Velina Hasu Houston News

2020 Hollywood Fringe Scholarship Winner Tomoko Karina has just premiered her JAPANESE LOVE STORY – SHIZUKA at The Broadwater, with performances running through August 29, 2021. Had the chance to chat with Tomoko on her path to her JAPANESE LOVE STORY.

Designated one of 18 U.S.-based BIPOC-led arts organizations to be awarded an Arts Organization Grant by the Sundance Institute this past week, Hero Theatre has announced casting for a staged reading of Flex that will open its 10th anniversary season at Downtown L.A.'s Inner-City Arts on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.

Jeffrey Lo seems to be just about everywhere these days. As if his day job as TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s Director of Community Partnerships / Casting Director weren’t enough, he is also enjoying quite a successful career as a director and playwright. With the recent, tragic spike in prejudice and violence toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, Lo decided to take action by calling on his own Filipino American heritage. He spearheaded TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s efforts to stream a benefit reading of his play Writing Fragments Home to raise funds to support and uplift the AAPI community. The comedic play is an unapologetically Filipino American story about art, family, and culture. The top-flight cast includes stage veteran Emily Kuroda, perhaps best known for playing Mrs. Kim on TV’s Gilmore Girls. Co-presented by more than 40 leading theatres and arts organizations in the Bay Area and beyond, the reading will benefit Compassion in Oakland, a nonprofit formed in response to the surge of anti-Asian attacks and dedicated to promoting safety and community in Oakland Chinatown and beyond. Writing Fragments Home will be streamed live at 7pm PDT, Saturday, June 5, 2021 (with streaming on-demand access available June 6 to June 9). For more information, visit TheatreWorks.org.  BroadwayWorld with Lo last week about his impetus to write the play, how the benefit reading came together, his thoughts about Asian American representation in the theatre, and his experience working with some of his personal heroes. Lo is very easy to talk to – laid-back, thoughtful and self-effacing with an underlying gentle humor – all qualities which likely serve him well in his roles at TheatreWorks. At the same time, I got the impression he is someone who knows how to step up to the plate and get the job done.

Hero Theatre announces its return to live performances in 2021-22, celebrating its 10th anniversary with a lineup of two fully produced on-stage productions and the staged reading of an exciting new play.

The full length plays of UNDER CONSTRUCTION 1 are just that...still 'Under Construction.' This is the result of the playwrights one year commitment to the workshop.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, remain committed to their meaningful mission to produce and develop New Work for the Stage. This was the final step.  Develop plays from the bottom up!  With Carlyle King, Jessica Broutt and Carlos LaCamara, the dream was hatched.  

Hero Theatre announced today their roster of playwrights for HeroVotes!, a new theater piece that will be released virtually starting September 28, 2020.

During this week's Skylight Live time slot on Thursday, August 20th at 3pm (PDT), the company will stream the archival video of AMERICAN ADJACENT by Boni B. Alvarez.

Hero Theatre has announced the full company of Velina Hasu Houston's Tea, directed by Rebecca Wear. The play will run from April 10 through May 17, 2020 at the Atwater Village Theatre complex.

Hero Theatre announced its 2019/2020 season today. It includes the world premiere of Troy by Amina Henry, a revival of Velina Hasu Houston's classic Tea, and the return of Hero Theatre's The Super Sabado Show and Song Cycle Cabaret.

The Japanese American National Museum, CHOPSO, and ELEVEN ARTS Studios are proud to present Path of Dreams by Tamara Ruppart. In poetic Japan, Komachi strikes a tantalizing bargain with suitor Shosho. If he agrees to write poetry with her for 99 nights, she promises they will create a love more beautiful than poetry.

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is thrilled to announce the cast for SOUTHERNMOST by Mary Lyon Kamitaki, which includes Amielynn Abellera, Kimberly Alexander, Aaron Ikeda, Alberto Issac, and Sharon Omi

Skylight Theatre Company Presents the World Premiere of "AMERICA ADJACENT" by Boni B. Alvarez Opening February 16, 2019    

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, is thrilled to announce the encore presentation of the critically-acclaimed hit I GO SOMEWHERE ELSE by Inda Craig-Galvan, with the original cast that includes Kevin Cougal,Kita Grayson, Donna Simone Johnson, Inger Tudor, and Cheri Lynne VandenHeuvel.

Hero Theatre announced the full cast of their upcoming staged reading of Tea by Velina Hasu Houston which is part of their anticipated Future Classics Series.

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is thrilled to announce the cast for BABY EYES by Donald Jolly, which includes Jason Caceres, James Kaemmerling, Rudy Martinez, Ted Monte, Dennis Renard and Melvin Ward.

Hero Theatre announced that their 2018/2019 season will include a special pairing of Blade to the Heat by Oliver Mayer and a live performance of Sundance Film Festival Award-Winner, Girlfight.

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, is thrilled to announce the cast for I GO SOMEWHERE ELSE by Inda Craig-Galvan, which includes Kevin Cougal, Kita Grayson, Donna Simone Johnson, Inger Tudor, and Cheri Lynne VandenHeuvel.

Lovers of new theatre will gather this August for an advance look at tomorrow's hits at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's 2018 New Works Festival at Palo Alto's Lucie Stern Theatre. This unique festival offers audiences an extraordinary opportunity to experience new plays and musicals in their early stages of development, and hear about the creative process in a "Meet the Artists" panel discussion. With multiple performances of each work, playwrights and composers are able to rewrite scenes, add or delete songs, revise and refine, allowing audiences to return and watch the exciting evolution of brand new pieces of American theatre.