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 'BOYLE
HEIGHTS' RESIDENCY REPORT
 
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UPCOMING:
JUST ANNOUNCED:
DAN'S
PLAY TO BE PRODUCED
BY EAST WEST PLAYERS
THEATER! (see
below)
JAPAN:
Performance as Self-Expression/Realization
Lecture/Demonstration
Thursday May 8th 3:00PM
Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
Dan will give a lecture w/ demonstration
for faculty, students and general public on his teaching methods
and philosophy, in conjunction with teaching an introductory
performance workshop.
Sponsored by Kobe U's Prof. Hideyuki
Yamamoto and the Innovative Ethics Research Project, Faculty
of Letters.
CALIFORNIA:
It's Great 2B _n American
(excerpts)
Thursday May 22nd 10AM
Ross Academy for Media Arts,
Artesia, CA.
Dan will perform various excerpts
from his new work (with some other pieces mixed in) for middle
school students. He promises not to include any profanity or
make any overtly sexual references such as butt plugs.
MINNESOTA:
It's Great 2B _n American
(excerpts)
2nd National Asian American Theater Conference
Thursday June 5th 8:00PM
Mixed Blood Theater, Minneapolis
Dan will perform 10 minutes of excerpts
from his new work, as part of the Writer/ Performer showcase.
CALIFORNIA:
It's
Great 2B _n American
WORLD PREMIERE July 10-13 8:30PM
Highways Performance Space Santa Monica
The premiere of Dan's first new full-length solo
performance in 9 years! (he's been busy...)
Combining monologue, extensive video imagery,
a wild smorgasbord of music, dynamic physicality, and Kwong's
trademark wacky props, "IG2BA" looks at the paradox
of international privilege and domestic oppression as experienced
by Asian Americans: at home a targeted minority, but abroad
a citizen of the big bad U.S. of A.
Features LOTS of video, music and dance movement.
Darkly humorous scenes include: Dan's 4th grade
Patriotic Love Story with autoharp accompaniment, Attack of
the Monster Passport, the National Pastime Invasion Dance, the
Abu Ghraib Masked Ball, fan mail from a Japanese American internment
camp, a fiery speech by the youngest-ever President of the United
States, and much more...
"Victim and Oppressor,
all in one handy easy-to-use passport!"
CALIFORNIA:
Be
Like Water
WORLD PREMIERE
Dan's first stageplay comes to East West
Players' David Henry Hwang Theater this fall!
Selected for inclusion in EWP's 08/09 season,
BE LIKE WATER is slated to open this September. Check in later
for more details regarding exact dates...
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.
Directed by: CHRIS
TASHIMA
Produced by EWP in association
with Cedar Grove Productions.
www.eastwestplayers.org
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.
Be
Like Water
(new
working title)
John Marshall High School,
Los Angeles
August 25, 2007: A reading of
the 4th draft of Dan's play was presented at the alma mater
of DK and director Chris Tashima. They escaped Detention.
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.
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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.
>
CLICK HERE <
GOOD
NEWS!
Award
From JAHSSC
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!
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