Chapter 7 Asian American Theatre

Beginnings of Asian American Theatre Asian American theatre began in the 1960s as American performers of Asian descent created companies in which they were the main performers and directors. By the 1970s play writing workshops associated with these and other American theatres were instituted to develop new scripts dealing with the life e periences of this group. Asian American theatre and the Immigrant Theatre Asian American theatre is not the same as the immigrant theatre of each Asian community! which illustrates aesthetic traditions! and narratives of the homeland. "thnically based theatre was created and in some instances continues in various Asian immigrant communities in the #nited $tates. %hinese opera and puppetry came to %alifornia and &awaii with immigrants working in plantation and railroad industries in the mid'1(00s. )arious regional %hinese opera forms have again received impetus with the influ of %hinese immigrant artists in the post * 19(0 liberali+ation of relations with %hina. ,o know more about post' liberali+ation %hinese economy! visithttp-..en.wikipedia.org.wiki.%hi nese/economic/reform

Kabuki dance was widespread in the 0apanese communities of &awaii and the 1est %oast in the early part of the twentieth century and vestiges remain in dance schools which are often loosely associated with cultural programmers2 at 0apanese Buddhist temples in the #nited $tates. 3ndian 4ance theatre! especially Bharata 5atyam! has been common in 3ndian dance performances! from traditional stories like the 6amayana to the more acculturated offerings! like a Bharata 5atyam Nutcracker, abound. But rather than

focusing on new work for the new life! these theatres are largely attempts to continue Asian sources and introduce the ne t generation to the ideas of the home country. 1hile this mode of performance generally appeals to the first generation of immigrants and may find support among the second generation! it rarely has appeal to the third generation. Kabuki and Noh 7or more on kabuki and noh! visithttp-..plays.about.co m.b.800(.09.19.kabu ki'and'noh' theater.htm

:n the other hand! Asian American theatre is about the e perience of living as Americans. 1hile some first generation artists ;e.g. ,isa %hang of the <an Asian 6epertory in 5ew =ork! or =uriko 4oi of ,heater of =ugen in $an 7rancisco> have become involved in this movement! it is more routinely the preserve of artistes who have been born and educated in America.

?#3@ 3 Answer the following in briefi. 1hat is kabukiA ii. Bention some well'known practitioners of noh theatre.

Assignment 1ho are the Asian'AmericansA 3n about C00 words e plain the cultural activities of this particular group in America.

Activity 4raw an outline of a scene from a noh play. =ou can consult books.web sources of your choice.

Towards a Mu ticu tura Theatre ,he theatrical genres pertain to American styles! from realism to Duerilla ,heatre to postmodernism! rather than to Asian artistic genres. ,he widespread emergence of Asian American voices came only with the socio'political transformations of the later era. African American and %hicano theatres! which developed along with the civil rights movement in the late 19C0s and early 1960s! created a model of identity'based theatre. 7ilipino! %hinese! 0apanese! )ietnamese! and %ambodian might have little in common in an Asian framework! where religion! history! politics and ethnic difference often put one group in opposition to the ne tE Americans of these different groups! however! saw their past conflicts as history and felt that their treatment in America had created common ground among them. ,heir physical features marked them out from the %aucasian maFority and! as affirmative action created an identity from the 1970s on as GAsian Amercian.2 Artists found a common them! namely! the reality of being a minority member of Asian descent. %ompanies of Asian American performers were established in maFor cities between the 1960s and the 19(0s. "ast 1est <layers in Hos Angeles was established in 196C. 3n addition to producing classics of the American canon with all'Asian casts! the company sponsored play competitions that promoted the generation of new scripts. 7rom the late 1960s the group fostered playwrights like 1akako =amauchi! whose And the Soul Shall Dance was widely produced in the min'1970s. ,his play portrayed the lonely lives of 0apanese American women in the 3mperial )alley agricultural community in %alifornia in the early part of the century. By the early 1970s more companies had been founded and were consciously seeking scripts that represented the Asian American e perience. 3n 5ew =ork! %hina'born ,isa %hang established the <an Asian 6epertory ,heater! which has supported the work of many of the "ast %oast Asian American actors! directors and writers. 3n &onolulu the Iumu Iahua players at the #niversity of &awaii nurtured new work by Asian and <acific islanders. 3n $eattle the Asian " clusion Act ;now the 5orthwest Asian American ,heater %ompany> developed with 0udy 5ihei as founding artistic director. ,he Asian American ,heater %ompany in $an 7rancisco! with actors like

Hane 5ishikawa! created spaces for the work of authors such as Denny Him and <hilip Ian Dotanda. Denny Him2s Paper Angels ;19(0> deals with the e perience of %hinese immigrants in the Angel 3sland immigration detention #nited $tates. ,he Angel 3sland ,heater %ompany and Binna'$ama'5o in %hicago are other groups that have promotedAsian American ,alent. $ince the 1970s a number of significant writers have been produced by these companies or! increasingly in the 19(0s! by maFor American repertory companies . 7rank %hin2s Chickencoop Chinaman was widely produced in the early 1970s! presenting a strong male voice in contestation of the emasculated stereotype of the Asian American male portrayed in "uro'American work. %hin laid the groundwork for the political and social protest which was to be a basic theme of the Asian American writers. &e was soon to take issue with maFor author Ba ine &ong Iingston as she! along with other female authors! represented the se ism of %hinese American life in novels like Iingston2s 1oman 1arrior ;translated to the stage in the 1990s>. 1hile Asian American women have often sought to deconstruct the patriarchy that underlies the Asian American or Asian 7emale e perience! %hin has accused this group of contributing to the negative stereotype that the Asian American male must confront. !rank Chin"s Aiiieeeee# ;197J> %hin2s anthology of essays critici+ed the emasculation of the %hinese.Asian men in the wittings of the white peopleE and argued that KAuthenticL Asian Ame writing must look back to these heroic tales and to early immigrant narratives.

,he gender debate has continued as a subtheme of writing in the Asian American community to the present day. 4avid &wang2s 7:B ;i.e. Gfresh off the boar2> was produced at the <ublic ,heater in 5ew =ork in 19(0 and dealt with the self'hate with which the assimilationist Asian American is taught to look at Asian culture. ,hree %haracters meet in a restaurant- Drace! who immigrated from ,aiwan as a childE $teve! a fresh'off'the'boat &ong Iong manE and 4ale! a second generation %hinese America male. Drace is altered to her woman warrior potential through her Asian American studies himself strong like the %hinese god of war. :nly 4ale seems hopelessly alienated from his %hinese identity. &wang2s M. Butterfl ;19((> uses the historical incident of a 7rench diplomat2s long'term relationship with a <eking opera star to take the

emasculation of the Asian male by the 1estern $tereotype to its peak. ,he story of how a female impersonator could keep his "uropean lover oblivious to the fact of the impersonator2s masculinity through out a lifelong affair highlights the blindness of the 1esterner to the reality of the Asian or Asian American Gother2. Bore recently! &wang2s !olden Child ;1996> confronts the problem of modernity for %hinese through the story of a %hinese girl whose father orders her feet unbound so she can live a modern life. <hilip Ian Dotanda2s "ankee Da#g "ou Die ;19((> takes the stereotypes of Asians portrayed in American actor who has made a career representing 0apanese stereotypes in $econd 1orld 1ar films in confronted by a supposedly politically aware young Asian American performer of the new generation. 4avid &wang looks beyond ethnicity to Muestion that the "uro'American norm is indeed the norm. &e argues that authors! actors and audiences should not be constrained by ethnic identity and that the work of such artists should not be labeled Asian American theatre! but be recogni+ed as American theatre. Also of importance in the 1990s is the emergence of Asian'American solo performers! Hane 5ishikawa2s $%m on a Mission from Buddha takes a comic look at growing up Asian American. Brenda 1ong Aoki is a storyteller whose &ncle !un'aro%s !irlfriend ;199(> looks at the story of her great*uncle! the first 0apanese to marry a white American in %alifornia. Dovernment cutbacks for the arts in the 1990s led some companies! like the Asian American ,heater in $an 7rancisco! to collaborative efforts with 0apanese companies to fund new work. ,he large influ es of Asians into the #nited $tates in the last Muarter of the twentieth century brought with them some increase in immigrant theatre! but for most Asian American artists the Muest for representation by! for and about Asian Americans remains the core.

?#3@ 33 1. Batch the following a Hane 5ishikawa b 1akako =amauchi i ii &ncle !un'aro%s !irlfriend $%m on a Mission from Buddha

c Brenda 1ong Aoki

iii And the Soul Shall Dance

8. 4iscuss the importance of the works of 7rank %hin and Ba ine &ong Iingston towards developing a sense of Asian'American identity. Assignment 1ho is 4avid &wangA 1hat is his position in the Asian *American ,heatreA Activity Bake a list of maFor Asian'American ,heatre companies.

$uggested readings
Iim Hee! "sther. A &istory of Asian American ,heatre. %ambridge- %ambridge #niversity <ress! 8006.

$uggested inks
http-..en.wikipedia.org.wiki.Asian'American/theatre http-..www.aatrevue.com.AA,6'1.html Answer key a'iiE b'iii E c' i