New play in Chicago explores Filipino American family resilience

By WALTER ANG
April 26, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

CHICAGO — Filipino American community arts organization Circa Pintig is staging a story about Filipino American resilience. 

Heather Jencks (left) and Ginger Leopoldo
rehearsing for "Daryo's All American Diner."

In "Daryo's All American Diner" by Conrad Panganiban, a Fil-Am family struggles to keep a family business open at the height of the pandemic. They survive a traumatic act of violence that leads to an act of grace.

Set in the fictional town of Lakeside, Illinois, 40 year old May is faced with the diner's mounting expenses and the possibility of having to sell it. Her mother, April, and her African American surrogate aunt, Alberta, suffer racial hatred. How will they find a way to keep the business afloat while honoring the legacy the diner's founder?

The play is presented as part of the group's 32nd theater season and is directed by Luis Pascasio.

Cast includes Heather Jencks, Ginger Leopoldo, RJ Silva, Cary Shoda, Amanda Payne and KC Khan with music and sound design by Demetrio Maguigad and set design by Larry Leopoldo.

Inspired

When Panganiban was approached by Circa Pintig to write a play that touched on anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) violence in America, he felt "it was a daunting task, but a welcome challenge."

"I've been so fortunate to have written quite a few plays that revolve around social justice," he says, referring to his plays "Esperanza Means Hope," about domestic violence in the AAPI community and "Welga," about Filipino American contributions to historical labor rights issues.

He wanted to use theater to unite communities and was inspired by a real experience. "There's a cafe I frequent in Alameda, California, run by an Asian American family that serves classic `American' diner food.

"The clientele is very diverse. Being in a small community, it was so encouraging to see how the customers interacted with the staff. That seed of imagining how these diners would react if one of the staff would be attacked and how a community can be united because of that act inspired the story of the play."

Hope

Panganibans' previous collaborations with Circa Pintig include "The Perfect American" in 2018, which was presented as part of the 100 Acts of Resistance Play Festival. "Prior to that, they produced an evening of my short plays in 2014."

"It's an honor to have already established a relationship with them where they trust me and my writing style of blending social justice, community building, humor, and family dynamics to take on this topic."

It is important to Panganiban that audiences carry hopeful resolutions out of the theater and into their communities to share with friends and family. "Especially when it feels like much of the country, communities and even families are divided on so many subjects," he says.

"As a playwright, it's always a dream to be able to put my words into the bodies of amazing artists to show how hope for a better tomorrow can keep a person going, no matter how bleak things get."

"I'd love for audiences to remember that each person has a voice. That if a person sees something wrong done, that they are capable of reaching out for help."

"Daryo's All American Diner" is staged in partnership with the Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble and is double billed with the ensemble's production of "The Wasteland."

Runs May 5-20. Auditorium of Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1650 W. Foster in Chicago. Visit circapintig.org.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/127546/new-play-in-chicago-explores-fil-am-family-resilience

Filipino American choreographs Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale musical

By WALTER ANG
April 21, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

SAN JOSE, California — Filipino American Cat Delos Santos Reyes is the choreographer for Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre's musical "The Song of the Nightingale."

Filipino American Cat Delos Santos Reyes is choreographing
Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre's musical "The Song of the Nightingale."

When ambitious kitchen-maid Mei Lin discovers that the Emperor of China is searching for the Nightingale, whose song brings hope to the people of the land, she offers to help find and capture the bird in exchange for a lofty promotion.

This transaction has tragic consequences, however, as Mei Lin soon learns that the Emperor is a foolish ruler who cannot see beyond the bird's plain outer appearance. Based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, this magical, musical romp reminds audiences that true beauty and worth are always found within.

Filipino Americans involved in the production include director Jepoy Ramos and actors Ann Warque (Mei Lin) and Simon Santos (Mei Lin's romantic partner, Xiao).

Collaboration

"It's all about collaboration with Cat," says Ramos. "I told her my vision for the production and using that information, she created all the choreography based on her interpretation. I definitely trusted her and listened to her input and ideas."

Ramos's credits include "No Goodbyes" and "Cristiano's Kween" for Bindlestiff Studio, "Deep in the Heart of Texas," and "Rent the Musical," among others. "I will be producing `Seussical' with Woodside Musical Theatre in the late summer and I'm directing `Spring Awakening' for Pacifica Spindrift Players in the winter," he says.

"In musicals, choreography is so important as it allows the story to flow through the artists' movements and dance. It elevates the story telling and allows the artist to express their emotions that can't be contained with the delivery of dialogue or songs.

"It's been a great experience working with Cat. She is truly a talented artist. She is very good at teaching choreography and is very patient with the actors. I will definitely want to work with her again in the future!"

Proud

This is not Reyes' first production with Tri-Valley. She has co-choreographed "Jesus Christ Superstar," "The Little Mermaid" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Filipino American actors Simon Santos (left) who plays Xiao and Ann Warque who plays Mei Lin rehearsing for "The Song of the Nightingale."

As a performer, her credits include "In the Heights," "West Side Story," "Tarzan" and "Grease."

A California native, Reyes began her dance training in high school. "For most of my life, until high school, I played basketball. Eventually, I decided I didn't want to continue it but still needed a form of movement, so I tried out dance and never went back," she says.

She currently teaches at different studios in the Bay Area in the styles of hip hop, jazz and contemporary. She's also a teaching artist, choreographer, and performer with Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theater.

She's also choreographed national award-winning dances for small groups and solos. Her passions are her students and teaching them in hopes that they find the same love in the arts as she does.

"What I hope to achieve for the choreography in this show is that it's fun and that you feel like you're having a good time," she says. "I also want to make sure I tell a story and display who the characters are as a person through every movement. I hope the audience takes away the amazing aspect that it's an all Asian American Pacific Islander cast and staff in this show. I'm so proud of that!"

Visit Trivalleyrep.org. 

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https://usa.inquirer.net/127311/fil-am-choreographs-hans-christian-andersen-fairy-tale-musical

Two Filipino Americans portray key ‘Lady’ roles in ‘The King and I’

By WALTER ANG
April 19, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

LOS ANGELES — Filipino American actors Joan Almedilla and Paulina Yeung star in vital roles in La Mirada Theatre's upcoming production of the beloved musical "The King and I."

Paulina Yeung (left) and Joan Almedilla

Almedilla will play Lady Thiang, the king's chief wife, and Yeung will play Tuptim, the young romantic lead. Both actors are revisiting roles that they've portrayed in previous productions of this work with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein.

Based on the experiences of Anna Leonowens and set in the late 1860s, the musical is about how she is hired by the King of Siam (now Thailand) to be an English tutor for his children.

Revisit

This is the fourth time that Yeung is portraying Tuptim. "The most recent time was at Drury Lane Theatre in London last year. And prior to that were the US and UK tours," she says.

As for Almedilla, whose credits include St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre and the first US tour, she says she is very excited to revisit Lady Thiang. "I still get nervous. The anticipation is nerve wracking!" she says. "The good news is it usually leans toward excitement rather than fear.

"I fear staleness. I fear acting on autopilot, that I'm just a voice, not connected to my whole being and my intentions. To overcome my fears, I practice the art of gratitude and surrender. Gratitude from  getting ready for rehearsal to the moment I enter the stage door until after every show.

"Surrendering happens in every scene. To me it's like giving birth. You can prepare all the things you need but when the baby comes, you just surrender. Some find joy, some feel complete exhaustion but you surrender. And I don't mean giving up. In acting, you surrender to your imagination. When you surrender you leave room for listening and responding."

New approach

Both women explain that working with new collaborators afford different ways of approaching the material and their characters.

"Working with a new creative team and cast makes it fresh," says Yeung. "There's always new things about the character that I discover each time I revisit the role, little details and nuances."

Almedilla says, "Working with a new director is very important to me. I have heard amazing things about our director Glenn Casale, all of which are true. The first thing he said to me was to focus on finding new things about my character rather than finding new ways of doing things. When you search deeper about a character, the doing will come naturally.

"Glenn is intelligent and warm. He shares his vision and leaves room for the actors to find what not only feels right but what fulfills the character's goals. And that involves trying different things. He moves at a fast pace and yet every moment is treated with respect and doesn't feel at all rushed."

Fond memories

Both have fond memories and funny stories of past performances.

Yeung shares, "I've choked while narrating the ballet and have had my costume get caught on the hanging flower vines on stage. Live theater is exciting because you never know what to expect each night!"

Almedilla says that when she was part of the first national tour, it was "extra special because I got to share the stage with my son, CJ Uy. He played one of the royal children. We toured the US and Canada for almost two years together. I will never forget the amazing memories and friendships we made!"

If they could play any male role in the musical, Yeung chooses Lun Tha, Tuptim's romantic partner. Almedilla says, "If you had asked me this question when I was still in my 20s, I would definitely go for Simon of Legree," referring to the antagonist role that requires strong dancing skills. She quickly adds, "Okay fine, now my answer is the King!"

La Mirada Theater's "The King and I" runs April 21 - May 14. Visit lamiradatheatre.com.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/127195/two-fil-ams-portray-key-lady-roles-in-the-king-and-i

Fil-Am wins Young-Howze playwriting of the year award

By WALTER ANG
April 13, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

NEW YORK — Black Filipino American Roger Mason has won the 2023 Young-Howze Award for Mind-Blowing Stage Writing of the Year for the play "Lavender Men."

Roger Mason

"It represents a two-decade journey to be seen and appreciated officially as a playwright," says Mason. "Because I am interdisciplinary, people struggled for many years in the early days of my career to label and categorize me. Embracing me as a writer is embracing the culmination of all the ways in which I comprehend the world through creative expression."

Described as a queer historical fantasia, Mason's play features the fabulous gender non-conformist Taffeta as a post-modern matchmaker who invades the private world of Abraham Lincoln and his queer legal assistant Elmer Ellsworth.

"Because of this award, I am healed. I have come full circle. I am grateful for the boost in confidence. The Young-Howze Award is giving me the momentum and the strength to trudge on in our challenging but fulfilling business."

The awards are given out by theater critics Ricky and Dana Young-Howze. "Lavender Men" was staged last year in Los Angeles by Playwrights' Arena and Skylight Theatre Company. Playwrights' Arena is led by Fil-Am artistic director and founder Jon Lawrence Rivera.

Self-description

Mason is a self-described "Black, Filipinx, plus-sized, gender non-conforming, queer artist of color" and uses they/them pronouns. Their playwriting has been seen on Broadway, Off and Off-Off-Broadway and regionally.

Mason's play "The Pink: An Initimacy Ritual" recently had a staged reading with Primary Stages and Breaking the Binary Theatre.

The play is described as a "hook up performed in real time between two queer people of color seeking true intimacy in the age of dating apps and digital sex." As these two humans, Mel and Herman, grasp for "the real" in the bedroom, their conversations, silences and moments of touch blur the lines between affection, sex and euphoric romance.

Waiting for a Wake

Mason's "Waiting for a Wake" will have a staged reading with Tony and Obie-award winning theater company Page 73 at Open Jar Studios on April 21. Dramaturgy is by Fil-Am Gaven Trinidad. The event is free and open to the public.

The play spends one day in the house of the Brickstones, a Black and Filipino family. Thirty-year-old Quentin dreams of escaping the nest through fashion design. Patriarch Ovid wants to write his memoirs and make all his family members his secretaries. Matriarch Divinia pines for peace in the house and often runs away to find it. Jason plays video games in his room when things don't go his way because it helps quell his rage.

Once a beacon of social mobility, the family is deferred from their American dreams by co-dependence, mental illness and mutual financial abuse. How will they survive their lives without destroying each other completely?

"Waiting for a Wake" was originally commissioned by Leviathan Lab, founded and led by Fil-Am artistic director Ariel Estrada.

Filipino heritage

"My Filipino heritage has influenced all of my writing, actually, not only in terms of character line up, but also tone, structure and aesthetic," Mason says.

Mason's first play involving Filipino characters was "The White Dress," which is "a genderqueer coming-of-age play inspired by the Stations of the Cross."

"Filipino immigrants play a huge role in my play `Hide and Hide,' a take on the term tago nang tago, which takes place in 1980 Los Angeles.  It concerns the sham marriage between a Filipina undocumented immigrant and a gay Texan murder suspect trying to find asylum in the City of Angels."

As for "Waiting for a Wake," Mason says it is forging a space for the Black and Filipino nuclear family as the new protagonists of the American family drama genre. "It is essential for audiences to learn about the true diversity of the American experience.  We are a melting pot."

"My plays, which investigate Filipino heritage and the immigration West, invite audiences to witness the vibrant humanity of people who travel from their homes for the social mobility and bounty that the world claims to offer while never losing sight of the land from which they came.  We are always traversing between worlds trying to find peace and joy in the meantime."

"Waiting for a Wake" is on April 21 at Open Jar Studios, 1601 Broadway, New York. Visit https://ci.ovationtix.com/3082/production/1153874

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https://usa.inquirer.net/126821/fil-am-wins-young-howze-playwriting-of-the-year-award

Filipino American actor recalls life’s joys in Pulitzer winner’s play

By WALTER ANG
April 4, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

NEW YORK — Filipino American actor Orville Mendoza will be playing several characters in Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks' "Plays for the Plague Year" at the Public Theatre. 

Fil-Am actor Orville Mendoza (left) in "Plays for the Plague Year." 

Part play and part concert, the work is the culmination of Parks' project of writing a play or song a day throughout the pandemic lockdown. The show features a selection of her efforts.

"It's an homage, a love letter and a reclaiming of our lives during the years of 2020 to 2021," explains Mendoza. "It's not all sad. There are lots of laughs too. The most beautiful thing is it feels like a ceremony where we are together collectively sharing in the madness and human comedy that we all lived through."

Mendoza plays gay rights activist Larry Kramer, U.S. representative John Lewis and a musician named Bob, among others. "All of the characters are based on actual people, some famous and some personal to the playwright," he says.

The show premiered last year and returns to the stage this spring. Mendoza has been able to receive feedback from audiences. "Some have called it cathartic and a catalyst for them to be able to address and move on from those events or to come to a deeper understanding of our lives during that time. But mainly it's a vehicle that gets us closer to real reconnection and hopefully celebration of our resiliency and compassion for one another."

Important

Born in the Philippines, Mendoza moved to the U.S. when he was two years old and grew up in southern California. "Performing was always part of my life and I would sing solo or with my family for church."

His entry to acting began when he was recruited to perform as Isaac, who is to be sacrificed by his father to God. "An angel swoops in and stops the whole affair. It was very dramatic. I just had to lay there but I loved imagining myself as someone else in extraordinary circumstances."

Mendoza has worked extensively with East West Players in Los Angeles, appearing in "Sweeney Todd" in the lead role, "Into the Woods" and "Pacific Overtures." He played the Engineer in the second national tour of "Miss Saigon." Broadway credits include "Peter and the Starcatcher."

Mendoza says that the show has taught him what is really important in life. "Friends and family. People in general. I play a character in one of the plays that deals directly with the loss of community in the pandemic. The loss of his entire world.

"We go on grinding through life always pursuing bigger projects, more money or more recognition. The play and the pandemic itself taught me to look at what I already have, things that I take for granted, and realize that I already have everything I need to be happy and fulfilled. Life truly is a journey and not a destination. The joy is the journey."

Food and memories

The show will be performed at Joe's Pub, the Public Theatre's cabaret venue that has tables, booths and stools at bar tops where food and beverage is available throughout the performance.

Orville Mendoza

Food also played a part in Mendoza's pandemic coping response. "I totally fell into the sourdough baking fad! My good friend, actor-director Alan Muraoka, started a group where we all do the same recipe and share our results on social media. It was so much fun learning new baking skills. Now we do a recipe a month.

"Baking does run in my family. My dad learned to make homemade pan de sal as a student at Philippine Union College. He made thousands of pan de sal over the years. He had his own recipe and really didn't measure anything precisely, just went by feel. They always came out perfectly soft and pillowy. You could never ever eat just one. My dad passed away last year and every time I bake, I feel like he's with me again."

"Plays for the Plague Year" runs April 5-30, 2023. Visit Publictheater.org.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/126190/fil-am-actor-recalls-lifes-joys-in-pulitzer-winners-play