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Filipino American author Jason Tanamor and his aswang
By WALTER ANG
September 1, 2020 | PositivelyFilipino.com
Percival is a Filipino American aswang whose grandmother immigrated to Portland, Oregon to get far away from the Filipino government and hunters who've attempted to exterminate them. After she passes, Percival vows to uphold his grandmother's strict rules so that their clan can live freely without fear of being exposed by humans.
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| Jason Tanamor |
But when the city's murder rate rises drastically, he suspects a family member might be responsible, and he must try to find the perpetrator.
"Aswang" is a Filipino umbrella term for "monster/s," usually connoting supernatural shapeshifters that look human by day but transform into other kinds of entities at night that have a propensity for ingesting human fluids or innards.
Fil-Am Jason Tanamor's new adult/urban fantasy book Vampires of Portlandia, published by Parliament House Press and slated for release later in the year, allows readers to get to know what kind of aswang Percival and his family are, warts and all.
Recent Discovery
Tanamor had never even heard of aswang until recently. He'd caught an episode of the now-defunct television show "Grimm" (which featured Fil-Am Reggie Lee as Sargeant Drew Wu) that had an aswang (played by Fil-Am actor Alain Uy) in the storyline.
"My wife asked if I'd ever heard of aswang," he says. "I didn't, so I called my father and asked. He said, casually, 'It's something your grandmother tells you to scare you.' All I thought was, 'Why didn't anyone tell me as a kid?'"
Born in Iowa City, Tanamor had lived in that area up until recently. He and his spouse relocated to Portland, Oregon in late 2018.
Prior to the move, books he had written include humor on pets Moo Moo the Serial Killer Cat (2018), dark humor on grief Drama Dolls (2015) and horror Anonymous (2013); satire on dating She's the One (2017) and stolen identities Hello Fabulous! (2014); and children's book I Heart Superhero Kid (2016).
His initial culture shock at Portland's local color inspired this latest book. "During the fall and winter, there are literally thousands of crows that roost in the city center.
"I always find myself walking around, and with all the crows, a huge homeless problem, police sirens always in the distance and the smell of human waste, the environment contributed to setting up the world in Vampires of Portlandia nicely."
Heritage
With the book's milieu in mind, Tanamor explained the other inspiration for the story's genesis.
He says that growing up in the mid-West in the 1980s in a predominantly white community, "I found myself assimilating. I'd always looked at life through the lens of a non-Filipino" and had written his previous books through that viewpoint accordingly.
"It wasn't until recently that I'd started to accept my heritage. Probably due to age, maturity or pride. Whatever the case, I'd decided to write about Filipino culture as I know it."
Research
And although Tanamor had researched the general characteristics of aswang, he also wanted to create his own interpretations. "I took some lore and then invented my own at times."
"Mainly because Percival's family is a typical family just trying to live in peace," he points out. "They're not vicious monsters as depicted in lore.
"I want readers to resonate with the aswang siblings, but I also want them to be a part of this cool and interesting lore. The vampires are just like you and me; they just happen to be aswang.
"More importantly, I wanted to introduce aswang to mainstream readers. It's an underrepresented subject that deserves its own narrative. I'm hoping we see a lot more variations of aswang lore, such as we do with vampires and zombies."
Process
In previous interviews, he explained that his process for writing books begins with expanding on what he believes is an interesting idea. He works the storylines mentally and always has an ending in mind before he begins writing anything down. He then proceeds to do general outlines for each chapter, noting what will happen to each character or setting.
"Writing comes naturally to me, so long as I know what I'm writing about." His first draft is for storytelling while the following rewrites are for editing continuity and clarity.
For this book, "it took about nine months to write, as everything came together rather quickly."
Tanamor's two favorite authors are Dave Barry (for the humor) and Chuck Palahniuk (for the directness). As for Filipino American authors, "Some that I have discovered that I'd like to get more spun up on are Randy Ribay, Elaine Castillo, Erin Entrada Kelly and Jessica Hagedorn."
As evidenced by Tanamor's body of work, he explores writing in different genres and subject matter. He is currently focusing on stories with Filipino American contexts-developing one based on his childhood, about a Fil-Am teenager who hides his love of Filipino folk dance, and one on his parents, about a couple who emigrates from the Philippines to the US in the 1970s to escape martial law.
In the meantime, he confesses that he's slowly become obsessed with aswang. "Now, whenever I see a crow staring at me with its beady eyes, I whisper, 'aswang.'"
~
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/jason-tanamor-and-his-aswang
Filipino American humor writer Mia Mercado keeps it real
By WALTER ANG
August 12, 2020 | PositivelyFilipino.com
In her debut collection of personal and non-fiction pieces Weird But Normal: Essays, Filipino American satirist Mia Mercado tackles a gamut of concerns-from body hair removal cream to birth control; from workplace dynamics to gender roles; from beauty standards to racial identity.
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| Mia Mercado |
Ultimately, she "explores the contradictions of being a millennial woman-which usually means being kind of a weirdo-" by sharing "the awkward, uncomfortable, surprisingly ordinary parts of life, and shows us why it's strange to feel fine and fine to feel strange."
Mercado, whose father is Filipino and mother is white, was actually an "overly-nervous, serious rule-follower" when she was growing up, as she has mentioned in previous interviews. Finding her comedic voice was partly due to not knowing what to do as she was approaching graduation from college.
Serious
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she studied Creative Writing at University of Wisconsin where she claims to have written "a lot of very bad short stories." The semester before she graduated, she searched online for "creative writing jobs" because she didn't know what to do with her degree.
Mercado, whose father is Filipino and mother is white, was actually an "overly-nervous, serious rule-follower" when she was growing up, as she has mentioned in previous interviews. Finding her comedic voice was partly due to not knowing what to do as she was approaching graduation from college.
Serious
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she studied Creative Writing at University of Wisconsin where she claims to have written "a lot of very bad short stories." The semester before she graduated, she searched online for "creative writing jobs" because she didn't know what to do with her degree.
Since then, her work has been published in outlets such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, Washington Posts' The Lily, New York Magazine's The Cut, Bustle, McSweeney's, Gizmodo, The Hairpin, among others.
Approachable
Rather than specifically tackling a subject matter or responding to an issue, ideas for Mercado's essays come to her during mundane everyday settings and activities such as when she's getting her oil changed.
Which does not mean she avoids heavy or serious topics. She points out that she appreciates "comedy that addresses big, heavy, confusing things in a way that feels approachable and makes me think about it in a new way."
She develops ideas from a note file in her phone where she jots down her observations and phrase fragments.
When it comes to writing tone, she tries to emulate conversational writing where it feels like the piece is "talking to you and not down to you."
For current comedic and humor influences that she has been reading or watching, she "will read anything by [Filipino American essayist] Jia Tolentino." She also enjoys television shows "PEN15" and "Bob's Burgers."
Personal
While the pieces in the book may take a lighthearted view of the world we live in, Mercado anchors them in experiences that are very real, intimate, nuanced, and personal.
For example, Mercado discusses mental health conditions such as depression as well as experiences connected to her family, including her relationship with her mother and her older sibling's Down Syndrome.
She also notes that several of her personal essays are specifically about "feeling 'othered' as a biracial person in an extremely white Midwestern suburb."
To wit, the collection includes a piece previously published online on "how white people throughout my life have felt the need to confess their white guilt to me like I'm an ordained minister in the church of Absolving Your Implicit Racism.
"It's also about how people of color are often expected, usually by white people, to be the spokesperson for all nonwhite people. All of those things are just...incorrect."
Nevertheless, Mercado adds, "In the same way that I don't walk through life with `Hello it is me, one biracial person, coming through.' at the forefront of my mind, they aren't the focus for most of the pieces.
"But it's definitely something that both explicitly and implicitly informs my experiences, how I see the world, and how the world sees me."
However the world sees her through her pieces, Mercado's writing follows an underlying goal. In a recent podcast interview, she stated that while humor can't save a democracy or cure a pandemic, it can be a way to "talk about bigger, scarier things in a way that is accessible to more people.so that it doesn't feel so heavy.
"There are so many things that are happening right now...that [can] weigh you down. Anytime that someone can bring levity...while still acknowledging it, not making light of it, and have it feel true--that's the goal."
In the meantime, Mercado is in Kansas City, working on her freelance writing and self-control while eating chips.
~
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/mia-mercado-keeps-it-real
Filipino American scribes pen titles for young readers
By WALTER ANG
June 30, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
June 30, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
As the second half of 2020 comes into view, parents and educators on the lookout for books for younger readers written by Filipino Americans have some titles to look forward to.
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| Filipino American authors (from left) Janella Angeles, Roshani Chokshi, Laurel Fantauzzo and Lysley Tenorio. |
This year, so far, Fil-Am writers have been steadily releasing Young Adult (YA) novels for 13 -year-olds and up and Middle Grade (MG) books for 12-year-olds and younger.
US publishers have been releasing titles written by Filipino authors as well.
Catching up
From January to June, there has been Juleah del Rosario's Turtle Under Ice and Roshani Chokshi's Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (the third in her Pandava, aka Aru Shah and the End of Time, series, which is under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint; all three covers of which have been illustrated by Filipino artist Abigail Dela Cruz).
Melissa de la Cruz released The Queen's Assassin and Jo and Laurie.
Just in May alone, there was Erin Entrada Kelly's We Dream of Space; Mae Respicio' Any Day with You; and Cynthia Salaysay's Private Lessons.
US publishers released books by Filipino authors Rin Chupeco (Wicked as You Wish) and Tanya Guerrero (How to Make Friends with the Sea).
Books for young ones (and the young once) slated for release in July onward are the following.
Special mentions
Arielle Jovellanos is the illustrator for Fierce Heroines: Inspiring Female Characters of Pop Culture, an anthology with 75 profiles from anime, movies, video games, comics, books and television series who encourage readers to be "brave, kind, thoughtful, and powerful."
Filipino Canadian Roselle Lim's YA novel Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop will also be released in the US by an American publisher.
Books
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| Books written by Fil-Am authors (from left) "The Son of Good Fortune," "My Heart Underwater," "The Silvered Serpents" and "Where Dreams Descend." |
Lysley Tenorio
Between hanging out with his girlfriend Sab in cemeteries and working in spy-themed pizza parlor The Pie Who Loved Me, Filipino American teenager Excel just wants to keep a low-profile so he can keep the secret his mother has revealed to him about their family. A journey offers him new possibilities.
Tenorio previously released the short story collection Monstress. Stories from that collection have been adapted for the stage by The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and the Ma-Yi Theater in New York City. He is a professor at Saint Mary's College of California.
Janella Angeles
First book of the Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology. In a cold and crumbling city, magicians compete to be the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, threatened by an unseen danger. As magicians go missing, the powerful Kallia, enigmatic Jack and brooding Demarco are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.
Angeles studied Writing, Literature, and Publishing at Emerson College and is based in Massachusetts. She honed her writing by "creating glorious Harry Potter fanfiction."
Roshani Chokshi
Second book of The Gilded Wolves duology. Franco-African hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie and his crew, Filipino Spanish historian Enrique; Indian dancer and pastry chef Laila; and Jewish Polish engineer Zofia pursue a dangerous lead that takes them far away from Paris into the icy heart of Russia to find a long lost artifact rumored to grant its possessor the power of God.
Chokshi is also author of The Star-Touched Queen duology and grew up writing Sailor Moon fan fiction. Her Aru Shah and the End of Time was recently optioned for film by Paramount Pictures. Chokshi is based in Georgia.
Laurel Fantauzzo
With cover illustrated by Filipino artist Renz Hendrix.
In addition to her father's accident, after Filipino American Corazon Tagubio's crush on her teacher Ms. Holden at her Catholic school becomes complicated, she's banished to her relatives in Manila. She soon discovers how the country that shaped her past might also redefine her future.
Laurel Fantauzzo is the author of The First Impulse. She has taught writing and literature at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Yale-National University of Singapore College and Ateneo de Manila University.
Fil-Am's play on Black Filipina featured in Virgin Labfest online
By WALTER ANG
June 23, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
NEW YORK — A few plays that premiered in The Virgin Labfest (VLF), a festival of new plays in Manila, have already made it over to the US as full productions or staged readings by theater groups on the West Coast.
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| Claro de los Reyes |
This year, the opposite will happen. A Filipino American playwright's work will be part of the annual endeavor organized by Manila-based playwrights' support group The Writers Bloc, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and CCP's resident theater company Tanghalang Pilipino.
Filipino American director, actor and playwright Claro de los Reyes' comedy "Mongoloida's Casa de Pun" will receive a staged reading on June 24, directed by Guelan Luarca.
Credits
The play follows Enrica, an Afro Filipina who moves to New York City under contentious circumstances, and her confrontation with historical characters from all over the world such as a Spanish queen and a Filipino revolutionary hero.
Born in the Philippines, De Los Reyes moved to the US in his adolescence. He took up a master's in Applied Theatre at City University of New York and founded Atlantic Pacific Theatre in 2018.
Recent playwriting credits include "My Baryo, My Borough," "Uncredited" and "Do: Wager." He has acted with groups such as National Asian American Theater Company, Pan Asian Rep, Leviathan Lab, among others.
With the theme "Kapit: Lab in the Time of Covid," this year's festival is being streamed online to accommodate the Covid-19 pandemic. This year's festival director is JK Anicoche.
Blackness and identity
"Blackness and the Philippine identity has been a constant theme in much of my dramatic writing," De Los Reyes says.
"It shares a long legacy that goes beyond its history with Spanish conquistadores—who were anti-Moor—and its US cultural and military ties that continue to bind many worlds to the Philippines."
He has done extensive research on the topic and can list off several titles of publications and historical ephemera such as paintings and photographs related to the subject.
"As a history buff, I'm driven to create work that provokes the audiences to question and hopefully dismantle socially constructed beliefs that maintain a negative influence in present day culture and phenomena."
Part of the motivation to create theater around this milieu is personal. "I had the blessing and hardship of moving often [growing up]. The challenge was spending my adolescence in a state of transition. But later in life I found this deep exposure to culture to be quite a blessing. Today, I find myself socially and creatively drawing from the wide range of cultures and contexts that shaped me.
"I grew up with many friends from the Caribbean. I like to believe that there's a deep kinship.perhaps the parallels of island cultures or living within the invisible weight of peoples from a post-colonial background? Whatever it is, these are experiences and questions that I'll likely be exploring for a long, long time."
Timing
He's keenly aware of the current events happening in society as his play is about to be performed. "Theater, in a sense, is always in conversation with the present moment. Developing a virtual transnational play exploring race and colorism in the zeitgeist of Covid-19 quarantines, the Black Lives Matter global movement against racism, and under the specter of what freedoms may be taken from Filipinos back home. Well, it is a perfect storm in a sense.
"Adding to this context is of course the equally elusive cancer of colonial mentality that continues to infect Filipinos [yet, now] the world demands a reckoning with history.there's not a better time than the present [to perform this play], 'di ba?"
"Mongoloida's Casa de Pun" is on June 24, 5pm Philippine Standard Time. Virgin Labfest 2020 is online. Visit https://www.culturalcenter.gov.ph/events/theater/virgin-labfest-2020-kapit-lab-in-the-time-of-covid-a-virtual-labfest-edition/details.
Black Filipino American playwright Roger Mason wins Chuck Rowland Pioneer Award
By WALTER ANG
June 18, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
LOS ANGELES — Black Filipino American playwright Roger Mason has won the 2020 Chuck Rowland Pioneer Award.
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| Roger Mason |
The award is presented annually by Celebration Theatre to honor "LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) playwrights whose groundbreaking work has entertained, inspired, and empowered the community."
The award celebrates "artists whose body of work has become a vital part of the evolving conversation around the social impact of arts activism" and is named for gay rights pioneer, arts educator and creator of Celebration Theatre, Charles "Chuck" Rowland.
Mason was originally supposed to receive the award in person at a live ceremony. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, an online program was arranged instead. His trophy was delivered to his home and his unboxing was recorded for the program.
The program was still scheduled for June, as the ceremony was originally planned, to coincide with Pride Month.
Thank you
In his acceptance speech, Mason said, "I am grateful beyond words to Celebration Theatre and the City of West Hollywood for bestowing upon me the Chuck Rowland Pioneer Award for 2020.
"I do not take this award or the responsibility it bears lightly. In a time that is tumultuous, changing and vital like ours, I believe that art-particularly queer art-has the unique capacity to dare people to embrace those who are different simply because of that difference.
"The work that I make for theater aims to foster a culture of love, empathy and understanding for `the other' and it is my earnest prayer that the Chuck Rowland Award and the platform that it will afford me in the future will grant me more opportunities to make work and provide creative possibilities for artists, actors, directors, designers, producers, dramaturgs-the list goes on-who need to see themselves and their lived experiences performed, celebrated and affirmed on our stages. Thank you."
He added, "It truly takes a village to uplift LGBTQ voices.let the fight go on. We are not done. We will persevere."
Praise
Born in Santa Monica, California, Mason has a master's degree in writing for screen and stage from Northwestern University.
Mason received praise from his colleagues during the program. Excerpts from his works were also performed.
Director June Carryl, who directed a scene from his "Onion Creek," said, "Roger is a storyteller his language is lyrical, poetic, forceful, steeped in history, melancholy. Roger is a force as a playwright and as a person."
Director Lovell Holder, one of Mason's frequent collaborators, directed a scene from "The White Dress" and from "Lavender Men" (a monologue acted by Mason himself for the program).
Ann James helmed a scene from "Pride of Lions.
Love him
Mason's self-describes as "black, Irish, Filipino, gender-queer, plus-sized and fabulous!"
Michael Kerns, a former Chuck Rowland Pioneer Awardee and Celebration Theatre cofounding member, said that Mason is more than all that.
He added that Mason's revolution "encompasses equality for women, queer artists of color, gender-nonconforming artists of all stripes. He is a rebel with a cause. He is an endangered species, protect him, nurture him, love him."
Kerns is connected with Skylight Theatre, which had been preparing to stage the world premiere of "Lavender Men" back in April. The theater company still plans to stage it eventually.
"Lavender Men" ponders the queerness of Abraham Lincoln and includes queer legal assistant Elmer Ellsworth and gender non-conforming narrator Tafetta.
RELATED STORIES
Black Filipino American theater artists respond to protests against racism
By WALTER ANG
June 16, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
LOS ANGELES — After it was revealed that George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died last month in Minneapolis while a white police officer's knee dug into his neck for close to nine minutes, people across the United States and around the world and have been demonstrating almost daily to protest violence in law enforcement and racism in society at large.
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| Monica Harris (left) and Jennifer Ligaya. |
INQUIRER.net asked black Filipino American theater artists for their perspectives as artists in their respective communities. Here are excerpts from their responses.
Genuine empathy
Playwright Roger Mason is a Los Angeles native whose credits include "The White Dress," "Onion Creek," "The Duat," among others.
"I believe that we, as a nation, are truly fed up with the systematized racism that not only affects black people in our country but also influences the ways that other people of color (POC) are able to live out or not fulfill their stake in the American dream," he says.
"We are being forced to take a long, hard look at the legacies of bias, oppression, and violence that keep us regrettably apart rather than united as a country of strivers.
"My hope is that this reckoning will result in new regulations and policies that create lasting change maintained through oversight, accountability and protection under the law.
"As the son of an attorney, I know firsthand that the law can do much to protect the vulnerably by regulating interpersonal and civic behavior.
"The other piece of the puzzle is mindset. How do we begin to foster genuine empathy and understanding towards those who look, sound, love, worship, and value things differently than ourselves? That's the work of community-building which takes time, emotional availability and willingness of folks to truly hear one another-one human to another.
"As a black, Irish, Filipino artist, my work centers on chipping away at the biases, especially racism, that keep people apart because of their identities and affiliations. My earnest prayer is that the plays I write inspire personal and social change by stirring audiences to culturally transformative action once they leave the theater.
"Whenever I [rehearse] my plays, I see people of different geographical, gender, racial, philosophical and-the list goes on-identities coming together for one purpose: to make art that moves the human spirit. The unity that art births fills me with hope."
Re-evaluate identities
Based in New York, actress N'Jameh Camara is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After recently completing a national tour of the musical "The Color Purple," credits include production of "Junk" in her hometown and an Off-Broadway production of "Macbeth."
"It's times like this when I think about my uncle, nearly beaten to death by skinheads because of his Filipino star tattoo. I remind Filipinos and Asians that we aren't free from racial hatred," she says.
"If you don't stand up in solidarity with black people and Africans around the world who're treated most unjustly, then.you're a convenience to white supremacy.
"I'm energized, hopeful, scared and tired in regards to the protests. But let me clarify; I'm energized by the pool of resources and talents that Americans are offering up to combat racism against black Americans.
"Black Lives Matter is not to say that black lives matter more than others. It's simply to say, black lives, presence, contributions and being black matters in a country and world where black people are considered the most dispensable and undesirable.
"I'm zeroing in on how to help my city of Milwaukee. It's one of the top most segregated cities in the US...I'll speak out against that and push my Mayor to do something about it.
"In regards to being Filipino, we need to acknowledge our own prejudice, colorism, and how colonialism has socialized us to think that European features are more desirable.
"I'm blessed that my mother, and many of my Filipino aunts, married Africans and African American men because they followed the way of love and challenged their families' prejudices. For anyone who questions if they should be with someone black, question what you've been taught. If you're Filipino Catholic, remember that God exists in all people. Everyone was made in the image of God. Evil exists in prejudice.
"It doesn't matter how welcoming and progressive the theater community makes itself out to be, there still exists prejudice. It's the microaggressions, the covert messages that add up. It exists within people leading the process.
"As a theater maker, I want us, POC, indigenous voices, to go into casting director, producer and director roles. Get where the money and the decisions are made. I want to see more Asian stories on a commercial level that aren't in relation to whiteness. I want to see more plays with intercultural families. I want to see my family reflected on stage.
"Use this time to discuss with your family and kids about racism and history of colonialism from a non-white perspective. If you can't discuss race when the whole country is re-evaluating identities and social constructs, then when?
"If you're a parent, be careful what you say when you're angry or excited. As Stephen Sondheim wrote, `Careful the things you say, children will listen. Careful the things you do, children will see, and learn.'
Honor
Composer Jennifer Ligaya is a Chicago native, a member of Afro-diasporic feminist collaborative Honey Pot Performance Collective and has worked with Fil-Am theater group Circa-Pintig.
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| N'Jameh Camara (left) and Roger Mason. |
"As a woman of both black and Filipino ancestry, I'm both in a state of exhaustion for my people and highly energized by the momentum.toward dismantling the current structures that remove access to basic needs such as pure existence and supported radical imagination," she says.
"Many in the Asian community are awakening to the insidiousness of the racism that lay at the foundation of this society called the United States of America. Many non-black communities of color are finally facing themselves in the mirror, slowly peeling away at the layers of white supremacy passed down over many generations.
"Non-white communities of color must honor the black civil rights movement for it has provided roots upon which the Brown Berets of the Chicano Movement and the Asian American Political Alliance have blossomed.
"My Filipino community, please continue to be self-reflective. Acknowledging racism in our culture is painful. By doing so, we can be effective in our allyship. We're a people also colonized, our ancient teachings also removed and replaced by colonialist imperialist ideologies. Our black siblings were fed to the alligators, our Filipino ancestors were fed to the crocodiles.
"We may have a leadership that silences speaking out against the government, but we carry the blood of warriors. We're a people built on principles of kapwa, shared identity and equality. How can we honor our traditional morals and value systems while ignoring the core ideal central to our cultural identity; while watching racism's knee on the neck of our black siblings; without stepping forward in solidarity to interrupt the perpetuation of genocide happening right before our eyes?"
Conscious, purposeful
Actress Monica Harris was born in the Philippines and moved to the US with her family when she was three years old, growing up just outside of Fort Worth, Texas.
Her last production prior to the pandemic was "Harry and the Thief" staged by NOLA Project in New Orleans, where she's based. Meanwhile, she's participated in online staged readings such as Mirrorbox Theatre's "The Wooden Heart."
"I'm anxious. Fiery. Sleep-deprived," she says. "Last Monday, I was running [late going to].my job when I just stopped mid-step and started weeping in my mask. Had my partner not been with me in that moment, I might've turned around and gone straight home. I just needed to cry."
"I'm feeling a lot of frustration and sadness over not being able to physically participate as actively as I would normally due to the pandemic. I share resources virtually and demonstrate physically when and how I can. I use my social media platforms to circulate on the ground efforts and news.
"I spent a lot of my childhood being unsure of where I fit in, but theater helped me embrace and take command of the complexity of my heritage through visibility. Representation matters. I need white theater creatives to understand that `colorblind' casting is a figment of their imagination. Be conscious and intentional instead. Hire black-indigenous-POC (BIPOC) actors, designers, directors, writers, crew, etc. for their talents and their skills. 'See' them. Be absolutely purposeful about every aspect of the stories you choose to tell. Pay us fairly for our work. `Exposure' is not a paycheck.
"My family. My inner circle. Mother Nature. Children. Music. Art. BIPOC who lead by example in their everyday lives without apology—these are what give me hope."
Filipino American Ramon de Ocampo narrates it all for you
By WALTER ANG
June 16, 2020 | PositivelyFilipino.com
One of the things Ramon de Ocampo loves most about narrating audiobooks is that "you can be anyone. It's not about what you look like, but your skill in storytelling," he says.
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| Ramon de Ocampo |
From the number of titles he has under his microphone-more than 200 titles ranging from children's books to adult reading (and more than a dozen industry awards, including being named a Golden Voice, a lifetime achievement recognition from Audiofile Magazine)--you can tell he's pretty seasoned.
He has narrated all 14 books of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. "They're great fun to record and I have so many stories about people recognizing my voice from those." He's also the voice of Jughead in the Riverdale series as well as Marco in the Animorphs series.
It comes as no surprise that he's also an actor for television and the stage. Viewers may recognize him from shows such as "The West Wing," "Medium," "12 Monkeys," "Notorius," and "Guidance," among others.
He's worked with theater groups such as Ma-Yi in New York where he was on productions such as "Romance of Magno Rubio," based on a short story by Carlos Bulosan, and Han Ong's "Middle Finger." He's been in Jessica Hegedorn's "Dogeaters" (her stage adaptation of her own novel), done several Shakespeare productions, and played the title roles in world classics such as "Oedipus."
Born In The Philippines
Though De Ocampo was born in the Philippines, his family moved to the US when he was one and he grew up just outside of Washington, DC.
He had been a painter in grade school and high school. Although visual art was a potential field of higher study, he started to feel that he was "on the wrong side of the canvas. I wanted to be in the stories I was seeing. I wanted to be the paint."
When he caught a touring production of "Les Miserables," he realized acting was his calling. "I trained super hard and was luckily accepted into Carnegie Mellon University, an extremely competitive acting conservatory."
After graduation, "the brilliant head of Recorded Books Inc., Claudia Howard, auditioned me. She believed I was someone who people would listen to tell stories. She championed me and always made sure I had work."
Skills
His acting skills certainly came in handy. As well as the fact that he was familiar with the end product. "My parents loved audiobooks. We listened on long car trips and plane rides. There were no screens to play with at the time."
De Ocampo also points out that the acting industry was very different when he was coming up. "At the time, in the on-camera acting business, having brown skin meant you were relegated to certain roles-which is not true in the world of audiobooks."
His very first audiobook was "a beautiful Young Adult (YA) novel titled Life's a Funny Proposition, Horatio with Recorded Books. It won awards and launched my career."
Books
De Ocampo says he prepares for an audiobook recording like he would any acting job. "Except an audiobook has dozens of other characters you're playing!" he adds.
He usually reads the "script" and marks down ideas, characters, storyline arcs, and other notes. "Of course, think of voices before I get into a recording booth."
"Typically for every hour you hear on an audiobook, I've spent at least two or three in a booth recording it," he explains. "Then an engineer and editor edit and master the file. That's another four to six hours. This does not include the preparation time such as meetings."
"So, a 10-hour audiobook can need as many as 80 hours to produce. For my part, my recording sessions last about five to six hours a day, which will get you between an hour and a half to two hours of 'finished recording.'"
Filipino Works
Throughout his career, De Ocampo has had the privilege of narrating titles by Filipino American and Filipino authors.
He's narrated two children's books by Filipino British author Candy Gourlay (Tall Story and Bone Talk) and an adult mystery by Filipino author FH Batacan (Smaller and Smaller Circles).
There's America is in the Heart, the semi-autobiographical novel by Carlos Bulosan; Manila Noir, an anthology edited by Jessica Hagedorn; From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant, satire by Alex Gilvarry.
For younger readers, there's Outspan Foster's The Crafter series; Randy Ribay's After the Shot Drops and Patron Saints of Nothing; and Erin Entrada Kelly's Hello, Universe and We Dream of Space.
"I love being the voice for Filipino and Filipino American writers and characters. I try to put a Filipino in every book I do, even if it's a small character. Representation is important, and I'm incredibly proud to be a flag bearer."
~
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/ramon-de-ocampo-narrates-it-all-for-you
He has narrated all 14 books of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. "They're great fun to record and I have so many stories about people recognizing my voice from those." He's also the voice of Jughead in the Riverdale series as well as Marco in the Animorphs series.
It comes as no surprise that he's also an actor for television and the stage. Viewers may recognize him from shows such as "The West Wing," "Medium," "12 Monkeys," "Notorius," and "Guidance," among others.
He's worked with theater groups such as Ma-Yi in New York where he was on productions such as "Romance of Magno Rubio," based on a short story by Carlos Bulosan, and Han Ong's "Middle Finger." He's been in Jessica Hegedorn's "Dogeaters" (her stage adaptation of her own novel), done several Shakespeare productions, and played the title roles in world classics such as "Oedipus."
Born In The Philippines
Though De Ocampo was born in the Philippines, his family moved to the US when he was one and he grew up just outside of Washington, DC.
He had been a painter in grade school and high school. Although visual art was a potential field of higher study, he started to feel that he was "on the wrong side of the canvas. I wanted to be in the stories I was seeing. I wanted to be the paint."
When he caught a touring production of "Les Miserables," he realized acting was his calling. "I trained super hard and was luckily accepted into Carnegie Mellon University, an extremely competitive acting conservatory."
After graduation, "the brilliant head of Recorded Books Inc., Claudia Howard, auditioned me. She believed I was someone who people would listen to tell stories. She championed me and always made sure I had work."
Skills
His acting skills certainly came in handy. As well as the fact that he was familiar with the end product. "My parents loved audiobooks. We listened on long car trips and plane rides. There were no screens to play with at the time."
De Ocampo also points out that the acting industry was very different when he was coming up. "At the time, in the on-camera acting business, having brown skin meant you were relegated to certain roles-which is not true in the world of audiobooks."
His very first audiobook was "a beautiful Young Adult (YA) novel titled Life's a Funny Proposition, Horatio with Recorded Books. It won awards and launched my career."
Books
De Ocampo says he prepares for an audiobook recording like he would any acting job. "Except an audiobook has dozens of other characters you're playing!" he adds.
He usually reads the "script" and marks down ideas, characters, storyline arcs, and other notes. "Of course, think of voices before I get into a recording booth."
"Typically for every hour you hear on an audiobook, I've spent at least two or three in a booth recording it," he explains. "Then an engineer and editor edit and master the file. That's another four to six hours. This does not include the preparation time such as meetings."
"So, a 10-hour audiobook can need as many as 80 hours to produce. For my part, my recording sessions last about five to six hours a day, which will get you between an hour and a half to two hours of 'finished recording.'"
Filipino Works
Throughout his career, De Ocampo has had the privilege of narrating titles by Filipino American and Filipino authors.
He's narrated two children's books by Filipino British author Candy Gourlay (Tall Story and Bone Talk) and an adult mystery by Filipino author FH Batacan (Smaller and Smaller Circles).
There's America is in the Heart, the semi-autobiographical novel by Carlos Bulosan; Manila Noir, an anthology edited by Jessica Hagedorn; From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant, satire by Alex Gilvarry.
For younger readers, there's Outspan Foster's The Crafter series; Randy Ribay's After the Shot Drops and Patron Saints of Nothing; and Erin Entrada Kelly's Hello, Universe and We Dream of Space.
"I love being the voice for Filipino and Filipino American writers and characters. I try to put a Filipino in every book I do, even if it's a small character. Representation is important, and I'm incredibly proud to be a flag bearer."
~
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/ramon-de-ocampo-narrates-it-all-for-you
Ma-Yi Theater to stream Carlos Celdran’s 'Livin La Vida Imelda'
By WALTER ANG
June 11, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
NEW YORK — Ma-Yi Theater Company will stream a recorded performance of the late Carlos Celdran's one-person play "Livin' La Vida Imelda" from June 17 to 30.
June 11, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
NEW YORK — Ma-Yi Theater Company will stream a recorded performance of the late Carlos Celdran's one-person play "Livin' La Vida Imelda" from June 17 to 30.
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| Carlos Celdran |
Written by Celdran himself, he acts as a tour guide who discusses "the inimitable life of one the world's most extravagant personalities, Imelda Marcos, the wildly controversial former First Lady of the Philippines."
He had previously staged the show in Manila and Toronto before he performed it for Ma-Yi in 2014. The show actually began as a walking tour in the early 2000s that Celdran conducted in Manila.
In a statement, Ma-Yi describes Celdran as "one of the Philippines' best-known storytellers and provocateurs. He uses his endless charm and biting humor to give audiences an insider perspective into Manila's elite."
Collaborators
This free stream is part of the company's efforts to stay connected with audiences despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
It recently streamed "The Romance of Magno Rubio," a play based on a short story by Fil-Am writer Carlos Bulosan. The play was streamed for a week and received a total of 95,400 views.
The Ma-Yi staging of "Livin' La Vida Imelda" was helmed by its artistic director Ralph Peña, who is one of the company's cofounders and whose credits include plays by Fil-Ams such as Jessica Hagedorn and Fabian Obispo's musical "Felix Starro" (an adaptation of Fil-Am Lysley Tenorio's short story) and A. Rey Pamatmat's "House/Rules." Other credits include "The Chinese Lady" and "Wong Kids in The Secret of the Space Chupacabra, Go!" among others.
Other Filipino Americans involved in the show included Fabian Obispo for sound design and Cristina Sison for stage management. Suzette Porte and Jorge Ortoll were the producers.
The creative team included set designer Nick Francone, costume designer Becky Bodurtha, lighting designer Yi Zhao and projections designer Hannah Wasileski.
Many hats
A Manila native, Celdran stayed in the US briefly to study at the Rhode Island School of Design. He then worked in performance art, directing, set design, as well as operating an art gallery.
However, he was better known for conducting cultural and historical walking tours of Manila spots such as Intramuros and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
"Carlos wore many hats: artist, activist, provocateur, tireless advocate for his beloved city, Manila," says Peña.
"He wore them interchangeably, often blurring their distinctions; as when he used performance art to advocate for Reproductive Rights inside Manila Cathedral in 2003. That act landed him in jail, charged with an archaic law for 'offending religious feelings.'
"By August 2018, his case made it to the Philippine Supreme Court, which upheld the conviction. On February of 2019, rather than face the grim and very dangerous prospect of a year in Manila's notorious prisons, he flew to Spain.
While in Madrid, he started the Jose Rizal Walking Tour of Madrid, which took tourists to places where Filipino writer and revolutionary hero Jose Rizal had frequented during his study in the Spanish capital, and provided insights on how Rizal's experience is linked to the Philippine Revolution.
"He died on October 8, 2019, in exile. Carlos's friends and family are still grieving this tremendous loss. We hope this recorded performance of his one-person play 'Livin' La Vida Imelda' serves as a reminder of his blazing talents."
Filipino American audiobook narrator Ramon de Ocampo wins Golden Voice award
By WALTER ANG
June 9, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
LOS ANGELES — Filipino American Ramon de Ocampo has been named a Golden Voice, a lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators.
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| Fil-Am audiobook narrator Ramon de Ocampo in the recording booth. |
This recognition comes in addition to an Earphone Award for his work narrating the audiobook format of Middle Grade (MG) novel We Dream of Space, authored by Fil-Am writer Erin Entrada Kelly.
Both awards are given out by Audiofile Magazine.
De Ocampo posted on his Instagram account, "I am flat on my back honored by this lovely recognition of my work in audiobooks."
He went on to explain that being named a Golden Voice is "an enormous honor, an induction into a narrators hall of fame.
"After telling stories quietly like this for years, I couldn't be more grateful," he added.
He then noted that he was proud to be counted among truly gifted colleagues in this year's batch of Golden Voices.
Beautiful
In a separate post, he shared a cover of Kelly's book and praised it as "gorgeous."
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| Erin Entrada Kelly with a copy of We Dream of Space. |
He wrote, "I love this book. It makes you ache in the way good books do." He's also posted on Twitter, "I love this beautiful book . it is so full of soul."
He then wrote "2 for 2 now for us Erin!" referring to the previous Earphone Award that Kelly's previous book Hello, Universe has won, which he and Fil-Am Amielynn Abellera co-narrated.
Kelly responded on her Instagram account by writing, "Thank you for another great performance."
Exceptional
The Earphone Awards are for "exceptional titles that excel in narrative voice and style, characterizations, suitability to audio, and enhancement of the text."
The magazine praises De Ocampo's work, describing how he "infuses his narration . with direct and subtle emotions that define" the main protagonists and "delves meaningfully" into each of their lives.
The magazine calls Kelly's work "emotionally powerful."
Fil-Am audiobooks
De Ocampo has narrated more than 200 audiobooks and has more than a dozen industry awards.
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| Ramon de Ocampo has been named a Golden Voice, a lifetime achievement award for audiobook narrating. |
He has narrated several audiobooks written by Filipino Americans or Filipinos. He has also narrated the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
Based in Los Angeles, he is familiar to television viewers because of his roles on various shows such as "Guidance," "Notorious," "12 Monkeys," "Medium," and "The West Wing," among many others.
De Ocampo was born in the Philippines but moved to the US with his family when he was only a year old. Raised just outside of Washington, DC, he realized acting was his calling after he watched a touring production of "Les Miserables."
After studying acting at Carnegie Mellon University, the first audiobook he narrated was Life's a Funny Proposition, Horatio.
Excitement
In We Dream of Space, the story is set in 1986 as basketball-loving Cash has to repeat the same grade with his 12-year-old twin siblings: the quick tempered Fitch and shy Bird. While the three siblings agonize over their personal anxieties, the country and their classmates are excited about the upcoming launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
Kelly is a New York Times-bestselling author and was awarded the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe. She has received many awards for her work. She grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and now lives in Delaware.
~
Filipino American Hortense Gerardo's site-specific play to stream for free
By WALTER ANG
June 2, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
BOSTON — Filipino American playwright Hortense Gerardo's new work, "The Medfield Anthology," will be streamed for free.
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| Hortense Gerardo's "The Medfield Anthology" was to be staged on the grounds of the former Medfield State Hospital. |
The work was meant to be a site-specific piece to be staged on the grounds of the former Medfield State Hospital (MSH), formerly known as the Medfield Hospital for the Chronically Insane.
It was intended to be a walking play to show audiences the former hospital's many facets, where patients went for psychiatric care and community members attended an annual Harvest Ball, young lovers went to movie screenings in the chapel, and youngsters competed in Little League games.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the production's artistic team has re-envisioned the work to be "viewed on screens."
Creation
The play was written as a way to engage Medfield town residents to decide what to do with the MSH property, which the town purchased in 2013.
Gerardo created the work specifically for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (Greater Boston's regional planning agency), where she has been serving as its Artist-in-Residence.
"I was captivated by MSH from the moment I first set foot on the grounds. The layout and the buildings are an architectural marvel," says Gerardo.
She interviewed over 40 community members in June last year and held a work-in-progress performance by October.
This production is also a fundraiser for the renovation of the former chapel to be repurposed as a performing arts center.
Adjustments
Originally scheduled to end in May, Gerardo's residency was extended by a month in order to give her time to transform the play "into a version that we could rehearse and audiences could consume with social distancing measures in place."
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| Gerardo developed the play for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (Greater Boston's regional planning agency). |
Now there is a downloadable playbill that contains a map of the MSH indicating where the scenes are located.
"The map, as well as the virtual backgrounds for each of the actors, will allow the audience to get a feel for what the campus and the various buildings at MSH look like."
"We also had to choreograph the ways characters in the play and in the dances `physically' interact, given the constraints of the viewing [software]. It's pretty magical to see a baseball travel from one screen to the next, or to see dancers moving in unison as though they were all in the same room.
"In some ways, it feels like we're discovering a new language of editing in this hybrid live/filmed virtual performance space. And the beauty is, if it's done right, it doesn't call attention to itself. It's only when you watch closely or think about what you saw onscreen afterward that you appreciate the technical problem-solving that went into the staging."
Additional
Gerardo also reinstated a previously removed scene. "The latest version of this play takes on surprising relevance, as does the history of the site itself."
She had felt that a scene about the 1918 flu pandemic and how it affected the MSH population was too dark a chapter in the community's history for the play's objectives.
"But then the Covid-19 pandemic happened and I dug deeper into the scenes' historical background. It was eerie to see the parallels between the [Woodrow] Wilson administration they lived under and our current administration.
"In both instances, an official acknowledgment-or lack thereof-at the earliest signs of an epidemic contributed to the rapid escalation of cases that led to a pandemic."
Collaborators
Gerardo directs and co-choreographs with Jessie Jeanne Stinnett. Original music composed by Brian Friedland. Cast includes The Gazebo Players and members of the Boston Dance Theater.
Performances features Q&A sessions with different speakers. June 4 (Hortense Gerardo and cast), June 5 (Gerardo and MSH groundskeeper John Thomson), and June 11 (Medfield Town Planner Sarah Raposa and Cultural Alliance of Medfield Director Jean Mineo).
"The Medfield Anthology" runs June 4-11 at Medfieldculture.org.
New Filipino American books dive into race, class, sexuality, gender
By WALTER ANG
May 27, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
NEW YORK — Nonfiction works by Filipino American writers Mia Mercado, Matt Ortile and Meredith Talusan are ushering in the summer reading season.
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| Filipino American authors (from left) Meredith Talusan, Matt Oritle, and Mia Mercado |
Mercado and Ortile have crafted essay collections while Talusan has written a memoir.
Talusan and Ortile are both immigrants now based in New York while Mercado was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is currently based in Kansas.
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| Nonfiction titles written by Filipino Americans scheduled for summer release this year: Weird But Normal; The Groom Will Keep His Name; and Fairest: A Memoir. |
Mia Mercado
Mia Mercado's satirical essays tackle topics such as body hair removal cream, birth control, racial identity, workplace dynamics, gender roles, and beauty standards. All of which she considers weird, but also pretty normal.
Through the awkward, uncomfortable, surprisingly ordinary parts of life, she explores the contradictions of being a millennial woman-which usually means being kind of a weirdo-illuminating why it's strange to feel fine and fine to feel strange.
Mia Mercado's writing has appeared in publications such as The New York Time, The New Yorker, Bustle, Gizmodo, The Hairpin, and McSweeney's, among others. Mercado, whose father is Filipino and mother is white, took up creative writing at University of Wisconsin.
Matt Ortile
When Matt Ortile moved from Manila to Las Vegas, he was harassed for his brown skin, accent and effeminate mannerisms. The first myth he told himself was that he could belong in America by marrying a white man and shedding his Filipino identity.
His essays examine the other tales he spun about what it means to be an American Boy and recounts the relationships and whateverships that confront his ideas regarding sex and power.
Matt Ortile's writing has appeared in BuzzFeed (where he was founding editor of Buzzfeed Philippines), Into, Self, and Out, among others. He is managing editor of Catapult.
Meredith Talusan
In Meredith Talusan's memoir, a Filipino boy with albinism whose childhood was replete with special preference and public curiosity grows up to be perceived as white after accepting an academic scholarship to Harvard.
Talusan then confronted the complex spheres of race, class, sexuality, and her place within the gay community. She questioned the boundaries of gender and transitioned to become a woman, despite the risk of losing a man she deeply loved.
Meredith Talusan's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Wired, Self, and Conde Nast Traveler, among others. She was founding executive editor of web magazine them.us (Conde Nast's LGBTQ+ digital outlet), where she is currently contributing editor.
~
https://usa.inquirer.net/55302/new-fil-am-books-dive-into-race-class-sexuality
~
https://usa.inquirer.net/55302/new-fil-am-books-dive-into-race-class-sexuality
Multilingual Filipino American children's book wins top awards
By WALTER ANG
May 21, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
DAVIS, California — Children's book Jack & Agyu, published by Filipino American company Sawaga River Press, has won the 2020 Gold Benjamin Franklin Award in the Children's Picture Book (4-7 years) Category.
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| Justine Villanueva (right), Sawaga River Press Publisher, and David Zielonka, Publishing Professionals Network President. |
The book's author and publisher Justine Villanueva said in her acceptance speech, "Thank you for bearing witness to our story and for committing to inclusion, equity and decolonization in children's books . thank you very much, maraming salamat po, daghang salamat, salamat tungkay."
The award is given out by the Independent Book Publishers Association. This year's awards are for books copyrighted in 2019. The winners were announced online on YouTube.
Appreciation
In a post on her Facebook account, Villanueva wrote, "I'm totally giddy and in tears! ... Granted, we don't need awards to validate the work that we do, but it's still freaking awesome to win. We even got a gold sticker and trophy and all!
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| Villanueva has written two children's books: Jack & Agyu and Mama, Mama, Know What I Like? (Mama, Mama, Balo Ka Unsa Akong Ganahan?). |
"We acknowledge the ancestral Wintun land (aka Davis, California) where our book was created and the land of Bukidnon which inspired our work. We honor all our ancestors and elders for lighting our path. We thank our Kapwa, our relations-human and non-human-for joining us in this publishing journey.
"So, so, so much love and gratitude to our talented illustrator Lynnor Bontigao; graphic designer Stefanie Liang Chung; our collaborators Bukidnon State University, Bukidnon Studies Center, Center for Babaylan Studies, University of California (UC)-Davis Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies, and Bangka Journey Project; our 200-plus crowdfunders; our families; and everyone in the community who supported us in various ways."
Inspired
Earlier in the year, the book also won the Children's Book Category at the Publishing Professionals Network's 48th Annual Book Show.
In the book, imaginative and adventurous Jack does not see any characters like himself in the books he loves to read in the library. With help from his family and his faithful beagle, he connects with Filipino folk hero Agyu while encountering wondrous creatures such as sirena (mermaid), syokoy (mermen) and diwata (fairies).
With illustrations by Lynnor Bontigao, the book is written in English with translations in Binukid (a Bukidnon indigenous language), Bisaya-Cebuano and Filipino. It also features baybayin script, a Tagalog-based ancient script.
"Through our book, we offer kids of color a way to belong, build their identity, and expand their aspirations by reconnecting with their ancestral stories and their indigenous roots," Villanueva said in a statement.
Literacy
Sawaga River Press is the publishing arm of Libro Para Sa Tanan, a nonprofit that promotes literacy through book donations to school libraries in Malaybalay City in Bukidnon province in the Philippines-where Villanueva is originally from before she moved to the US in her teens. She founded the nonprofit in the late 2000s and founded the press in 2014.
The press has published Mama, Mama, Know What I Like? (Mama, Mama, Balo Ka Unsa Akong Ganahan?), an illustrated peek into the life of five year old Fil-Am child Charlie, who goes on a picnic with his Mama and younger sibling, Jack. The book is written in English, Bisaya and Filipino.
Award-winning 'Romance of Magno Rubio' to stream for free
By WALTER ANG
May 20, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
NEW YORK — When Magno Rubio sees Clarabelle's ad in the back pages of a lonely-hearts magazine, the illiterate Filipino American farmworker thinks he's finally found the love of his life-a white woman from Arkansas.
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| Touring cast in 2003 during rehearsals. From left (back) Arthur Acuña, Ramon de Ocampo, Antonio del Rosario; (front) Ron Domingo and Jojo Gonzalez. |
Will his fellow crop harvesters in California's Central Valley in the 1930s, -all of whom have immigrated from the Philippines-help him out with his pen-pal courtship?
Audiences will find out when Ma-Yi Theater streams the play "The Romance of Magno" for free on its website from May 25 to June 4.
Obie Award
Ma-Yi premiered the production in 2002. It received Special Citations from the Obie Awards for Lonnie Carter (playwright), Loy Arcenas (director), and the original cast, which consisted of Arthur Acuña, Ramon de Ocampo, Ron Domingo, Jojo Gonzalez, Orlando Pabotoy and Ralph Peña.
The recording that will be streamed is of a touring production that visited the Philippines in 2003 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The touring cast included Arthur Acuña, Ramon de Ocampo, Ron Domingo, Jojo Gonzalez and Antonio del Rosario.
Carlos Bulosan
Written by Lonnie Carter, the play is based on a short story with the same title by Carlos Bulosan, author of semi-autobiographical novel America is in the Heart. Additional Filipino text is by Ralph Peña, who is currently the artistic director and a cofounder of Ma-Yi.
Direction, set and costume design was by Loy Arcenas. Music was composed by Fabian Obispo and choreography by Kristin Jackson.
By Peña's last inventory, in addition to running in various cities across the US, the play has run in Canada, Romania and Singapore. Recent stagings include Seattle for the Carlos Bulosan Centenary (2014) and at the University of Washington (2015).
Community
Business suspensions due to the Covid-19 pandemic forced Ma-Yi's first production this season to close in March, leaving a week and a half of remaining shows canceled.
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| "The Romance of Magno Rubio" is based on a short story by Carlos Bulosan. |
The group was originally founded as a Filipino American theater company before it refocused its efforts to Asian American works.
It has already canceled its second planned production of the season-which was already rehearsing-as well. "We simply could not put our artists, crew and audiences at risk. I'm happy we were able to pay all artists and craftspeople their full contracts," says Peña.
Nevertheless, it strove to think of ways to continue to connect with audiences. "We knew very quickly that there was no way to bring people back into the theater. Our first move was to take stock of what we can offer our community to keep them engaged, and to remind them that the arts are a vital part of our wellbeing."
Magic
One of the considerations is relationships and protected agreements with different unions in the theater industry. Since this recording is of a production that was done outside of the US, it is "outside of Equity's jurisdiction; it's the first archived play we can offer," Peña says, referring to Actors' Equity Association, the union for actors and stage managers.
"It was filmed before HD and 4K formats were available and done without microphones at the CCP's Huseng Batute Theater. It's nowhere near the high definition formats of our more recent plays, but Francisco Aliwalas's handheld camera work captures the play beautifully, and it really shows of the talents of the actors, and Loy Arcenas' meticulous work as director and designer."
"We're doing it for free to make it accessible to as many people as possible. It has travelled the world and crisscrossed the United States, but there are still many Filipino communities who have not experienced the magic of this play."
"The Romance of Magno Rubio" stream is at Ma-yitheatre.org from May 25 to June 4.
~
Filipino Americans involved in 2020 Outer Critics Circle award-winning shows
By WALTER ANG
May 15, 2020 | USA.Inquirer.net
NEW YORK — Filipino American set designer Clint Ramos has won this year's Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Scenic Design for his work on the play "Grand Horizons."
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| Conrad Ricamora (center, standing) in the musical "Soft Power." Photo by Joan Marcus |
Outer Critics Circle (OCC) is an organization of writers covering the New York theater industry for out-of-town news and media outlets.
Last year, Ramos won the Obie Award for Set Design for his work on The Public Theater's production of "Wild Goose Dreams."
He is also an accomplished costume designer. Ramos won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Play for his work on Danai Gurira's "Eclipsed." He won an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Costume Design in 2013.
Written by Bess Wohl and staged by Second Stage Theater, "Grand Horizons" also won Outstanding New Broadway Play.
Industry
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the awards dispensed with selecting only one winner from each category this year and celebrated up to five honorees in each of its 26 categories. It also made a donation toward the emergency relief efforts of The Actors' Fund.
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| Clint Ramos. Photo by Marc Franklin |
OCC president David Gordon said, "The Outer Critics Circle has thought long and hard about a way to honor the nearly 200 productions that opened [2019 to 2020], while also respecting those shows that were canceled, postponed, or forced to close shortly after opening.
"This format allows us to celebrate the truncated theater season, and our 70th anniversary, by creating a sense of communal joy at a time when we all need it most."
The Broadway League, a trade organization representing producers and theater owners, has announced that Broadway's 41 theaters would remain closed at least through Labor Day (Sept. 7).
Involved
Other Filipino American theater makers were involved in productions that won in different categories.
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| Ramos' set design for "Grand Horizons." |
One of the two winners of Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical is David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's "Soft Power," staged at The Public Theater.
Filipino Americans in the cast included Billy Bustamante, Jon Hoche, Jaygee Macapugay, Geena Quintos, Conrad Ricamora and Trevor Salter.
The winner of Outstanding Revival of a Musical is Transport Group's "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," the cast of which included Karl Josef Co and Paolo Montalban.
The recipient of Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play is "Cambodian Rock Band," which is written by Lauren Yee, a member of Ma-Yi Writers Lab, the playwrights group of Ma-Yi Theater Company.
The cast included Fil-Am actor Moses Villarama.
The Writers Lab currently has Fil-Am playwright A. Rey Pamatmat as one of the co-directors while Ma-Yi Theater Company is headed by Fil-Am artistic director Ralph Peña.
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