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

Meet Filipino American lighting designer who puts a shine on dark comedy in Boston

By WALTER ANG
March 30, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net

BOSTON — A Filipino American family is front and center in the Boston world premiere of Fil-Am playwright Hortense Gerardo's dark comedy "Middleton Heights." Fil-Am lighting designer SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal provides the enhancing hues. 

Lighting designer SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal

Salotto-Cristobal's recent credits include "Into the Woods," "Dracula," James and the Giant Peach," "Eurydice," "The Comedy of Errors," "The Addams Family" among others.

He designs for theater, opera, dance, musical concerts and events. In addition, he is an Assistant Professor of Lighting Design at the University of Southern Maine.

Commissioned by the Umbrella Stage Company, "Middleton Heights" follows Meena and her family, new immigrants in Cleveland, Ohio. They pursue the American Dream amidst transformative social moments, from the tumultuous 1960s to the new millennium, such as the Hough riots, the Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations and the protests against the killing of Tamir Rice.

Fil-Ams are deeply involved in the production. Michelle Aguillon is directing Steve Bermudo, Justin Budinoff, Cheryl Daro, Lisa Fermin-Granada, Jenine Florence Jacinto and Jude Torres.

Umbrella Stage Company has stated that it is "immensely proud to make this all-Asian American and Pacific Islander production our first-ever full-length play commission."

Lighting

Salotto-Cristobal had initially planned to take up underwater archaeology in college. "I was required an elective to fill out my semester. Not knowing what to take, I closed my eyes, flipped through the college catalog and pointed."

He ended up taking stagecraft. "I enjoyed the class so much that I stopped attending my other classes because I only wanted to be in the theater. I failed three courses that semester. I knew at that moment that I wanted to continue down this path.

"Bob Whittaker, the program's former Technical Director, took me under his wing and introduced me to lighting design. His mentorship and encouragement led me to graduate school to continue to study lighting."

Incredible

Salotto-Cristobal says he is "honored and excited" to be working with "incredible storytellers" on this project.

"Middleton Heights"'Filipino American actors (From left) Jude Torres,
Cheryl Daro, Lisa Fermin-Granada and Justin Budinoff in rehearsals. 

Just as the play offers audiences a look into one Filipino American family, Salotto-Cristobal also has his own story to tell. He says, "This opportunity also serves as an education about Filipino culture and experience."

Salotto-Cristobal was born in Cairo, Egypt to an Egyptian mother and a Puerto Rican-Filipino American father. "However, my father identified as white and my mother raised me as a Muslim."

"There was little talk of my Filipino family," he says. "[When] I was in high school and saw the hate targeting those who were different, I adopted my father's `whiteness' and spent much of my life hiding behind that camouflage.

"It has only been within the last five to seven years that I have embraced and tried to reconnect with my background. That has required education about Filipino culture and trying to connect with the Filipino side of my family, who primarily lives in California."

"I am excited to have this opportunity to get to know and connect with the Filipino community here in Greater Boston, and I hope it will help me deepen my understanding of who I am and where I come from."

Relatable

Salotto-Cristobal says that the more he has been reading the play, "the more relatable the story becomes. While there are customs, food, and language that I do not yet know about Filipino culture, I feel closer to my Filipino heritage than I thought."

"While I did not grow up in the Filipino culture, I recognize many of the familial relationships and conversations in the story as similar to ones I had with my own family."

"I like this story and feel that even non-Filipino audience members will be able to attach themselves in some way to the characters. More importantly, every night the audience will get a glimpse into Filipino life and immigrant life."

"Middleton Heights" runs March 31-April 23. Pre-show rondalla or tinikiling performances and post-show talkbacks are scheduled for selected dates. Visit theumbrellaarts.org.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/125877/meet-fil-am-lighting-designer-who-puts-a-shine-on-dark-comedy-in-boston

Paolo Montalban is on a roll: ‘Cinderella’ on Disney+ and Broadway’s ‘Funny Girl’

By WALTER ANG
March 28, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

NEW YORK — Filipino American actor Paolo Montalban is on a roll.

He has been cast as King Charming opposite Brandy Norwood as Cinderella in the Disney+ original movie "Descendants: The Rise of Red."

Paolo Montalban, seen here with Brandy Norwood,
is King Charming in "Descendants: Rise of Red." ABC/DISNEY+

He will also  be joining the cast of the Broadway revival of "Funny Girl" featuring Glee star Lea Michele in the title role. He will play Florenz Ziegfeld beginning March 28.

Montalban and Norwood are reuniting to reprise their groundbreaking roles from the iconic 1997 television movie of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella." They starred alongside Whitney Houston, who played the fairy godmother and was a co-producer of the film. It was the first time these characters had been portrayed by actors of color on national television.

Disney's music-driven Descendants cinematic universe follows the teenage children of classic Disney villains.

In "Descendants: The Rise of Red," Cinderella and Charming's perfectionist daughter Chloe must join forces with her polar opposite Red, the rebellious daughter of the tyrannical Queen of Hearts. The pair has to work together to stop a coup started by the Queen, played by British singer Rita Ora

Four Isle of the Lost tie-in novels have been written by Fil-Am author Melissa de la Cruz.

Responses

Disney+ announced the casting on its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, including a behind-the-scenes video clip of the couple.

In Montalban's Instagram account (@itspaolomontalban), he shared the clip and wrote, "Brandy! My QUEEN!!"

An appreciative user left a comment, "As an Asian American musical theater fan, thank you for all the work you're doing to break barriers in the entertainment industry!"

Responses to the tweet include "Wow wow wow," "Ahhhh they're back!!!! They look good," and "Yes, im over here sobbing!!!! They look amazing. I can't wait to watch this."

Montalban's other television credits include Kung Lao in "Mortal Kombat: Conquest," "Madam Secretary," "The Blacklist," "Law & Order: SVU."

Funny Girl

The original 1964 production of "Funny Girl" launched Barbra Streisand to international fame. She then won an Oscar for reprising the role in the 1968 film adaptation.

Paolo Montalban will also join the cast of "Funny Girl" on Broadway. INSTAGRAM

The musical follows the life of singer and comic Fanny Brice from her humble beginnings in Brooklyn, New York to her rise to fame and fortune onstage in the Ziegfeld Follies and as a radio and screen performer.

The musical popularized songs such as "Don't Rain On My Parade" and "People."

In Montalban's Instagram account, he writes, "Hey Mr. Ziegfeld, here I am! I look forward to saying 'Hello gorgeous' to all of you at the stage door!"

He also thanked "the Funny Girl estate for the opportunity to represent our diverse theater community by playing this legendary theater impresario."

Montalban's other Broadway credits include "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Pacific Overtures" and "The King and I."

He played Prince Charming in a national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" in 2000 with Deborah Gibson as Cinderella and Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother.

"Funny Girl" has score by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill with a revised book by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein from Isobel Lennart's original.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/125712/paolo-montalban-is-on-a-roll-cinderella-on-disney-and-broadways-funny-girl

SF Yerba Buena Center for the Arts honors Filipino American artists and leaders

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

SAN FRANCISCO — Filipino Americans are among this year's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 100, the institution's plaudit to artists, activists and leaders who are "committed to building regenerative and equitable communities."

This year's YBCA 100 honorees include Filipino Americans theater director Ely Orquiza,
writer and musician Rocky Rivera, and DJ Guerrilla Pump. 

This year's YBCA 100 honorees include poet and publisher Aileen Cassinetto, community organizer Lolita Kintanar, theater director Ely Orquiza, choreographer Alleluia Panis, DJ Guerrilla Pump, journalist and musician Rocky Rivera, visual artist O.M. France Viana and visual artist Jenifer K. Wofford. The list also includes the South of Market Community Action Network and SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Heritage District's Kapwa Gardens.

Opened to the public in 1993, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts was founded as the cultural anchor of the Yerba Buena Gardens neighborhood, spanning contemporary art, performance, film, civic engagement, and public life.

At the program recognizing this year's honorees, Rivera headlined performances with her singing. The event also featured poetry, drag and other music performances. SOMA Pilipinas held a graffiti installation by the TDK Collective, which was founded by the late graffiti artist Mike "Dream" Francisco.

Cassinetto is a poet and cultural organizer. An Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, she served as poet laureate of San Mateo County from 2019-2022. She is also the author of two poetry collections, and the founder of the independent literary press Paloma Press. She is currently a Commissioner on the Status of Women for San Mateo County.

Kintanar is known for her work as a former Director of Canon Kip Senior Center, providing food, jobs, and other services for seniors, people with disabilities and unhoused people. She is active with the Felton Institute and serves on the boards of the Pilipino Senior Resource Center and API Legal Outreach.

Orquiza is co-founder and co-artistic director of The Chikahan Company, a Fil-Am theater company focused on Filipinx history, politics and psychology. As the director of education and community at Magic Theatre, he works in arts programming for marginalized groups such as previously incarcerated individuals, immigrant and refugee families, Black and brown artists, and LGBTQIA+ elders living with HIV/AIDS.

Panis is the Artistic and Executive Director of Kularts, a performing arts group focused on contemporary and tribal Pilipino arts. She has choreographed over 20 full-length dances staged in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Panis has served as a member of National Performance Network's Artists Committee and as a board member of Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, Brava! for Women in the Arts, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and Dance Bay Area.

Afro Filipino American Guerrilla Pump is the Bay Area father of the all-trans DJ collective New World Dysorder. He is a founding member of the DJ crew We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For, known for its initiatives with communities targeted by state-sanctioned violence and socio-cultural marginalization.

Rivera has released albums with Beatrock Music and a mixtape series with DJ Roza. Her latest album, Rocky's Revenge, was created in collaboration with Women's Audio Mission. Rivera's book Snakeskincollects autobiographical essays chronicling her artist journey and includes complete lyrics to all of her albums.

Viana is a visual artist, art historian, curator, writer and mythologist who chronicles how Filipino immigration is redefining what it means to be American. She founded and runs ARROZidency, an artist residency program nurturing Fil-Am artists.

Wofford is one third of the Fil-Am artist trio M.O.B. She has been exhibited in museums in San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Philippines and Hong Kong. She serves on the Board of Directors of Southern Exposure and teaches art courses at the University of San Francisco.

The South of Market Community Action Network is a community-based organization serving low-income immigrant youth and families in the South of Market (SoMa) area since 2000. It is composed of community leaders from youth, senior, veteran, Filipino and housing organizations. It offers education, direct services, and referrals.

Kapwa Gardens is a community health and wellness space that showcases activities that heal the mind and body such as vendor pop-ups, live music, public screenings, cultural activities, and more.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/125480/sf-yerba-buena-center-for-the-arts-honors-fil-am-artists-and-leaders 

Filipino American comedian and CEO opens new show

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

LOS ANGELES — Filipino American Ana Tuazon Parsons likes to tell people that she was smuggled from the Philippines as a victim of human trafficking. While this may not be exactly the way events unfolded, it does make more sense once you realize she is a comedian talking about how she ended up in the United States.

Filipino American comedian Ana Tuazon Parsons

Her latest endeavor is "Asian American Eyz'd: An Immigrant Comedy Special," of which she is executive producer, writer and creator.

The comedy special highlights her work along with two other Asian American comedians. "Two of whom are part of the LGBT community," Parsons says. "It tells of our stories of immigration, growing up, assimilation and finding ourselves."

Directed by Felipe Figueroa ("Medium"), the show brings all three comics together for a revealing one-night performance, each sharing their personal journey to America as an immigrant.

Comedy

Parsons has done work on stage and television. She has appeared in "The Affair" and "Dexter." She performed with Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Labyrinth Theatre Company at New York's Public Theatre and has appeared at numerous theaters around the country performing both contemporary and classical works.  She also performed in the international tour of "Sherlock Holmes" with David Arquette.

Comedy, however, was not always part of her career. Parsons had always been afraid of stand up comedy. She finally got into it when she got dumped. "I thought at the time I needed to put that depression somewhere and give it a shot. I found out I had a knack for it."

She called her first foray "The Break Up Set." "So, thank you, ex, for that," she says.

Joys

Parsons says the joy of having her work seen by audiences is the feedback she receives. "One of the resounding things that we keep hearing after people watch the special is how they feel seen. How they feel that others will feel seen."

"Hearing that, we've done our job at storytellers. I was so moved by a fellow Asian American saying this show has meant so much to them. How powerful it was seeing three people that looked like them onstage telling their stories. That having this visibility felt huge to them because representation does matter.

After Parsons once performed a staged reading for a TV project she was developing, she says "a fellow Pinoy came up to me. He was queer and grew up in a small town in Texas. He told me I was telling his story and that he felt seen in a way that he had never heard or seen on TV before. It's moments like that one that fuel me to keep me going."

Passion

In addition to performing, Parsons is also CEO of her own independent production company that makes "stories that I want to see.

"Often times as artists we are sitting and waiting for approval. We're waiting to book a job. We're waiting to get the greenlight and have a yes in front of us. I just decided rather than waiting for the yes, why don't I say yes to myself.

"I started from a place where I was 'I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I don't know how we're going to get this out there. Is this even possible?' But I'm blessed with a scrappy tenacity and that certainly paid off and got us to where we are.

"It [makes] everything all the more rewarding."

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https://usa.inquirer.net/125091/fil-am-comedian-and-ceo-opens-new-show

LA Book launch for 'Growing Up Filipino 3'

By WALTER ANG
March 16, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

LOS ANGELES — Filipino American author and publisher Cecilia Manguerra Brainard will have a book launch for Growing Up Filipino 3: New Stories for Young Adults on March 18 hosted by the Carlos Bulosan Book Club.

Brainard is the book's editor, of which collects 25 short stories by Filipino authors in the U.S. and the Philippines on what it means to be young and Filipino.

Joining her is Filipino American Marilyn Alquizola, one of the book's contributors. Writer Ryo Alfar will represent his mother Nikki Alfar, a Filipino speculative fictionist who is also a contributor to the book.

Attendees will have the opportunity to share their own stories and memories of their youth at the gathering after the writers' presentations.

The Carlos Bulosan Book Club was established in 2017 by the Friends of Echo Park Branch Library. This branch of the Los Angeles Public Library is located in the heart of Historic Filipinotown and houses a dedicated Philippine Heritage Collection that consists of several hundred volumes on Filipino American life and culture.

The event will also have a Zoom component and will be livestreamed on the club's Facebook page. A book signing will follow after a Q&A.

Growing series

The book's stories explore the universal themes of coming-of-age, love, angst, family, relationships, and other young adult issues. The stories reveal Filipino and Filipino American culture, mores, history, society, politics, and other nuances. For instance, Filipino respect for their elders, extended families, religious practices, funeral rites, and love for folklore are apparent in the stories.

The first two titles in this series, Growing Up Filipino: Stories For Young Adults (2003) and Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories For Young Adults (2010), were included in National Geographic's Reading List in 2020. Used by educators in their classrooms, these books are enjoyed by adults and young adults alike.

Other contributors include Brainard herself, Gina Apostol, Patrick Joseph Caoile, Ian Casocot, Noelle de Jesus, George Deoso, Migs Bravo Dutt, James Fajarito, Yvette Fernandez, Patricia Go, Sarge Lacuesta, Zak Linmark, Veronica Montes, Kannika Pena, Oscar Peñaranda, Danton Remoto, Brian Ascalon Roley, Renee Macalino Rutledge, Dom Sy, Eileen Tabios, Linda Ty-Casper, Marianne Villanueva and Jack Wigley.

Other events

Alquizola was born in San Francisco and has taught Asian American Literature at several universities. Her parents, just like Brainard, are from Cebu province in the Philippines.

Brainard is the author of When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, Magdalena, and The Newspaper Widow. She oversees publishing imprint Philippine American Literary House.

Later in the month, she will attend a talk and reading at the Los Angeles Central Library's Teen'scape young adult department. Slated to join her are Ryo Alfar, Alquizola and Fil-Am author Brian Ascalon Roley.

Roley is the author of the novel American Son, short fiction collection The Last Mistress of Jose Rizal: Stories, and short poetry collection Ambuscade.

In April, Brainard will be featured at the ParisLitUp Reading at the Culture Rapide in France.

Echo Park Library is at 1410 W. Temple St., Los Angeles. Email palhbooks@gmail.com.  

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https://usa.inquirer.net/124459/la-book-launch-for-growing-up-filipino-3 

One-woman show explores Filipino American identity crises

By WALTER ANG
March 15, 2023 | USA.inquirer.net

BALTIMORE, Maryland — Actress Cori Dioquino probes the complexities of living as a Filipino American in the United States in her one-person show "Crisis Mode."

Filipino American actor Cori Dioquino

Helmed by Filipino American director Tara Cariaso, the show "weaves Dioquino's personal history with that of her motherland, the Philippines, and its complicated relationship to the United States through dance, movement, music and art."

Based in New York City and Baltimore, Dioquino has worked on stage and in film and television, most notably appearing on screen as Nurse Eddie on NBC's "New Amsterdam" and in Marvel/Netflix's hit series "Daredevil" as Sophia Carter.

In 2018, she co-founded Asian Pasifika Arts Collective, an organization which aims to "use art to advocate representation of Asian Americans and Pacific Indigenous Americans in everyday life while building cross-community relationships."

The show tracks Dioquino's "three major identity crises" as she shares her experiences growing up as an immigrant in the "Land of the Free," coping with hidden mental health issues, and her gradual transition from "Proud Pinoy" to "Generic Asian."

Online to onstage

Two years ago, Dioquino was asked by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Social Concern to deliver a webinar that addressed the anti-Asian violence taking place all over the country.

"At the time, there weren't a lot of public discussions regarding the rise of violence towards Asians throughout the pandemic. After the shootings in Atlanta, that all changed," she said, referring to the mass shooting in 2021 where a man killed eight people, six of whom were Asian.

(In 2020, she helped launch the national campaign Unapologetically Asian to respond to discrimination towards Asians and Asian Americans during the pandemic.)

"Once everyone started hyper-focusing on the anti-Asian violence, it all of a sudden felt too heavy a topic for me to continue speaking on. So I pivoted and decided to use the opportunity to tell my story as a Filipino immigrant instead."

"The structure for this show, using my three identity crises to address history, comes directly from the webinar I gave. People who watched kept telling me afterward that the webinar felt more like a one-person show. And now here we are."

Not alone

Dioquino says, "I did not grow up in a huge Filipino community that had Filipino dance troupes or festivals. We had house parties with lots of Filipino food, but that's not the same. Filipinos were barely mentioned in American history books."

She provides this background to explain how, "I didn't have a huge connection to my heritage growing up Filipino in Maryland."

By sharing her own story, the goal is "to reach Filipinos who are like I was as a child or a teen. I just want them to feel seen and I want other immigrants to hear my story and know that they're not alone in their trauma."

"There's so much that we don't talk about, that we silence within ourselves. I hope this show empowers others to unsilence those parts of their lives."

She is quick to say that the show is not just for Filipino Americans. "It's very much for Filipinos, immigrants and Asian Americans. For anyone who doesn't identify as any one of those identities, I just want them to listen. You learn a lot more if you just listen.

"I hope this show challenges their perceptions and misconceptions of Asians, Filipinos, immigrants and even Asian and immigrant women.

"And I hope that everyone starts to consider the experiences of the 1.5 generation, the generation of children who immigrated at a young age, but grew up in the States or another country. We're often overlooked and forgotten about in the larger conversation regarding immigration. I want them to be seen and valued and considered."

"Crisis Mode: Living Pilipino in America" runs March 17-April 2 at Strand Theater Co., 5426 Harford Rd., Maryland. Visit strand-theater.org.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/124356/one-woman-show-explores-fil-am-identity-crises

Filipino American's play ‘Sticky Rice’ explores gay dating, attraction, self-worth

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

SAN FRANCISCO — Filipino American playwright Boni Alvarez has a new a comedy "with very dark tones" that explores the dynamics of dating, relationships and what is considered attractive among gay Asian men.

"Sticky Rice" cast (from left) Joseph Alvarado, Christopher Juan and Raphael Buenaventura. 

His play "Sticky Rice," wherein a group of gay, Asian friends living in San Francisco splinters apart when one of them brings his new boyfriend into the fold,  will have a one-night-only staged reading at Theatre Rhinoceros helmed by Fil-Am director Ely Orquiza.

Fil-Ams in the cast include Joseph Alvarado, Raphael Buenaventura and Christopher Juan. Fil-Am characters in the play include Sampson, a James Beard-nominated chef and Carlo, a professor of nursing.

Orquiza says that the Theatre Rhinoceros' monthly staged reading series is an opportunity for the company and the community to hear new plays that are being considered for season programming for the following year. "The directors either pitch a play to produce or the company scouts a director to pair with a play to direct a reading that have been previously read by the artistic team."

Alvarez's recent credits include "America Adjacent" for Skylight Theatre and "Apartment Living" also for Skylight Theatre co-produced by Playwrights' Arena.

Despise and desire  

Alvarez developed the themes for this play partly because of his observations of how people behave on dating apps. "I've always had such a visceral reaction to the phrase `no fats, no femmes, no Asians,'" referring to how some people list their aversions on their profiles.

"This very succinct phrase that expresses preference in such a hateful way, that popularly legitimized the further marginalization of the already marginalized."

"On the other end of the spectrum, when I would see men on dating apps seeking Asian men, I would be equally disturbed.  These men are typically white. The language of their posts would be so colonial, oozing with exoticism."

Alvarez says that he wanted to use his play to explore "the notion of `rice queens,'" referring to gay men who prefer Asian men, "and the gaysian body and sexuality in its own circle."

Media and masculinity

Another topic that Alvarez wants to tackle is "masculinity itself in relation to Asian gay men, men who are traditionally emasculated.  The play has quite a bit of behavior that I think a lot of people would consider toxic."

"In American media, Asian men have largely been depicted in an emasculated light, as the asexual nerd, the comedic foreign exchange student, the active yet sexless martial artist, the suffering gay butterfly."

He says that he tends to take in what he sees in his surroundings. "I've always taken note of gay Asian men when I see them out and about and have noted who they're with romantically, the types of men they're partnered with, their behavior in relation to their partners.

"Generally, their partners are white or of another race other than Asian; there's often a difference of size in stature; sometimes, you witness the old trope of the Asian butterfly in action.

"Besides my being from the Bay Area, I set the play in San Francisco because of its large Asian population. Beyond gay couplings, there are so many interracial couples in the Bay. Seeing an Asian woman with a white man is so common. It is not as common to see an Asian man with a white woman or a woman of another race.  People may say it's just preference, but media affects and shapes that preference whether we acknowledge it or not."

He goes on to explain that the characters in "Sticky Rice" have internalized such popular depictions. "The play explores what happens when they are forced to confront their own self-hatred."

"Can these men embrace their masculinity and learn to celebrate the bodies they live in?  Sticky Rice is about unwrapping sticky rice, about unearthing gay Asian beauty outside of the white gaze and beginning on the journey to self-love."

"Sticky Rice" staged reading is on March 14, 7 p.m. at Theatre Rhinoceros, 4229 18th St., San Francisco.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/124145/fil-ams-play-sticky-rice-explores-gay-dating-attraction-self-worth

Carlos Bulosan Theatre resumes programming for ‘23

By WALTER ANG
March 1, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

TORONTO — Filipino Canadian performing organization Carlos Bulosan Theatre kicked off the year with a social mixer for the creative community titled "In the Mood for Kilig."

Carlos Bulosan Theatre artistic director Leon Aureus
and associate producers Rielle Ramos and Hanna Donato.
Photos by Enrique Baniqued

After a pause of several years for the Filipino Canadian artistic community due to the pandemic, artistic director Leon Aureus said that "in its continuing efforts, 40 plus years and counting, to foster and build community, Carlos Bulosan Theatre hopes to rekindle the love for creation and the arts."

"We also wanted to make ourselves known as an organization that can provide a space to grow and find support, as we continue to make meaningful work," Aureus added, as he announced the group's programming for the year and to introduce the group's new associate producers Rielle Ramos and Hanna Donato.

Performed and hosted by Joy Castro and Dom Brillantes, the improvised and interactive play began with a mixer and then turned into an open mic to allow the attendees to get to know each other and share their current works.

Future projects

The company aims to "activate and re-engage the Filipino Canadian community and our allies back to the theater arts, and more specifically, activist theater."

"One of our core values in creating activist-centered theater is to educate the masses on factual events and relevant topics that are important to the greater Filipino narrative. We feel a deep connection to serve our diasporic community and help retain our community's connection to the Philippines." 

"In recent years, especially during the Philippine elections, the proliferation of revisionist history and fake news in the Philippines has become very concerning. It's important to curb the rise of revisionism, misdirection and the bending of truth through our work in theater and community building.

"By supporting emerging Filipino Canadian artists to develop their own theatrical works that represent the diverse realities of Filipino Canadians, we hope to build connections via arts, community and cultural exchange."

Activities

To achieve these goals, this year, the company will be holding a "Drrrty Kitchen" playwriting workshop to be followed by a recital of the developed works in its "Tales of the Flipside" showcase.

The event was hosted by Domniqiue Brillantes (standing, left)
and Joy Castro (standing, far right). 

It will have a series of play readings called "Recollections," focusing on the company's past works. It will feature artists who were involved in those productions. Discussions will conclude each reading.

A podcast is intended to have "conversations and reflections on where we've been, where we stand, and where we're going as a theater company, as artists, `artivists' and as a community."

There are also plans to release an anthology of plays and historical highlights from the company's run as the nation's longest standing Filipino-Canadian theater company.

Great

"Overall, the event was a great kick-off to the year. The attendees filled the space with much warmth and laughter led by our amazing hosts. I'm excited to have Rielle and Hanna onboard as new associate producers. This company has a history of strong and brilliant women leaders," said Aureus.

"There was a great buzz, an amazing energy afterwards as people stayed long after the performances were over. We also had a fantastic open mic proving, no doubt, that Filipinos really love to perform!"

For details, email carlosbulosantheatre@gmail.com.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/123255/carlos-bulosan-theatre-resumes-programming-for-23

Filipino American artists prep musical premiering at Kennedy Center in DC

By WALTER ANG
Feb. 23, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

WASHINGTON, DC — Filipino American theater artists are hard at work creating the world premiere of a musical at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The endeavor is made even more meaningful because "The Mortification of Fovea Munson" features a Fil-Am protagonist.

Filipino American theater artists (from left) Ely Orquiza, Kelly Colburn,
Justin Huertas, Justine Moral, Regina Aquino and Sally Imbriano. 

Can life get any more mortifying for 12-year old Filipino American Fovea Munson? She's already called Igor (as in Dr. Frankenstein's assistant) by her classmates. Her summer camp's been canceled. Her parents are making her work as a receptionist in their cadaver laboratory.

Things take an even more annoying turn when she discovers three heads without bodies. Ordinarily, this would have been a normal incident in the lab, but these ones talk and sing! 

Director M. Graham Smith has assembled Fil-Am collaborators for the stage adaptation of Mary Winn Heider's middle grade novel, commissioned by the Kennedy Center's Theatre for Young Audiences.

Musician Justin Huertas has composed the music and written the lyrics. Justine Moral stars as Fovea and Regina Aquino portrays Fovea's mother and grandmother. Sally Imbriano is the understudy for all three characters. Kelly Colburn is assistant director, Ely Orquiza is dramaturg. Arnel Sancianco handles scenic design.

Special

Sancianco received a copy of the script last year. "At the time the show had one workshop under its belt. I watched the recording and listened to the demos. I couldn't stop humming the opening number," he says. "There was this specific moment where Fovea's lola is introduced and it immediately reminded me of my lola. I hadn't felt that level of representation in my work before. I knew I had something special in my hands." 

Filipino American set designer Arnel Sancianco's model
for "The Mortification of Fovea Munson." 

Born in San Diego, Sancianco is currently based in Tempe, Arizona where he is a professor of scenic design at Arizona State University. He was previously based in Chicago, where his credits include works for The Goodman, Steppenwolf, Lookingglass and American Theatre Company as well as regional theaters such as Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, American Players Theatre, The Rep at St. Louis and Milwaukee Rep.

When Sancianco was studying at University of California Irvine, he was on track to becoming an actor until he had a mortifying incident of his own. "No one thinks about casting Asians for theater," a mentor told him. "Hearing this from someone I had respected made my heart sink and I watched what I had believed to be my life's calling dissolve."

It took until his third year of college to regain his footing. During a course in scenic design, his class was assigned to report on designers throughout history. "Mostly white. As we entered the late 20th century, I was introduced to Robert Brill ... [a Filipino] American designer from San Diego like me! With a prolific career that I wanted. All at once, I finally felt seen. Robert Brill was the role model I had been looking for and because he had made a career in theater, I knew I could too." (Brill is featured in the book Barangay to Broadway: Filipino American Theater History.)

Excited

Sancianco surveys how far he has come. "It's a complicated halo halo of emotions. On one hand, I'm very excited to put a Filipino-centered story on stage. At the same time it breaks my heart that it took this long to do so.

Filipino American scenic designer Arnel Sancianco. 

"I've been designing theater for over a decade now and I can count on one hand the amount of Asian-centered narratives I've been part of. And while I've worked with many Filipino actors, I've never been able to work on a show where Filipinos get to be Filipino. I am so grateful for the folks at Kennedy Center who are able to make space for me and my culture."

Explaining his process, Sancianco says, "This show is set in a lab and labs are where you learn, dissect, and experiment. I feel I did exactly that. We talked to a lot of specialists to help us explore how to create a world where three severed heads can sing and act.

To better serve the storytelling, he was not afraid to excise what was unnecessary. "We spent a lot of resources investigating what was going to be a fun effect. In the end, we discovered that what we developed, while super exciting, would actually make the performance clunky in the end. Now, to any other person this would have been time wasted, but to a designer like me, this was time spent knowing what this show was not, and in turn discovered more of what this show truly requires.

"A lot of my inspiration for the show came from the tone of [the] music. The demos brought me back to the days of reading Goosebumps books. I wanted to capture that nightmarish and ghoulish feeling of being a young kid thrown into angsty anxious space. Ultimately, I'm very excited with what we developed and can't wait to see it on stage."

Visit Kennedy-center.org.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/122886/fil-am-artists-prep-musical-premiering-at-kennedy-center-in-d-c

Audiences nationwide will see a Filipino American Cinderella

By WALTER ANG
Feb. 10, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

BUFFALO, New York — Audiences across the country will have a chance to see a Filipino American Cinderella on stage this year. Diane Phelan is playing the orphan-turned-princess in the touring production of "Into the Woods."

Filipino American Diane Phelan, who is playing Cinderella
in the touring production of "Into the Woods," in a backstage photo. 

Tony Award winner Lea Salonga has praised Phelan's performance in this latest Broadway revival of the beloved musical in an Instagram post as "supremely talented, smart and present."

The musical links several Grimm fairy tale characters, such as Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel, and goes on to explore the consequences of their fulfilled wishes.

This staging by New York City Center's "Encores!" program series started off as a sold-out concert with Broadway stars Sara Bareilles and Neil Patrick Harris as the Baker's Wife and Baker, respectively.

The show's music is by the late Stephen Sondheim, who had a cameo in the recently released Netflix whodunit "Glass Onion." The 2002 Broadway revival starred Vanessa Williams as the Witch while the 2014 film version had Meryl Streep heading the cast.

Best job

Phelan initially joined the Broadway production at St. James Theatre as a standby, which is an actor who goes on for an absent actor in specific roles. But she wasn't just tasked to be a standby for one role.

Diane Phelan (left) with Tony Award winner Lea Salonga. INSTAGRAM

"I was over the moon to be cast as a standby for five roles in this iconic and beloved show. The opportunity to work on five meaty roles with the opportunity to perform them on one of the most revered stages in the country made me feel like I had the absolute best job on Broadway.

"I loved the immense challenge of learning and honing so many principal roles. It was like the best playground ever."

Profound

Phelan, whose mother is Filipino and father is of Irish American heritage, was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. when she was nine years old.

Filipino American Broadway actor Diane Phelan. 

"When we first came to the states, my mother's lifeline had been community theater. We did `South Pacific,' `Godspell' and others. I joined in and discovered I had a voice and a love for telling stories. It was in high school doing `Fiddler On the Roof' that I felt a profound connection to acting and I had just started formal singing training. These were the beginnings for me.

Phelan's previous Broadway credits include "School of Rock," "Bernarda Alba" and "West Side Story." She was also in the off-Broadway staging of the Imelda Marcos disco-pop musical "Here Lies Love," which has been announced to open on Broadway in June.

Elation

As she went through performing her different standby roles, she developed an affinity for one that "felt most right [to] spend more time with." Of course, before you knew it, she was cast as Cinderella for the Broadway production and then for the tour. (Fil-Am Albert Guerzon played Cinderella's father in the Broadway production.)

"There is a special kind of elation when you are granted access to opportunity as a person of color in this business that feels like savoring the best meal without interruption. That's what it was like to close the run out on Broadway as Cinderella and what it feels like to be told I'm playing Cinderella on the full tour."

The tour kicks off in Buffalo, New York and will have shows in cities such as Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, among others.

"One of my favorite parts about performing Cinderella in New York was getting to see all the Asian and Filipino families who would come up to me after the show to tell me with tears in their eyes how much seeing me on that stage has meant to them.

"I've fought long and vocally for diversity in casting over the years and to actually experience it from this angle is incredibly joy filled for me. So the prospect of being able to bring this show and representing in a capacity some of our community hasn't seen before feels deeply satisfying."

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https://usa.inquirer.net/122023/audiences-nationwide-will-see-a-fil-am-cinderella

A Filipino Canadian gay rom-com for Valentine’s

By WALTER ANG
Feb. 9, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

OTTAWA, Ontario — A raunchy gay comedy by a Filipino Canadian playwright will hit the boards at the Canadian capital this Valentine's month.

Filipino Canadian actors Marc Ducusin (left) and Mark Hrynioch. 

Riley Palanca's "Would Virginia Woolf Contemplate Suicide If She Were Filipino?" will be showing at this year's Undercurrents Festival, a showcase  of "original, contemporary theater created by local, national and international artists."

Written under the pen name Revan Badingham III, the play tracks one evening between Lemar, newly arrived in Canada from the Philippines, and Warren, the son of rich immigrants. They agree to meet after matching on a dating app. During this intimate encounter, games will be played and pants will be unbuckled. However, they soon realize they each have very different expectations for the evening.

The work premiered in last year's St. Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival and won "Most Promising English Text." "Our audiences were very receptive!" says Palanca. "Five out of six shows received standing ovations."

Filipino Canadians involved in the production include director Dennis Gupa and actors Mark Hrynioch and Marc Ducusin.

Identity

Palanca incorporated English writer Virginia Woolf into this work because "she is a literary queer icon. A lot of queer writers have already been inspired by her, with works like 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' and 'The Hours.'

"We also added a layer of race into the equation. We are brown people looking at someone whose work is so prominent in the Western canon.

"She wrote about how different people have different experiences of the same thing. She posed the thought experiment: If William Shakespeare had a sister who was equally intelligent and creative, would she have been as successful as her brother or would societal expectations have impeded her?

"This kind of multilayered way of looking at literary icons is also echoed in the play's own narrative of identity."

Inspiration

The production has made it a point to highlight that the play's subject matter has been inspired by "the BL [genre] in Asia."

Palanca explains that Boys' Love is "a tradition of homoerotic work, originating from manga and anime (Japanese comics and animation) that explores male-male pairings from a more diverse, non-traditional viewpoint."

Employing it as a launching point for his piece was "a matter of using a different, non-Western lens in discussing relationships to the public."

"We're doing it for cultural conversations. We are Filipinos abroad [from the Philippines], our main existence is a paradox. We want to share an Asian way of storytelling, that has already proven popular with audiences abroad. If BL is to be done in Canada, let it be done by a group of queer Filipino artists."

Authentic

Palanca gushes as a fan of the genre. "I'm really into the Filipino BL! BL became very famous during the onset of the pandemic. As a Filipino abroad, it felt like a way of connecting with my own roots, seeing gay stories represented.

"Particularly, I use 'Gameboys' as my base line," he says, referring to a YouTube series that was picked up by Netflix, followed by a film. "It was the first major BL in the Philippines and arguably still one of the best."

While the BL genre is traditionally known to be associated with female audiences, Palanca says "there is, of course, nothing wrong with writing for female audiences. The romance genre, regardless of pairing, is generally geared toward a larger female audience. "

He points out that "most contemporary BL shows from the Philippines are created by gay men and are also able to attract a queer following."

What he stresses is that "our team believes it important to have our stories be told by queer Filipino artists to keep the message authentic. At its core, it's about the lived experience of queer Filipinos in Canada."

"Would Virginia Woolf Contemplate Suicide if She Were Filipino?" runs Feb. 16 to 18. Feb. 17 show will have ASL interpretation. Visit bit.ly/VirginiaWoolfOttawa.

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https://usa.inquirer.net/121964/a-fil-canadian-gay-rom-com-for-valentines

Filipino Americans originate roles in ‘Young Americans’ world premiere

By WALTER ANG
Feb. 7, 2023 | USA.Inquirer.net 

PORTLAND, Oregon — Filipino American actors Danny Bernardo and Marielle Young have the distinction of originating two roles in the world premiere of the play "Young Americans."

Filipino American actors Marielle Young and Danny Bernardo.

Written by Lauren Yee and staged by Portland Center Stage, the play veers back and forth in time as it takes audiences on two road trips, traveling to and from Portland, 20 years apart, across two generations.

In one trip, immigrants Joe (played by Bernardo) and Jenny (played by Young) drive from the East Coast to Portland, trying to connect as a newly engaged couple. In the other trip, 20 years later, Joe and their adopted daughter, Lucy, set out on a similar cross-country adventure.

With some unexpected detours along the way, Joe and Jenny traverse the strange territory of their new country, while their daughter, Lucy, pieces together their bittersweet family history.

Heritage

The Joe and Jenny characters were not written to have any specific country of origin, only that they are of the same heritage. "Lauren is such a gifted writer," says Bernardo. "She's made the experiences shared between the two characters so universal that it transcends many cultures and really connects with both the artists and the audience."

Bernardo's recent credits include "Wally World," "Mamma Mia!," "Pacific Overtures" and "Urinetown."

"Because Marielle and I are Filipino American, that's who Jenny and Joe are for the world premiere. We're so blessed to be in a [rehearsal] room full of people from different backgrounds and are finding camaraderie in our shared experiences and the universality of the piece. And because both Lauren and our director Desdemona Chiang are very collaborative, we've infused a lot of Filipinoisms into the piece."

Young has recently been in the world premiere of Laura Gunderson's "The Book of Will." Other credits include "Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them" by Fil-Am playwright A. Rey Pamatmat, "A Doll's House, Part 2" and "Love's Labour's Lost."

New

The pair expressed excitement at the opportunity to create never before seen characters from scratch. "I love the generous collaboration of developing new plays! The audience has no roadmap for what to think of this character, and that's a cool opportunity," says Young.

"It's been thrilling to refine who Jenny is with our director and playwright in the rehearsal room. Then for me to add a piece of my individuality and experiences to the mix. Lauren's writing addresses some juicy questions through these three compelling relationships. The dialogue is also just really, really funny," she adds.

Bernardo says, "Working on a new piece is always very exciting. There's an extreme amount of trust between the writer and the actor. As an actor, you really want to honor what the writer has given you to the best of your ability. The writer wants to make sure they're supporting you enough in the text while giving you space to explore."

"There's an amazing fusion where the character is being breathed into existence by two people while being shaped by the director. You have an ongoing collaboration and conversation with the writer. Your input in the core of the character is integral. That's just something you don't get working with an established character. It's an honor and somewhat terrifying at the same time. You want to get it `right' but by just trusting yourself and the writer, you are right," he says.

Personal

Both actors have been drawing from personal experiences and relationships to help build and shape their characters.

"I'm very blessed to be playing Joe," says Bernardo. "I know him very well in my father, my Kuya Roger, and the prolific actor Joseph Anthony Foronda, all of whom I'm drawing inspiration from in creating this role."

Young says "This play means a lot to me because it very closely resembles my mom's immigration story coming from the Philippines with lots of hope, weighty familial expectations, and having the essence of being a wanderer who seizes every moment."

Young Americans begins preview performances on Feb. 11, opens on Feb. 17. Visit Pcs.org/young-americans. 

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https://usa.inquirer.net/121823/fil-ams-originate-roles-in-young-americans-world-premiere