Asian American Playwrights

In the late nineteenth century, Asian American drama made its debut with the spotlight firmly on the lives and struggles of Asians in North America, rather than on the cultures and traditions of the Asian homeland. Today, Asian American playwrights continue to challenge the limitations of established theatrical conventions and direct popular attention toward issues and experiences that might otherwise be ignored or marginalized. While Asian American literature came into full bloom in the last 25 years, Asian American drama has yet to receive the kind of critical attention it warrants. This reference book serves as a versatile vehicle for exploring the field of Asian American drama from its recorded conception to its present stage. Included are alphabetically arranged entries for 52 Asian American dramatists of origins from India, Pakistan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, and China. Each entry includes relevant biographical information that contextualizes the works of a playwright, an interpretive description of selected plays that spotlights recurring themes and plots, a summary of the playwright's critical reception, and a bibliography of primary and secondary works. The entries are written by expert contributors and reflect the ethnic diversity of the Asian American community. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography, which includes anthologies, scholarly studies, and periodicals.

The Asian American Playwright Collective anthology of new plays features eight short works by playwrights based in Boston, Massachusetts. The collection features works by Christina R Chan, Hortense Gerardo, Mariko Kanto, Greg Lam, Michael Lin, Quentin Nguyen-duy, Audrey Pillsbury, and Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro.

At a time when Asian American theater is enjoying a measure of growth and success, Josephine Lee tells us about the complex social and political issues depicted by Asian American playwrights. By looking at performances and dramatic texts, Lee argues that playwrights produce a different conception of "Asian America" in accordance with their unique set of sensibilities. For instance, some Asian American playwrights critique the separation of issues of race and ethnicity from those of economics and class, or they see ethnic identity as a voluntary choice of lifestyle rather than an impetus for concerted political action. Others deal with the problem of cultural stereotypes and how to reappropriate their power. Lee is attuned to the complexities and contradictions of such performances, and her trenchant thinking about the criticisms lobbed at Asian American playwrights -- for their choices in form, perpetuation of stereotype, or apparent sexism or homophobia -- leads her to question how the presentation of Asian American identity in the theater parallels problems and possibilities of identity offstage as well. Discussed are better-known plays such as Frank Chin's The Chickencoop Chinaman, David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly, and Velina Hasu Houston's Tea, and new works like Jeannie Barroga's Walls and Wakako Yamauchi's 12-1-a.

"The first two generations of Asian American drama articulated experiences and issues of race and identity. Their legacy left an indelible impression. In this anthology, a new generation of Asian American playwrights explores the myriad ways in which Asians live in America."-Editor Chay Yew This first major anthology of contemporary Asian American drama in almost two decades showcases plays of the new generation: Julia Cho's Durango, Sunil Kuruvilla's Rice Boy, Han Ong's Swoony Planet, Sung Rno's Wave, Diana Son's Boy, Alice Tuan's Last of the Suns, and Chay Yew's Question 27, Question 28. This is work that readily combines the Medea myth with wave-particle physics; it nimbly moves between a field in Kitchener, Canada, and a treetop in Kerala, India. It explores complexities of gender, sexuality, and family as it demonstrates the cultural and aesthetic diversity of Asian American voices writing for today's American theater. Also included in this volume is The Square, a choral piece by sixteen leading playwrights meditating on 120 years of perceptions and relationships between non-Asian Americans and the Asian American community, set in a public square in the Chinatown of an American city.

This book surveys the history of Asian American theatre from 1965 to 2005.

This book captures the 30-year history of the East West Players (EWP), tracing the company's representation of Asian Americans through the complex social and cultural changes of the past three decades.

By bringing the plays together in this collection, Esther Kim Lee highlights the themes and styles that have enlivened Korean diasporic theater in the Americas since the 1990s. Some of the plays are set in urban Koreatowns. One takes place in the middle of Texas, while another unfolds entirely in a character's mind. Ethnic identity is not as central as it was in the work of previous generations of Asian diasporic playwrights.