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Asian American Theatre
Take a look at how Asian American Theatre has evolved over time and how the United States still needs to represent Asian American culture. -
Asian Internment Camps
In 1941, The United States refused to supply Japan with their needed resources, oil. So, Japan decided to retaliate and plan the tragedy of Pearl Harbor. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, The United States came up with a “solution” to all of the Asian Americans in the U.S.. President Roosevelt decided to send all Asian Americans to internment camps (Imperial War). Many Asian Americans were treated horribly and were forcibly removed from their homes (Onion et al). -
East West Players
The East West Players is an Asian American Theatre established in 1965. The theatre was established by nine artists that were trying to reach out from the stereotypical norms; dutiful houseboy, inscrutable detective, wise Confucian patriarch, treacherous dragon lady, or submissive (Brockett 244). The mission of East West Players is to, "inspire and advocate for a world free of racism and discrimination through transformative artistic works." (East West Players). -
Immigration Act of 1965
In the mid-nineteenth century many Chinese workers were imported to America to help build the railroads (Brockett 244). This is what caused an influx of Asians to immigrate to America. In 1965, the Immigration Act was passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson. The Immigration Act of 1965 states that the goal was to, “reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the United States.” By 1990, Asian American immigrants had reached up to 31% in the United States (Onion et al). -
Northwest Asian American Theatre Company
The Northwest Asian American Theatre Company (NWAAT) was founded in Seattle in 1973 (Brockett 244). The NWAAT was originally created by a group of students attending the University of Washington. The student's teacher wanted his students to be able to explore their heritage and perform plays written by other Asian Americans. However, the NWAAT has had a couple of name changes. The very first name was called the Theatrical Ensemble of Asians and then was later changed to the Asian Exclusion Act. -
Asian American Theatre Workshop
The Asian American Theatre Workshop (AATC) was established in 1973 in San Francisco (Brockett 244). The AATC is a place where writers, actors, and directors can explore ideas. In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake hit the ATTC hard. This caused a financial burden and the AATC moved its administrative offices to Japantown. The AATC then produced plays through other venues around town. The AATC also has a training program for young actors. The program consists of two semesters a year (Easter). -
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
The Pan Asian Repertory Theatre was founded in New York in 1977 (Brockett 244). According to the Pan Asian website, the theatre was established by Tisa Chang with the help of late Ellen Stewart. The Pan Asian Repertory Theatre's mission is to allow Asian Americans to work under the highest standards and to break all of the stereotypes (Pan Asian Repertory). David Henry Hwang, who I will discuss later, is an alumni from the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. -
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang is an Asian American known for his play F.O.B., Fresh off the boat. F.O.B explores the struggles between Asian Americans and newly arrived immigrants. Hwang also has a very popular play called M. Butterfly. M. Butterfly focuses on race, gender, and politics. M. Butterfly won a Tony award, and made Hwang the first Asian American playwright to win a Tony award (Brockett 244). Hwang is now a professor at Columbia University in New York City. -
A Negative Impact: "Yellowface"
Yellowface is very similar to blackface, in which white people darken the skin on their face to typecast and mock Asian Americans. In 1989, a musical named Miss Saigon premiered. An actor by the name of Jonathan Pryce (a white British man) played the main character, the Engineer. Pryce wore prosthetics to alter the shape of his eyes and makeup to change the color of his skin. Many people were not fond of this idea and people today still think that this production was highly offensive (Paulson). -
Representing Asian American's in Film
In 1998, Disney released the movie Mulan. Mulan is about a young Asian woman who joins the military acting as her father. When the movie was released, some Asian Americans were very excited, while others were a bit nervous. People believed if the movie did not do well, this would be the last time that Asian Americans would be represented on film. Mulan ended up drawing $304 million into the box office. While this is great, Asian Americans still need more representation in theatre/film (Chen). -
Chay Yew
Chay Yew was born in Singapore and spent ten years of his life of his life directing at The Asian American Theatre Workshop (Brockett 246). Yew has had his plays produced in many other countries such as United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Singapore. One of Yew's plays, Question 27, Question 28, focuses on a young Japanese American women that had been detained in an internment camp in the United States. Yew now resides at as an Artistic Director of Chicago's Victory Gardens Theatre (Brockett 257).
