National Asian American Theatre Fest Announces '07 Line-Up

New York City is hosting the first-ever National Asian American Theater Festival (NAATF) from June 11-24, 2007, featuring more than 25 Asian American performing arts companies and solo artists convening for two weeks of performances at venues throughout the city. Tickets to all events are $18-$20; and available by calling Theatermania.com at 212-352-3101 or (toll free) 866-811-4111; or online at www.NAATF.org.

According to press materials, "The National Asian American Theater Festival was born out of a Theatre Communications Group (TCG) roundtable for theaters of color, after which, six of the top Asian American theater groups (Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, East West Players, Ma-Yi Theater, the National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO), Second Generation, and Mu Performing Arts) decided to meet in June 2004 to discuss the state of Asian American Theater."

The full schedule of NAATF is as follows, according to press notes:

ACCENT, Makoto Hirano & Roko Kawai (Philadelphia, PA), "a new dance-theatre collaboration between Japanese-American performance artists Makoto Hirano and Roko Kawai. Makoto and Roko share a "linguistic phenomenon" -- that while English is the language that they are most comfortable speaking, their Japanese holds no traceable accent or hint that they may not be a native to Japan. Through movement, dialogue, and humor, they explore the voice and language(s) of the body to ask, "how does my accent look?" This show is being presented on a shared bill with STRANGE RAIN by Marian Yalini Thambynayagam.
Dates: June 22 at 9:3; June 23 at 1:00 and 7:00; and June 24 at 4:30. Venue: Abingdon Theater

AND, Marcus Young (Minneapolis, MN), "conceptual artist Marcus Young makes theater unfamiliar by leading the audience on a quiet yet radical inquiry into the nature of performance. Like Zen text or the Book of Dao, AND is poetic, down-to-earth, elusive, and profound."
Dates: June 21 and 23 at 7:00; June 24 at 3:00 and 7:00. Venue: The Flea Theater

BIG HEAD: JAPANESE INCARCERATION DURING WWII AND THOSE PERCEIVED AS "THE ENEMY," POST 9/11, Denise Uyehara (Tucson, AZ), "revisits the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War
II and considers current-day treatment of those perceived as "the enemy now" -- including Muslim Americans, Arab Americans, and South Asian Americans. Clay animation, video montage, text and movement evoke the winding path of collective memory and provide hope for the future."
Dates: June 12, 13 and 14 at 9:30. Venue: Theatre Row, The Kirk Theatre

CARRY THE TIGER TO THE MOUNTAIN, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (New York, NY), " In 1982, Vincent Chin was beaten to death outside a Detroit bar by two unemployed auto workers. The men were fined $3,780. An American Story – a quest for justice."
Dates: June 20, 21, 22, 23 at 7:30; and June 20 and 22 at 2:00. Venue: West End Theatre

THE CASTE & THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT, Stir-Friday Night! (Chicago, IL), "delivers a turbo boost of physical comedy and a cruise control view of political and social satire. SFN! cleverly weaves through musical numbers, monologues, choreographed bits, and satirical sketches at a lightning quick pace."
Dates: June 12, 13, 14 and 15 at 9:30 pm. Venue: Abingdon Theater; and June 17 (time tbd) at Queens Theatre in the Park

COOKING CON KARIMI CON CASTRO, kaotic good productions (Newark, CA), "Using the recipes as points of departure to talk about cultural collisions and complex political events occurring around the world, COOKING CON KARIMI (CON CASTRO) is a humorous, audience interactive cooking show that challenges conventional notions of how we approach food, culture, and politics…and the audience gets to eat free food that's prepared live by chefs Mero Cocinero Karimi and Comrade Cocinero Castro."
Dates: June 19, 21 at 8:00 and June 20 at 2:00 and 8:00, Venue: Abingdon Theatre

THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, Asian Arts Initiative (Philadelphia, PA),
"Part cabaret, part objet d'art, part truth or dare. In a night of all new 5-minute-or-shorter "speed plays" asking and addressing the question of what Asian America wants, F. Omar Telan and a rotating cast take you on a roller coaster ride of comedy, drama, serious reflection, and pure theatrical entertainment."
Dates: June 15 at 10:00; June 17 at 5:30; June 21 at 10:0; and June 23 at 10:00. Venue: LaMaMa ETC

FALSETTOLAND, NAATCO (New York, NY), "In 1998, Peter Marks wrote in the New York Times: "[NAATCO] has taken FALSETTOLAND, William Finn's lyrical paean to Jewish angst, with its aggressively Jewish New York sensibility and multiple references to gefilte fish, and recast it with Asian-American actors. Does the gambit work? Let's put it this way: You should be so talented." NAATCO presents this remount with Alan Muraoka, who directed in 1998, on board once again. Also from that company are Christine Toy Johnson and Jason Ma. Also featuring: Ben Wu, MaryAnn Hu, and Francis Jue."
Festival Dates: June 14 - 24. Times and venue TBD.

THE FEMALE HEART, Diverse City (New York, NY), "A story of hope and dreams deferred and the redeeming power of unconditional love."
Dates: June 16 at 8:00; June 17 at 2:00 and 7:00; and June 18 at 8:00. Venue: Theatre Row, The Clurman

FROM THE ASHES, Pangea World Theater (Minneapolis, MN), "explores the reality of what it means to be searching
for home, for something to believe in, and for causes to live for. Using the immediacy of street theater as the idiom, it explores the
global question of migration and movement in a multi-lingual, physically charged performance with live music."
Dates: June 12, 13, 14 and 15 at 7:00. Venue: Abingdon Theater

FROM THE HEART: A CELEBRATION OF ASIAN & ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN, Jude Narita (Marina del Rey, CA), "presents a celebration of Asian and Asian American women-- breaking stereotypes, creating true identity, surviving internment, cherishing family, and holding onto their dreams for the future. Memories and dreams mix with present. Embracing one's own heritage is like coming home. And ultimately, the women illuminate the universal similarities of us all. Presented on a shared bill with ON THIS ISLAND."
Dates: June 19, 20 and 21 at 7:00. Venue: Theatre Row, The Clurman Theatre; and June 17 (time tbd) at Queens Theatre in the Park

GUNS & TAMPONS: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN I KNOW, Hanalei Ramos (Jersey City, NJ), "challenges our limited definition of 'violence against women.' Ultimately, the patchwork testimony of several individuals becomes the story of all women, and a compelling glimpse into a world of survival and strength. This show will be presented on a shared bill with LIVING MEMOREY/LIVING ABSENCE by Anida Yoeu."
Dates: June 16 at 8:00; and June 17 at 3:00 and 8:00. Venue: Abingdon Theatre

HAPPY VALLEY, Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis, MN), "playwright Aurorae Khoo sets the play amid the tremendous turmoil of 1997 as Hong Kong returns from British rule to Mainland Chinese control. Through the charming prism of a young girl, Tuppy and her uncle, Khoo explores racism between Asian ethnic groups, the struggles of adolescence, and the life-changing nature of emigration."
Dates: June 22 at 8:00; June 23 at 3:00 and 8:00; and June 24 at 5:00. Venue: Theatre Row, The Clurman Theatre

THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA, NAATCO (New York, NY), "NAATCO remounts its highly acclaimed 2000 production of Federico García Lorca's play about a repressive and tyrannical mother, which was finished just months before his assassination. THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA was selected by the Village Voice as one of the best shows of the 2000 season."
Festival Dates: June 12 - 24(times tbd). Nagelberg Theater at the Baruch Performing Arts Center

I LAND, Ma-Yi Theater Company (New York, NY), "Keo Woolford's new play weaves together hula, hip-hop, traditional Hawaiian story talk, and spoken word in a semi-autobiographical journey that navigates the many worlds where hula lives: from backyard parties to Hollywood kitsch to the realm of the sacred. Produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company, I LAND is co-commissioned in cooperation with
Asia Society and Diverse Work Space."
Festival Dates: June 20, 21, 22, and 23 at 8:00; June 24 at 3:00. Venue: Culture Project. (Tickets to this Off-Broadway production are $25-38).

KOREAN BADASS, Asian American Theater Company (San Francisco, CA), "Everybody has a dream… His is to be the first Asian Steve McQueen. KOREAN BADASS is a hellbent-for-leather, balls-to-the-wall solo performance by Stevie Lee Saxon and directed by Jeannie Barroga."
Dates: June 14, 16, 22 and 24 at 10:00. Venue: LaMaMa ETC

LEE/GENDARY, Soomi Kim (New York, NY), "LEE/GENDARY is the deconstruction of an icon; a hallucinatory walk through the landscape of Bruce Lee's mind the moment before he dies. This unique gender-bending performance reflects Lee's drive to defy definition, by fluidly integrating text, live original music, video, and an explosive hybrid of martial arts, dance, and acrobatics."
Dates: June 19, 20, 21 at 9:30. Venue: Theatre Row, The Clurman Theatre; and June 17 (time tbd) at Queens Theatre in the Park

LIVING DEAD IN DENMARK, Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company (Brooklyn, NY), "is an action-adventure/horror sequel to William Shakespeare's Hamlet. All the world's a stage…and this one's covered in blood and zombies!"
Dates: June 12, 13, 14, 15 at 8:00. Venue: Theatre Row, The Clurman Theatre

LIVING MEMORY/LIVING ABSENCE, Anida Yoeu Ali (Chicago, IL), "is an exploration of memory and exile, and the pain of these experiences within the bodies of genocide survivors. In this interdisciplinary piece Anida Yoeu Ali performs poetry with movement inspired by Butoh set against a video and sound backdrop of her memories in Cambodia. This show is being presented on a shared bill with GUNS & TAMPONS by Hanalei Ramos."
Dates: June 16 at 8:00 and June 17 at 3:00 and 8:00. Venue: Abingdon Theater

ON THE ISLAND, Jump Start Performance Company (San Antonio, TX), "is a chilling, enigmatic tale of imprisonment without trial, framed and punctuated with aerial dance. This show is being presented on a shared bill with FROM THE HEART by Jude Narita."
Dates: June 19, 20 and 21 at 7:00. Venue: Theatre Row, The Clurman Theatre

PARANG SABIL, New World Theater (Amherst, MA), "A multimedia performance about the U.S. military occupation of Mindanao in the Philippines, presented through the staging of a traditional epic poem and the writings of Mark Twain. Kinding Sindaw is a dance-theatre troupe grounded in the indigenous forms of the southernmost island of the Philippines, Mindanao."
Dates: June 19, 20 and 21 at 7:00; and June 20 at 1:30. Venue: Theatre Row, The Kirk

RAMBLE-ATIONS: A ONE D'LO SHOW, D'Lo (Santa Monica, CA), "Gay, Hindu, Hip Hop-These 3 things make me but don't allow for one another. This is my attempt at fusing these elements of my being (and my imaginary friends) onto the stage."
Dates: June 18, 19, 20, 22 at 7:00; and June 23 at 3:00. Venue: The Flea Theatre

REFUGEE NATION, TeAda Productions (Santa Monica, CA), "gripping first-hand accounts from Laotian refugees trying to create a future while their descendants struggle to understand their past. Through theatre, dance and poetry, these artists have created an interdisciplinary theatrical experience that illuminates the plight of displaced peoples and cultures worldwide."
Dates: June 22 at 7:00; June 23 at 3:30 and 9:30; and June 24 at 2:00. Venue: The Abingdon Theatre

REPLACED RITUALS - EXCERPT REMEMBERED RHYTHMS, Courtyard Dancers (Wynnewood, PA), "is part of the REPLACED RITUALS project, a contemporary dance theater piece that gives voice to migratory rituals of the South Asian Diaspora. This work integrates classical dance styles of India with pedestrian movements, tabla, and drum kit to explore a new expression of displacement. This semi-autobiographical piece addresses the complex relationship of an immigrant's experience to her past that is embedded in bodily memories. This show will be presented on a shared bill with BIG HEAD by Denise Uyehara."
Dates: June 12, 13, 14 at 9:30 pm. Venue: Theater Row, The Kirk Theater

THE ROMANCE OF MAGNO RUBIO, Ma-Yi Theater Company (New York, NY), "is the OBIE Award-winning story of heartache and dreams. Set in the central valleys of California in the 1930's, the play tells the tale of Magno, a short Filipino migrant worker who longs for love. Cast includes JoJo Gonzales and Paolo Montalban (who starred as Prince Charming in "Cinderella" with Brandy
and Whitney Houston)."
Festival Dates: June 11-17; Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm. Venue: Culture Project. (Tickets to this Off Broadway production are $25-$50).

THE SPOKEN WORLD, Youth Speaks, Inc. (San Francisco, CA), "is a journey into memory and the grotesque body as experience in the lives of five Bay Area 20-something year old."
Dates: June 19 and 21 at 9:30, June 20 at 4:00 and 9:30. Venue: Theatre Row, The Kirk Theatre

STRANGE RAIN, Marian Yalini Thambynayagam (Brooklyn, NY), "blends spoken word, theater, movement, song, and video in a haunting journey that unearths hidden wounds within Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora. This show is being presented on a shared bill with ACCENT by Makoto Hirano and Roko Kawai"
Dates: June 22 at 9:30; June 23 at 1:00 and 7:00; and June 24 at 4:30. Venue: Abingdon Theatre

TEA
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (New York, NY), "Four women gather to remember a friend, Himiko, after she kills her abusive American husband and herself. Her friends, also war brides, meet at her house to drink tea, comb through Himiko's life and consider their own.
Festival Dates: June 11- 17, 2007; Wednesdays-Saturdays at 8:00; Sundays at 3:00. Venue: West End Theatre. (Tickets to this Off-Broadway production are $20-40).

TELEMONGOL, 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors in collaboration with Lodestone Theatre Ensemble, Cold Tofu & OPM (Glendale, CA), "tells the story of AHOLE-TV (Asia Home of Language Entertainment), a fictional Asian American cable network with a mission to create programming by and for the Asian Pacific American community."
Dates: June 22 at 7:00, June 23 at 4:00 and 9:00 and June 24 at 4:00. Venue: Theatre Row, The Kirk Theatre

THREE FILIPINO TENORS, East West Players (Los Angeles, CA), "Coming from different yet similar musical backgrounds, Antoine
Reynaldo Diel, Randy Guiya, Lito Villareal, known as the THREE FILIPINO TENORS blend their voices and talents to create an autobiographical musical program full of variety, beauty and heart.
Dates: June 12, 13, 14, 15 at 7:00. Venue:  Theatre Row, The Kirk Theatre *Special Encore Performance: June 17, 3:00 at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center

U-HAULS, BRIDESMAIDS & BACKWARDS MOUNTAIN, Regie Cabico, Aileen Cho (New York, NY), "Two downtown spoken words veterans present a new triptych."
Dates: June 12, 13, 19, 20 at 8:00. Venue: LaMaMa ETC

UNDESIRABLE ELEMENTS, Ping Chong & Company (New York, NY), "is a powerful exploration of the Asian-American experience in New York through an interview-based theater work. A chamber piece of storytelling, the performance features real people telling their personal experiences of creating cultural identity out of a rich and complex heritage."
Dates: June 14, 8:00. Venue: Pregones; and June 15 at 8:00 at Asia Society

WONG FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
Kristina Wong (Los Angeles, CA), "Incisive writer and performer Kristina Wong mixes sharp humor and shaky psychology in WONG FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEXT, an absolutely-not autobiographical, serio-comic quest for a cheap fix to eradicate depression, anxiety and all-out neuroses."
Dates: June 16 at 8:00, June 17 at 3:00 and 7:00; and June 18 at 7:00. Venue: Theatre Row, The Kirk Theatre

Featured venues are as follows:

Abingdon Theatre: 312 West 36th Street
Asia Society: 725 Park Avenue
Culture Project: 55 Mercer Street
The Flea Theater: 41 White Street
La MaMa ETC: 74 East 4th Street
Nagelberg Theater/Baruch PAC: 55 Lexington Avenue
The Public Theater: 425 Lafayette Street
Theatre Row's Kirk and Clurman Theatres: 410 West 42nd Street
West End Theater: 263 West 86th Street
Queens Theatre in the Park: Flushing Meadows /Corona Park in Queens
Pregones Theater: 571-575 Walton Avenue in the Bronx
Snug Harbor Cultural Center: 100 Richmond Terrace (at Snug Harbor
Road) on Staten Island

For additional information and updates, visit www.NAATF.org.