A North Korean spy.
A Korean-American FBI agent.
Who will be taken down first?

Wednesday, January 27
Cherry Lane Theater
38 Commerce Street, NYC
6:30 Doors open, Cocktails
7:30 Show

Reception immediately following show

(performance approx. 1 hour 15 min.)

$1,000 Big Mama Papa Patron
$500 Super Friend
$250 Be a Pal
$100 Ticket

To purchase tickets for this event, click here

If you have questions, please call 646-300-6173
or email angie@asianwomengivingcircle.org

The fair market value of the ticket is $50 and the remainder of your contribution is tax-deductible.

Pick up tickets here and support Asian American women using the arts to further activism.

To learn more information about The Asian Women Giving Circle go to www.asianwomengivingcircle.org.

Grace Kim, Lodestone, And The Final Weekend

Just a quick post up that the Lodestone is closing out their final weekend - so get on down and check it out if you haven't gotten a chance.

After 10 years of being one of LA’s edgiest Asian American theatre groups, the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble is about present its final show, before shutting its doors for good. Don’t worry– this was a conscious decision made years ago by the artistic directors, not a victim of the global recession.

In 1995, following the 1992 Los Angeles riots, veteran actor Soon-Tek Oh created the Society of Heritage Performers (SHP), a Korean American theatre ensemble. SHP evolved into Lodestone Theatre Ensemble in 1999, organized by original founders: actors Alexandra Bokyun Chun, Tim Lounibos and Chil Kong, and writer Philip W. Chung. Their new focus was embracing a broader Asian Pacific American identity. Chung and Kong have remained to the end as co-artistic directors.

You can still catch the final weekend of their final production, Grace Kim & The Spiders from Mars, which is a play that was specifically written as a farewell to Lodestone.

Here's a quick vlog from Grace Kim.

See It Before It's Gone, The Lodestone, And Grace Kim & The Spiders From Mars

While I've posted up on the Lodestone and their last show - and opening night is sold out btw - why not show 'em a little more love?

Exactly.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Lodestone Theatre Ensemble concludes its tenth and final season with the world premiere of GRACE KIM & THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, a new comedy written specifically to serve as Lodestone’s last show before the critically-acclaimed Asian American theater company permanently closes its doors at the end of 2009. The production will run November 14-December 20, 2009 at the GTC Burbank (1111-B West Olive Ave., Burbank, CA 91506, located inside George Izay Park). The show is written by Lodestone Co-Artistic Director Philip W. Chung . The director is Jeff Liu who directed TEXAS, Lodestone’s very first production in 1999.

“For our final show, I wanted to write something that would be accessible and funny,” says Chung. “But I also wanted the play to reflect our history. Whether you’ve been coming to our plays from the start or this is your first time, I hope you walk away with a sense of what Lodestone meant to my colleagues and me.”

Inspired by classic screwball comedies, GRACE KIM & THE SPIDERS FROM MARS tells the story of Grace, a young Korean American woman, who has withdrawn from the world after the death of her mother ten years ago. But Grace’s life is thrown upside down when she meets her sister’s fiancé and falls in love with him.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years,” says Liu. “It’s been quite a journey and Philip has brought it all together beautifully in this comedy about a smart, quirky heroine with a very active imagination searching for a new path in life, a reminder that every ending is really just a new beginning.”

GRACE KIM & THE SPIDERS FROM MARS stars Feodor Chin, Elizabeth Ho, Jully Lee, Elaine Kao, Rachel Morihiro, Hanson Tse and Kelvin Han Yee.

Philip W. Chung is the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Lodestone Theatre Ensemble. His productions for Lodestone include the critically-acclaimed THE GOLDEN HOUR, ONE NATION UNDER GOD and LAUGHTER JOY & LONELINESS & SEX & SEX & SEX & SEX. He is currently writing the screenplays for the adaptations of the best-selling novels THE LAST CHINESE CHEF and THE SAMURAI’S GARDEN as well as an original script for director Justin Lin (BETTER LUCK TOMORROW).

Performances are Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8 pm (no show on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26), Sundays at 2 pm, November 14-December 20, with low-priced previews on November 12 and 13 at 8 pm. Tickets have been lowered to the same price as our first show in 1999: $12 for general admission and $10 each for reserved groups of ten or more. Tickets for the November 14 Opening Night Gala including a post-show reception are $25. All Sunday matinees (except December 20) will be pay-what-you-can admission with a $1 minimum.

For more information, call the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble hotline at (323) 993-7245 or visit http://www.lodestonetheatre.org/, www.facebook.com/lodestonetheatre

Lodestone’s community partners for this production include Asians For Miracle Marrow Matches, East West Players, The K.W. Lee Center For Leadership and Visual Communications.

Founded in 1999 by Philip W. Chung, Alexandra Chun, Chil Kong and Tim Lounibos, Lodestone is committed to providing a forum for Asian Pacific American artists in all aspects of the theater arts.

Lodestone Theatre Ensemble is a Company-in-Residence at GTC Burbank. For more information on GTC Burbank check out http://www.gtc.org/

The 2nd National Asian American Theater Festival And The Many Faces of Asian American Theater

The 2nd NATIONAL ASIAN AMERICAN THEATER FESTIVAL will take place in New York City October 13 to 18, with productions presented at Theater for the New City. More than 100 Asian-American theatre artists from across the U.S. - playwrights, directors, actors, designers - will converge in New York for a week of performances ranging from Chekhov to a musical about Imelda Marcos to new plays that demonstrate the emerging voices of a young generation of Asian-American writers.

Get more info down at the naatf site.

PFPOAMN

If you can decipher the above title of this post I probably wouldn't be patting myself on the back because it just means that you're as delirious as I am (however I will want you as a part of my crew when I go searching for gold).

SketchFest: The Seattle Comedy Festival kicks off in high gear Monday night with jam-packed opening gala show featuring sneak peak teasers from SketchFest acts, The SketchFest Video Contest, and The Cody Rivers Show.

There are still some seats left for the opening gala on Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:30. Tickets available at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/79438 or 800.838.3006

There are 19 fantastic acts from around the world in festival shows every night this
week. For a full schedule and line-up, go to: www.sketchfest.org. The Pork Filled
Players are front and center, appearing in the Monday teaser, performing a set on
Tuesday on the 22nd AND are a part of the comedy group Mash Up (where ALL the groups play mix and match members), late night night on the 26th!

Festival passes and shrinking ticket prices mean you can come to every show for next to nothing. It's the entertainment deal of the century!

More Sex More Seattle (17)

That's right people - it's never too early to get on out and mark your calendars for great sex - in Seattle:

SIS Productions is excited to present the premiere of Sex in Seattle 17: Coming Clean running September 18-October 17, 2009 playing Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and 10pm. All performances will be at Richard Hugo House located at 1634 11th Avenue (11th Avenue, off of Pine Street) on Seattle's Capitol Hill. Tickets for the 8pm shows are $14 for general admission, $10 for students/seniors/actors. Tickets for the 10pm shows are $10 for general admission, $6 for students/seniors/actors. Group rates are also available. Please call (206) 323-9443 or email tickets@sis-productions.org for reservations and information or see our website at www.sis-productions.org.

Advance tickets may be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets ~ call 1-800-838-3006 or go to their website at www.brownpapertickets.com.

Check more out here.

Pork Filled Players Celebrate Summer Spam*O*Rama

Got this sent out my way and wanted to make sure and post it on up.

Summer Time Spam*O*Rama

The Pork Filled Players, Seattle’s oldest sketch comedy group, greedily welcomes summer with a Spam*O*Rama so big, it spreads out over two months for improv, sketch comedy and cabaret entertainment!

On June 20, at 10:30 pm, PFP teams with The Collective, the UW’s student improv group and welcomes back chanteuse Jennifer O’Brien for late night song fun. Tickets are $6 and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/69240.

On July 10 and 11, the Players join with the International District’s Summer Festival with 8 pm shows, featuring the US debut of Asian Canadian sketch comedians, the Yangtzers! (People's CHOYS Award Winner at the SKETCHOFF!#$%!!) as well as the world debut of Seattle’s newest sketch group, Killer Donut, drag queen Anita Absolut, Tickets are $8 general, $7 student and are available at

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/69241.

All shows are at the Theatre Off Jackson (409 7th Ave S., in Seattle’s historic International District). For more information, check the Pork Filled website at www.porkfilled.com , or email oink@porkfilled.com.

Players in the Seattle Film Festival
PFPlayer Owen Yen is in the Film The Whole Truth, which is screening June 2 and 3.
Info at http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=29098&FID=123

And the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Im5NFSF0Lo

English Only: A Fight for Words in America

Really short notice but if your weekend is still free and you can make it out the play English Only: A Fight for Words in America will be playing down at The New LATC this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday:

This weekend, the comedic drama, ‘English Only: A Fight for Words in America,’ chronicles 1980s battle over language and being American. In Monterey Park, the definition of what’s considered American has not always been as easy as pie. The struggle to define American culture roiled the community in the 1980s when an influx of Chinese immigrants spurred a group of residents to band together to make English the official language of the city. They felt the Chinese immigrants, who opened up businesses and put up signs in their native languages, had changed Monterey Park into a different place. A different country, even.

This period in Monterey Park history is the subject of ‘English Only,’ a stage play by Annette Lee that will be running this weekend at downtown’s New LATC. This comedic dramatization of the events is told from the viewpoint of Scarlett Wong, a fictional 16-year old, Chinese-American girl. As a second generation immigrant, she starts out looking down on recent Chinese immigrants who do not speak English.

But she comes to examine her own prejudices as she figures out where she stands on the movement to make English the official language in her city Scarlett’s journey has her listening in on the high drama of the city council meetings and examining her own assumptions through fantasy meetings with iconic figures like Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong and potato chip queen and a product of Monterey Park, Laura Scudder.

Scarlett follows the antics of former Monterey Park council members like Barry Hatch and Patricia Reichenberger, as well as Frank Arcuri, a local leader of the Official English movement, and Taiwanese real estate developer Frederic Hsieh who envisioned Monterey Park as a Beverly Hills for Chinese immigrants.

The play draws on what Lee learned through book research about the actual events and is based off of transcripts of council meetings. She brings to life the unique local characters who drove the debate during that contentious and emotional period.

Through a partnership with the Chinese Historical Society, her play was excerpted at a special panel discussion that brought together veterans of the period to discuss their memories and to take stock on where the issues of language politics and Monterey Park politics are going. Sociologist John Horton who studied the city for several years moderated the Nov. 21 panel that featured members of the Coalition for Harmony in Monterey Park, or (CHAMP) which fought against the Official English movement.

The show is going to take place Dec. 5, Dec. 6 at 8pm and Dec. 7 at 3pm. The New LATCTheatre 3, located at 514 South Spring Street Los Angeles. Tickets range from $10-$12. Check out http://www.thenewlatc.com%20for/ for more as well as the full article at egpnews.com.