Monday, December 7, 2020 (New York, NY): Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA) announces its roster of speakers and performers for the fifth episode of its ongoing monthly ConFest Virtual Series, “From the Source, Seeds for a Myriad of Worlds,” on Monday, December 14, 2020 at 1PM HST, 2PM AKST, 3PM PST, 4PM MST, 5PM CST, and 6PM EST. The episode will be hosted by Roger Tang (Producer, Pork Filled Productions, Seattle; Board Member, CAATA).
“From the Source, Seeds of Myriad Worlds” will celebrate the rich tapestry of Asian American theatre throughout the country with presentations from Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston (Boston, MA), Bindlestiff Studio (San Francisco, CA), East West Players (Los Angeles, CA), Ma-Yi Theater Company (New York, NY), Pork Filled Productions (Seattle, WA), SIS Productions (Seattle, WA), and Theater Mu (Minneapolis, MN). The episode will be broadcast on Howlround and on CAATA’s Facebook page
The online event include archival footage from Bindlestiff Studio’s 30th Anniversary Gala and a short sketch comedy play from the show “HOEVID-19” by the all Asian American womxn comedy troupe Granny Cart Gangstas; excerpts from Pork Filled Productions’ 2015 production of The Tumbleweed Zephyr by Maggie Lee, as well as clips from their sketch comedy performances; and a visual history celebrating SIS Productions’ 20th year as a female-run Asian American theatre company. This episode will also feature presentations from Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston, East West Players, Theater Mu, and Ma-Yi Theater Company that focus on their histories and achievements as Asian American theatres as well as their transition into the digital space during COVID-19.
The CAATA December Virtual ConFest is a showcase featuring the richness of Asian American theatre across the country.
“From the Source, Seeds for a Myriad of Worlds,” is the fourth episode of CAATA ConFest’s Virtual Series exploring the theme of the upcoming 7th Asian American Theater Festival & Conference (ConFest) “Kuʻu ʻĀina, Kuʻu Piko, Kuʻu Kahua – Return to the Source” in Honolulu, Hawaii. The in-person ConFest will center the voices of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander theater practitioners, and feature the thriving theater community of Hawaiʻi, where Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander faces on stage are the norm, not the exception.
“Ku‘u ‘Āina, Ku‘u Piko, Ku‘u Kahua – Return to the Source” is a call to all theatre artists to reconnect with their foundations and their sources of knowledge: their land, their family, their center. The online series and its presentation of the wide diaspora of Pan Asian/Pacific Islander/MENA/Native/Indigenous American stories will be a vehicle through which both the audience and artists can ground themselves in their cultural knowledge and the many identities that we bring to our communities.
“Future episodes of the series will feature artists from across the country who represent some of the most groundbreaking work in American theatre, and includes stories from across the breadth of the Pan Asian/Pacific Islander/MENA/Native/Indigenous American diaspora, including Hawaii, Egypt, Vietnam, and more,” said ConFest Co-Chairs Leilani Chan (Founding Artistic Director, TeAda Productions) and Tammy Haili‘ōpua Baker (Associate Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Hawaii at Mānoa).
They added, “This series is not meant to be a replacement for the conference and festival, but is an offering to begin discussions around artists, topics and themes proposed by the field that we hope will culminate in celebration when we are able to gather in person again next year. Our goal is to also continue dialogue with other BIPOC networks of color and connect artists with current BIPOC movements.”
The ConFest Virtual Series is being produced in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons in Boston, MA, a nonprofit organization that operates as part of Emerson Collegeʻs Office of the Arts. HowlRound provides a free and open platform for theatre-makers worldwide that amplifies progressive, disruptive ideas about the art form and facilitates connection between diverse practitioners. The series will be presented on HowlRound TV, HowlRoundʻs global, commons-based peer produced, open access live streaming and video archive project.
Maximiliano Urruzmendi-Mele will be the series Technical Director, and CAATA staff member Ariel Estrada will be the series Line Producer. A full schedule of broadcast dates for the ConFest Virtual Series can be found on CAATAʻs website at https://caata.net/monthly-confest-virtual-series/.