George Nakano Theatre, Torrance Cultural
Arts Center
3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance
Ticket info: (310) 781-7171
Dan's newest show returns to Southern California!
Featuring new choreography, video sequences,
and a post-inauguration kick!
IT’S GREAT 2B AMERICAN is a funny, fierce,
highly political piece inspired by Kwong's Southern California
upbringing and his recent travels in Asia. A darkly humorous
search for national identity beyond arrogance, denial or
guilt, Dan confronts the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde within
the American psyche: from champion of democracy to imperialist
bully.
Along the way, IG2BA inspects the carry-on
baggage that comes with a U.S. passport and an Asian face,
embracing the irony of being “oppressed minority”
at home and privileged citizen of the great global power
abroad.
Equal parts documentary travelogue, satirical
dance review, irreverent history lesson, and poignant storytelling.
From the Japanese American internment camps
of WWII to the secret American bombing of Cambodia to tourist
shopping in Bali to the events of September 11th, this is
a timely, hard-hitting work that boldly and humorously speaks
to America’s place in the world -- its checkered past,
troubled present and hopeful future.
Part of the "Whose Story Now?"
series curated by John Powers, presented in association
with the Japanese American Citizens League, Japanese American
National Museum, Japanese American Historical Society, JACCC,
and more.
www.torrancelive.us
CALIFORNIA
Workshop:
Collaboratory VII: "The
Blue Marble"
Seeking
diverse, environmentally-conscious, emerging artists to
create collaborative performances and develop leadership
skills.
Dan will be directing another
cycle of this 8-week mentorship program sponsored by Great
Leap. Intended for those who are interested using the arts
as a vehicle for social change, this is a fantastic opportunity
to develop as an individual artist and a team-player.
Guest teachers present master
classes, participants go on field trips to cultural &
community centers around the city, intensive hands-on work
learning collaboration methods, plus LOTS of time working
with Dan and Co-facilitator Young-Ae Park.
THEME: CARING
FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
COST:
FREE! Participants are required to create a final project
at conclusion of program (for details see link).
WORKSHOP
PERIOD: June 13 to July 25 MEETINGS:
Twice a week. Wed 7-10PM & Sat 10AM-4PM. FINAL REHEARSALS: EVENINGS
Mon-Fri. July 27-Aug 1; Aug 3-7
PERFORMANCES:
Sat. Aug 8th 3PM & 8PM DEADLINE:
Monday May 15 (IN OFFICE, NOT postmark)
APPLY NOW! Go to: http://www.greatleap.org/collaboratory/
(Sorry that's not a clickable
link, I don't know how to do that yet. Paste and copy into
your browser)
VIDEO CLIPS FROM IG2BA:
NOTE: Some of these are newly
edited (4/09) with footage from Nov '08 performances at
L.A. Theater Center!
new excerpt: Unilateral Culture
Exchange
new excerpts: Letters from an
American + Preachin' to the Choir
new excerpts: Passport to Conquest
+ Navy Blue & Gold
new excerpts: Land of Smiles
+ Abu Ghraib Masked Ball
new excerpt: Laos+Dance of The
Big Stick
excerpt - Classroom Patriots
excerpt - in Cambodia
excerpt - Cognitive Dissonance
MINI-REPORTS
WISCONSIN
Lecture/Demo:
From
Inner Worlds
University of Wisconsin, Madison
February 23, 2009: Dan gave a 90 minute talk
with video screening, plus mini-performance excerpt about
his latest work. We were hosted locally by the wonderful
Li-Chiao-Ping and her husband Doug Rosenberg.
WISCONSIN
Performance:
IT'S
GREAT 2B AMERICAN
Beloit
College, Beloit, WI. Wilson
Theater
February 26, 2009: Dan performed the full
show for the good folks at Beloit, and taught an introductory
workshop on autobiographical writing & performing for
the Theater Department.
ILLINOIS
Lecture/Video presentation:
From
Inner Worlds
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
February 26, 2009: Dan screened video and
talked about his latest work in this visit to his beloved
alma mater, hosted by the Visiting Artists Performance Seminar
series.
CALIFORNIA:
IT'S
GREAT 2B AMERICAN
Los
Angeles Theater Center, Co-directed
by SHISHIR KURUP
November 14-16, 2008: This production featured
new choreography and spiffed up video sequences, and a definite
post-election kick!
Part of LATC's "Face Of The World Festival".
CALIFORNIA:
Be
Like Water
East West
Players Theater, Directed
by CHRIS TASHIMA
Sept 17-Oct 12,
2008: Dan's play had its world premiere!
"Dan Kwong has penned a powerful, emotive,
yet at times playful tale..." ~ Rafu Shimpo
"The beauty of "Be Like Water"
is that it's about families like yours that struggle with
identity, racism and insurmountable family expectations. It's
about your heartbreak and strength." ~ Pacific Citizen
"Kwong... can still deliver a roundhouse
kick to the emotions." ~ L.A. Times
"...Hayashida and Sun Lee deftly handle
playwright Kwong’s venerable skill in writing monologues
that forward story line while allowing character depth."
~ View From A Loft
"Playwright Dan Kwong reveals an ability
to adapt the huge issues (racism, mother-daughter stalemates,
application of ancient wisdom) to living-room scale. He balances
these disparate dimensions so that the expansiveness, danger
and instruction of unseen story are just as active as the
day-to-day trials of his familar characters." ~ Theater
Times
Synopsis:
Chicago, 1978. Disco rules.
It's been 5 years since the tragic and untimely death of legendary
martial artist Bruce Lee.
Tracy Fong is a 13-year old
tomboy who has become a street-fighting, ass-kicking, gung-fu/Bruce
Lee-fanatic. Her best friend at school happens to be named
Bruce Lee - but he's a scrawny little nerd who loves disco
dancing as much as Tracy despises it.
While Dad plays it cool, Mom
pressures their daughter to be more of a "normal"
girl.
As Tracy squares off against
a nasty bully, her overbearing mother, and the dreaded annual
disco dance, along comes the Ghost of Bruce Lee (in a glass
of water!) to help Tracy on her journey.
Produced by EWP in association
with Cedar Grove Onstage.
CALIFORNIA:
IT'S
GREAT 2B AMERICAN
Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica
July 10-13, 2008: Dan premiered his first full-length
solo performance in 9 years!
MINNESOTA:
IT'S GREAT 2B AMERICAN
2nd Natl Asian American Theater Conference
Mixed Blood Theater, Minneapolis
June 5-7, 2008: Kwong performed
a 10 minute excerpt from his new work as part of the Writer/
Performer Showcase, and also sat on a couple panels at the Conference:
"Surviving as a Solo Artist" and "Shaping the
Remix", the latter which included discussion of the Collaboratory
mentorship program he has been directing for Great Leap since
2005.
MINI-REPORTS
(cont):
JAPAN:
Performance as Self-Expression/Realization
Kobe University,
Japan
May 8, 2008: On Dan's
second visit to Kobe U. he gave a lecture to faculty
and students on his teaching methods and philosophy,
and taught an introductory performance workshop.
Sponsored by Kobe U's
Prof. Hideyuki Yamamoto and the Innovative Ethics
Research Project, Faculty of Letters.
CALIFORNIA:
From
Inner Worlds
Cal State University Northridge
March 12, 2008: Dan performed excerpts
from his book as part of the CSUN multicultural program.
CALIFORNIA:
Collaboratory V:
"Leaps of Faith"
National
Center for the Preservation of Democracy, Los Angeles
March 8,9 2008: Led by
Project Director Dan and Co-Facilitators Young-Ae
Park and Nobuko Miyamoto, ten artists worked together
for 7 weeks visiting various religious/spiritual centers
in Los Angeles, meeting with local mentors/elders/
“wisdom-keepers”, experiencing master classes
with guest teachers, and sharing their own personal
stories of faith with each other.
They combined autobiographical
material along with historical and contemporary sources
in a highly collaborative approach, addressing questions
such as: How can multi-dimensional religious identities
live side by side? How do we navigate religious conflicts
with intelligence and compassion? How can we create
progressive and respectful visions for the future?
One of our most successful
Collaboratory residencies ever!
NEW
HAMPSHIRE, MASSACHUSETTS:
Sleeping
With Strangers
Bowker
Auditorium, University
of Massachusetts, Amherst
February 8, 2008: Kwong
& Peng presented their critically-acclaimed blend
of performance art and Chinese opera to a full house.
sponsored by the UMass Asian Studies Department. Two
days later they taught workshops and performed for Derryfield
School in nearby Manchester, New Hampshire.
JAPAN:
Being Naked without
Being Nude
Kobe University,
Japan
December 13, 2007: Dan gave
a video presentation and lecture about his autobiographical
performance work for students at the Faculty of Letters.
Students found the provocative title utterly confusing...
WASHINGTON:
From Inner Worlds
Whitman College, Walla
Walla WA
August 26-September 29, 2007:
Dan guest-taught a very successful intensive course on
Autobiographical Writing & Performing for the Theater
Department of Whitman College. A remarkably talented group
of students presented their solo pieces to full-houses
as the opening production of the Whitman Theater Department's
season.
CALIFORNIA:
Collaboratory IV: "Third Stone"
FarmLab, Los Angeles
July-August, 2007: Dan and Young-Ae
Park facilitated a free 8-week residency for emerging artists-of-color
interested in collaborative performance and community leadership.
Sponsored by Great Leap, the Collaboratory is designed to
nurture the next generation of artist-leaders in Los Angeles.
The theme for this round was "caring for the environment".
The residency included field
trips to various cultural centers in communities of color,
guest teachers, and seminars with community elders, mentors,
and wisdom-keepers.
Collaboratory IV culminated
in a weekend of performances created by participants, directed
by Kwong and Park, and hosted by FarmLab, a progressive
organization in downtown L.A. which is dedicated to finding
new ways to bring the urban environment more in harmony
with nature.
PUBLICATION:
A
History of Asian American Theatre
Recently published by Cambridge University Press,
this is the definitive book on the subject, written by Esther
Kim Lee, Asst. Professor of Theatre at the University of Illinois
Champaign Urbana.
It acknowledges the significance of Kwong's body
of work within a larger historical context of Asian American theater,
spanning from 1965 to 2006.
Quote from the book:
"Dan Kwong empowers the Asian American
identity and challenges American identity by telling stories of
his life. And he has inspired others to use his workshop techniques
to continue breaking the cycle of silence of Asian American men
and women."
(ISBN-13-978-0-521-85051-3)
(The book also features a photo of Dan performing
at Highways. Photo credit should be: Marcel Schaap.)
OKLAHOMA:
Sleeping
With Strangers
Tulsa Performing Arts Center
March 2007: Dan & Peng performed
their critically-acclaimed collaboration to a packed audience
for New Genre XIV, the innovative arts festival in Tulsa produced
by Living Arts of Tulsa. They really know how to treat artists
right over there...
CALIFORNIA:
Sleeping
With Strangers
HIGHWAYS, Santa Monica, CA.
February 2006: The successful world
premiere of this multidisciplinary collaboration with traditional
Chinese opera artist Peng Jingquan from Beijing, China. Receiving
rave reviews, the show also toured to Duke University NC, New
York University, and Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA.
An outrageous blend of Chinese opera
(real and fake), Western drama, multimedia, puppetry, slapstick,
poetry and storytelling, "Sleeping With Strangers" shares
the highs and lows of international relations between China and
the U.S., between fathers and sons, and between friends.
PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA:
Sleeping
With Strangers
Nordica TC/G, Kunming
September 2005: A work-in-progress
version of Kwong & Peng's collaboration was presented in this
very cool Swedish(!) experimental gallery/performance space in
the city of Kunming. The eclectic audience - Chinese college students,
European ex-patriots, and a handful of locals who wandered in
not knowing what the heck was going to happen - all seemed to
appreciate it...
CAMBODIA:
The
Mekong Project Phase II
Phnom Penh; Siem Reap; Battambang
November 2004: Returning to SE Asia, Dan again
helped facilitate this international residency. The Mekong Project
brought together 14 artists from China, Vietnam, Laos, Burma,
Cambodia, Thailand and the U.S. Traveling together for 3 weeks
in Cambodia, the project visited Siem Riep (site of famed Angkor
Wat and many other spectacular temples) and Battambang before
culminating in a weekend of performances in Phnom Penh. A very
successful project!
CANADA:
A.T.H.E. Conference
Toronto, Ontario
July 30-31, 2004: The annual conference for the
Assoc. for Theatre in Higher Education included hundreds of academics
and practitioners from across the continent and beyond. Dan performed,
taught a workshop, was part of a panel discussion, participated
in an interview and did a book-signing session - all in 2 days...
U.S.A.
From
Inner Worlds to
Outer Space
Book Release Show
HIGHWAYS, Santa Monica,
CA.
July 22-24, 2004: To celebrate the publication
of his new book, Dan performed a medley of pieces from his repertoire
at Highways Performance Space. Featuring excerpts from the book,
the performance marked Dan's reunion with his brilliant director,
Christine Sang. All went exceptionally well with the exception
of a costume malfunction that made Janet Jackson's look tame in
comparison.
INDONESIA:
The Art of Rice
Pengosekan, Ubud, Bali
August 2003: Dan returned
to Bali, Indonesia to complete work on The
Art of Rice. This international collaborative
multidisciplinary multi-media performance featured eleven outstanding
artists from China, India, Burma, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Dominican
Republic and the U.S. all working together to create a performance
about that humble life-sustaining grain.
After a month in Bali developing the show, the group traveled
to Hawaii and performed on three different islands. It made its
L.A. premiere to full houses at the Japan America Theater, Pomona
College and UCLA. Dan had the opportunity to practice Balinese
shadow puppetry and 'topeng' (mask) performance. It was a wonderfully
intense experience with lots of very fast collaboration and creation.
CALIFORNIA:
Rite of Passage
HIGHWAYS, Santa Monica, CA.
May 10, 2003: Dan had his head shaved
onstage as part of Highways' 14th Birthday Celebration. Assisted
by performers Bennett Schneider
and Pete Lee,
Kwong sat stoically as audience members donated $10 each to come
onstage and snip off a lock of his hair. Meanwhile a videotape
was projected showing emails Dan received, cheering him on to
dome-hood, along with photos of Dan from age 3 months to present,
sporting all manner of hairdos.
Audience-barbers received groovy certificates of participation.
Final shaving of the Kwong-Dome was executed by Pete, to the strains
of Also Sprach Zarathustra. The ritual raised over $500 for Highways.
THAILAND, LAOS:
The
Mekong Project Phase I
Chiang Mai; Louang Prabang
March 2003: Dan was a Co-Facilitator on this
3-week residency in northern Thailand and Laos, helping artists
and staff work together successfully. The Mekong Project was a
multi-year project
funded by the Rockefeller
Foundation and administered by Dance
Theater Workshop in NY, to develop resources for Southeast Asian
artists in the Mekong region.
Highlight of the residency was a 4-day boat
ride down the Mekong River to Louang Prabang, Laos which inspired
the creation of a new solo performance, "On
The Mekong".
Boyle Heights Residency
Read a thoughtful recap of Dan’s performance residency in
conjunction with Great Leap as part of the Japanese
American National Museum's January 2003 exhibition
Boyle Heights: The Power Of Place.
April 9, 2005: The Japanese American Historical
Society of Southern California honored Dan for outstanding contributions
to Japanese American history and culture at a lovely banquet event.
Also honored that evening were videographers John Esaki and Amy
Kato, and traditional dancer Sumako Azuma.
Award
From LACAD
April 27, 2005: The Los Angeles Cultural Affairs
Department announced the recipients of its COLA grant for mid-career
artists, and Dan was among the group. The award resulted in the
creation of a new performance presented in May 2006 at Barnsdall
Gallery Theater (see above).
Award
From CCF
June 30, 2004: The
California Community Foundation announced recipients of its individual
fellowships for "Outstanding Mid-Career Artists" (at
least 15 years of professional experience). From 300 applicants,
5 California artists were selected for this highly-competitive
fellowship. Recipients were Enrique Celaya, Karen Kimmel, Rika
Ohara, Eloy Torrez and DK. Congratulations to all the
winners!
