Archives for category: Diversity

HERE LIES….Good Stuff!

August 13, 2013 //

The Fairy Princess has watched the news in abject horror the past few weeks – I mean, I know ‘Haters gonna hate‘ but they seem to be going for the Gold Medal.

Ok, there is a place to start – Russia.

Russia hates LGBT people. (Article)

Hold on a minute, Russia….just so we are clear….this is what you are famous for….(Artistically famous, not, you know, bombs and torture, killing the Tsar & his family, and cold war ‘cross my line and I blow crap up‘ famous)

Ballet.

Architecture

And Literature….

Writer: Nikolai Gogol (Bio)

But Russia hates Gay People. I see. (Article)

Dear Russia – wake up and smell the caviar…you stink. And if you don’t take my word for it – you have been condemned by GERMANY! (Article)

GERMANY is looking down on you!

Germany, who is never ever going to be able to stop apologizing for THIS guy….

Ain’t NOBODY got time for that – Right, Sweet Brown?

The Fairy Princess can no longer indulge in a dirty martini! She could, yes, switch to gin – but she has seen the crazed orgy scene in The Wild Party too many times for that!

Oh well….back to whiskey….grrr.

This whole thing is ridiculous and tilted her tiara.

So The Fairy Princess is going to write about some GOOD THINGS that happened the last few weeks….get ready!

1. AVENUE Q celebrated it’s 10th year of running on a stage in Manhattan. It should be stated that from an Asian American perspective, Avenue Q provided the only ‘new’ Asian American character our Broadway stages have seen since…ummmm…Throughly Modern Millie in 2002 and since then there has been….ummmm….NEVERMIND – GOOD THINGS!

HERE are some of the lovelies that have played the part of Christmas Eve –

L-R: Lisa Helmi Johansen, Sala Iwamatsu, Ann Harada, Erin Quill, Hazel Anne Raymundo, Ruthie Anne Miles

And…as Creator Bobby Lopez said about this photo “The scary thing is that there are so many more”

So Congrats to the Creators, Producers, Crew and Cast Members of Avenue Q – The Fairy Princess was very proud to ‘live’ there as part of the Original Broadway Company and just so’s ya know…July 31st was declared AVENUE Q DAY by the City of New York!

2. The FuManchu Complex which will run in London at The Oval House from Oct 1-19th, 2013 has been fully funded through Kickstarter!

Normally, The Fairy Princess DOES NOT give to Kickstarter – and here is why – and ARTISTS, I want you to pay special attention to WHY I normally do NOT give to Kickstarter and why I DID give to this one.

The Fairy Princess believes that if you want her to invest in a film, or play, or project of any sort, then present me with an investment package. I want to see that if I am an investor in your project, then there is some small hope of return on said investment. (The Fairy Princess is not DELUSIONAL, she KNOWS that there is little to no hope of return on investments in Artistic projects, but let’s have RESPECT for the investor)

I do not believe in, in general, asking people to just give money for artistic endeavors because, in the olden days, when I started – if you wanted to fund your own work….you got a job and saved money.

You produced your show yourself, you saved, you borrowed, however you wanted to do it, but you did not expect your friends to pony up money so that you could be saved the hassle of saving.

Then you invited people to buy tickets to your show.

THAT was how friends showed support. They bought tickets. They bought CDs. They came to see the project when completed.

The Fairy Princess is NOT a fan of ‘oh this will be good for my career, and I have fans or friends…I’m just going to ASK them for it, but I will reap any and all benefits and then I will not have to pay back anyone“.

NOT a fan.

I have seen too many Kickstarter funded projects that wound up not actually coming to fruition, and the money – which has no ‘if the project is not completed this money is returned to you‘ clause – went to pay someone’s credit card bill or for a fancy trip abroad.

Now that celebrities are using the fans to pay for projects that they could have found funding for on their own, because they ARE Celebrities with fans…The Fairy Princess was ‘stick a fork in Zach Braff done‘ DONE with Kickstarter.

The NY Times agrees with The Fairy Princess – celebrities using Kickstarter is not quite ethical…(Article)

EXCEPT for FuManchu Complex and HERE is why –

They needed two thousand pounds.

To put up a PLAY.

For 19 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I gave them money because I know – I KNOW that they are not going to run and pay an old bill, they are not going to go on a fancy trip – they are renting a space and they are building a set. Obviously, no one is getting paid- they are doing it for themselves but they are ALSO doing it to help keep alive the British East Asian Theater presence and so…I chose to give them money, even AFTER they reached their goal…because you know what?

The Fairy Princess is unable to attend the show due to it being in another country – so she cannot buy a ticket – Kickstarter, in this instance, was the way she chose to raise a glass and salute them. Bon chance, you feisty British East Asians!

And if anyone reading this would like to also send them some $$$ so they can perhaps go to the pub after opening night – here is the link:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/321216033/the-fu-manchu-complex-at-ovalhouse-1-19-october-20?ref=email

And Bless your hearts if you do! All Hail Daniel York and his buddies for continuing to rail against the dying of the light…it’s a damn hard thing to do.

UPDATE FROM DANIEL YORK:

‘One thing I should point out though is that the actors (five East Asians) WILL get paid the Equity rate and that’s one of the things we needed the money for because the Arts Council would only fund us if we raised a certain amount ourselves, the £2000 is barely 5% of the budget but it’s crucial in that sense. I have, however, waived my writer’s fee completely because I want the play to go on and I want East Asian actors on stage in work by an East Asian writer because I want us to have our own foundation rather be relying on the mainstream to chuck us a bone when they wanna put on a China play PLUS the cast we have is just about the most diverse group of Asians ever and we need to be seen as that. Diverse.’

OK – ACTORS GET PAID!!!!!!!!!!! That is even MORE awesome! Well then I’m glad I gave money to such a great cause and The Fairy Princess wishes she could be there to see it. BRAVO ahead of time, you British East Asians!

3. Kristina Wong is the next great thing that happened in the past couple of weeks, because she took on that hideous offensive mess that was the video Asian Girlz and she answered it back with a witty video of her own:

Kristina Wong is a Performance Artist that The Fairy Princess is glad to see on the great wide Interweb. How wonderful that a strong Asian American Woman took a stand against racism, sexism, and stupidity- this is a fabulous thing.

Let’s all get excited about this and watch the video more than a few times and tweet it etc, so that she might get paid the literally hundred of dollars (no, not a typo) that you can make on YouTube if your video is viral.

She is a Performance Artist….she needs the $$$!

4. Kevin Burrows is the next great thing to happen in the past week.

You might not know Kevin and his work if you are not a Broadway afficianado, but Playbill.com certainly should have when they decided to highlight Broadway ‘show-mances’ that lasted and lasted. You see, Playbill.com decided to highlight more than a few of them, but failed to include any LGBT Broadway couples. (Article)

Say what?

Ummmmm, is Playbill.com under the misapprehension that theater in New York City is only inhabited by ‘straight’ people?

One assumes that Playbill.com has actually BEEN to a Broadway show or two or twenty and has done only approximately thousands of interviews WITH Broadway people…where they may have noticed some LGBT couples.

But…when you assume…oh FELIX UNGER…..

Anyway, Kevin read the article, got fired up, and responded with his OWN article entitled “Till There Was US” on The Huffington Post. (Article)

Here is why this is awesome – because Mr. Burrows took on what is, really, institutional prejudice, and won with placement of his own article in the NATIONAL press.

Well played, Mr. Burrows, well played. A righteous parry & thrust!

Playbill.com is, of course, designed to help sell Broadway shows – therefore, they may have decided that the people reading Playbill.com tended to be consumers more than theater practitioners. They may even be right.

However, just because facts may upset someone who has an ability to buy a ticket, but an inability to acknowledge the right to live and love whom you want, as any consenting adult should be able to do – does not make it right to leave out couples who are part of the very reason there are tickets to sell in the FIRST place!

THIS. IS. NEW. YORK. CITY. and to leave OUT LGBT Couples who make UP a huge part of the Broadway Community is flat out, dead WRONG to do.

‘Mad props’ to Kevin Burrows for standing up for his own relationship, and the visibility of LGBT relationships in the Broadway community!

Encore! Encore!

5. HERE LIES LOVE is looking to transfer to Broadway! (Article)

The Fairy Princess saw this musical by David Byrne & Fat Boy Slim down at The Public Theater and truly, truly enjoyed it. This may be the first ‘new’ All Asian American musical to make it to Broadway in the next year, so this blog in particular, wishes the show well

And THOSE are FIVE things that were kinda awesome the past few weeks….and they are a reminder that even though you can feel like you are stuck in a Sh*t storm without an umbrella……

Tags Avenue Q, Avenue Q Ten Year, British East Asians, Broadway, Daniel York, FuManchu Complex, Huffington Post, Kevin Burrows, Kristina Wong, LGBT, musicals, Playbill.com

Categories Diversity

America, we are having a bad week…

July 14, 2013 //

For some, the murder of Treyvon Martin is a story on the news to decry but one you will move on from- but for The Fairy Princess, it hits a bit closer to home, because she has had Great Grandfathers, on both the Irish and Chinese sides of her family, murdered.

Not many people know that about me, but it’s true.

My Great Grandfather, William Fang Yuen, was murdered in 1922 in Innisfail, Australia. He was killed by a Caucasian man who was his Foreman. The Foreman was stealing, and he had been caught, there was an argument, the Foreman left. Later, my Great Grandfather was shot as he prepared the payroll.

The different reasons given for the murder are similar to reading RASHOMAN, the play. There were rumors of infidelity, of embezzlement, of jealousy….no one bothered to get the story straight, least of all the Authorities. What I was told as a child only grew more complicated as I became an adult, but it remains a blot on the history of The Chinese in North Queensland. My Cousin, William Yang, actually does a show called “Sadness’ on this very subject.

There was a trial, but it was superficial – much like the Zimmerman case, it allowed someone who was the acknowledged killer to go free, because, essentially Australia’s treatment at the time of their ethnic minorities and other immigrants was shockingly biased. I mean, if one could go to prison for killing “A Chinaman“, then what would happen if people were examined for their treatment of the Aboriginals! One of the reasons that the defense said that the fellow did not murder my Great Grandfather, was because my Great Grandfather had a very distinct large gold ring that had gone missing when he was killed – and they could not find the ring in the Foreman’s possession, ergo it had to be someone else. This was part of the case they made, and, he was acquitted.

When my Grandfather was a young man, he went walking in the town of his Father’s murder and he saw the son of the Foreman wearing his Father’s ring. A ring so distinct, that he would remember it from childhood. And, apparently, this was a ring that had been worn frequently in that town, once the trial was over – so everyone ‘knew’ that he was guilty, but nothing was done about it.

My Great Grandfather was a very wealthy man – he owned all the sugarcane farms in the area. He was ‘the bank’ for the Chinese community there, as none of the regular financial institutions would loan money to local Chinese who wanted to start a business. My Great Grandfather built the church and helped found that town. He was murdered, leaving behind a young wife and four children…and he was not accorded the dignity of his murderer being incarcerated. His wealth did not protect him. Money cannot protect against racism.

This changed the Family in many ways, perhaps, had his Father been around, my Grandfather and his Brothers would have made different choices – in careers, in who they married, perhaps they would still own the majority of the sugar cane in North Queensland, perhaps I would not even be here – but my life is a legacy of that murder.

On the Irish side, My Great Grandfather O’Shea was set upon by British soldiers as he made his way home from the pub in Kerry, Ireland. They beat him near to death because he was a member, in some fashion, of the Resistance. When he did not come home as expected, his sons set out looking for him – he had seven children. They found him and brought him home, and he lingered for three days, dying slowly of internal injuries.

During that time, as he faded in and out, he told his children that they were all to leave Ireland, immediately. After he was gone, they all stole away in the night and everyone took a different ship leaving Ireland – and they did not tell each other where they were going in case they were captured.

Some were never heard from again. At least one ended up in Australia, married, coincidentally, to an Auntie of my Mother. My Grandmother found out, after about 30 years in America, that she had a sister living but two towns over from where she eventually wound up.

Again, the legacy that I have inherited was based on the murder of someone who was not going to be given justice by any legal system. I have to, as a Parent, consider that my Child’s heritage is based on murder, and now I have to consider that, should he wear the wrong piece of clothing and venture out after seven p.m., it could be his future.

There is 90 years between the murders of my Great Grandfather and Treyvon Martin, but nothing seems to have changed. The statement of a Caucasian is valued higher than the evidence of a crime, the eyewitness testimony, and the presence of a dead body. A dead body who is…was…a minority.

The Fairy Princess has a child. I am the Mother of a Son. I am the Mother of a Son who is, in the United States, considered a minority.

My Son is many things that I can see right now, at the age of one – he is smart, he is quick, he is physically advanced for his age, and he has a wicked sense of humor that in the future is definitely going to be an issue. That, he gets from me – the humor. Otherwise, he looks like his Dad.

There are many things about my Son that I cannot tell yet, but his being viewed as a Minority in the United States is something that I know right now, will follow him his whole life. Being viewed as a Minority is an issue that both his Father and I have dealt with on a personal basis.

Growing up for my Husband, as an immigrant from South Korea who was then transplanted abruptly to a small town in Virginia, was difficult. To say ‘difficult’ is an understatement. However, my Husband survived.

Growing up as a multi-ethnic female in New York was not without it’s own problems. Add to that a tendency to be chunky and like musical theater, and you can see that I was in for some stressful moments. However, I survived. (Power ballads are particularly useful under duress)

One day – much sooner than either his Parents, his Immediate Family, and his extended LGBT Family will like – my son will be a teenager.

Yesterday, with the verdict in the Zimmerman trial, what it means to be the parent of a teenager who falls into ‘the minority’ changed how we are able to feel when our children leave the house.

They could be leaving to go to sports practice, or to play computer games with a friend. They could be leaving to go and sketch a particularly interesting tree they saw on their way to school. They could be leaving for a million creative and interesting reasons, or they could just be going to get some candy and a drink, and they might wear a sweatshirt.

But they will, we now know for certainty, never really be safe – even if they walk the streets they grew up in. Because someone who lives in fear, or in hate, or in combination of the two will see my Son, your Son, our Sons, as ‘the other’. They will see our Sons and they will see opportunities that they feel they missed out on, or they will see someone to focus their anger on, and they will take a shot, or take a knife, or use their hands – and they will attack our Sons. Perhaps they will maim them and our Sons will recover. Perhaps they will kill them, and our Sons will become another news story.

Should such a horrific thing happen, our Legal System will then allow the Murderer to gather a Jury ‘of their peers’ who will let them go. Because their Peers will understand and make excuses for their racism, fear, and hate – because they too, have it as part of their makeup – even if they do not think so.

My Son is not African American – I am not trying to co-opt that experience. But one need only to look at the news this past week to view how America views Asians in this country.

It seems it is perfectly acceptable to many to mock the names of people who have just been through a horrific airplane crash where people died. It was blamed on ‘an intern’, but think about how many channels and levels those ‘approvals’ had to go before they wound up being reported as fact, on the nightly news. It was not ‘just a mistake’, it was racism.

This past week on a television show, Big Brother 15, some of the “Houseguests’ told the Asian American contestant to ‘go make some rice’ and were shown degrading the other contestants on the live feeds. They were not ‘jests’ or ‘all in fun’ comments – it was racism.

Remembering Vincent Chin

The name, Vincent Chin, may not be as familiar to mainstream America, but to Asian Americans it is ‘our’ Treyvon Martin story – it vibrates with the reminders that every time we hear someone yell “Chink” or “Jap” or “Gook” from a car, from an alley, in a bar….. we could be moments away from be bludgeoned to death simply because we exist in this country. This is a fear that is shared, in some respect by every person in this country who is a minority – either due to their race, gender, or sexual preference.

Apparently we, the pesky ‘minorities’, are only in this country on very specific terms, which can be challenged at any time by a man – usually a Caucasian man – who has been somewhat of a failure in his own life. So of course, instead of working hard, or studying, or taking responsibility for his own actions, it’s much better to ‘blame’ the minority for his own shortcomings.

“That chick is a BITCH” because she will not date you, “That Gook took my job” because you stopped your education at High School, “That Fag wants to touch me” because you have latent attractions you are unable to deal with in a constructive way. We, the minorities, are cluttering up ‘their Country‘, so we better ‘watch ourselves‘.

This country, which so many seem content to claim, but which was stolen from Native Americans by men whose Napoleon complexes resulted in Manifest Destiny.

This is America. Lest we forget, us ‘minorities’.

Ok, Angry Undereducated White Guy, you sure told me!

What do we, as minorities in America, take away from this horrible lesson? What is our next step?

I will tell you what I am going to do….

I am going to hold my Son tonight – as I do every night – and I am going to worry more now. I will probably go to the ‘dark place’ quite a bit – but I will teach him how to grow and achieve to his fullest potential.

We must empower our Sons to live full lives filled with achievement, education, and art.

We must teach our Daughters that they are shining examples of courage, education, and self-sufficiency with the right to control their own bodies.

We must teach, in spite of all the terrible things that we are being taught right now, about America through this case, we must teach our Children that in America, we expect them to treat people equally regardless of their race, sexual preferences, or gender.

America, as a country, is not ‘there’ yet – but Our Children may get the chance to make it so, as long as we, The Parents, do not give up. We need to work to change laws, we need to empower our educational system, we need to continue to invest in our communities through the Arts and through Social Programs. We need to show one another respect and tolerance and understanding.

We all must do this, because if we do not….the shitheads win.

Tags African American, Children, Chinese Australian History, Diversity, George Zimmerman, Hoodies, Innisfail, Murder, Race Wars, Racism, Treyvon Martin, Violence

Categories Diversity

“Yeah, I said it like that” When the Fairy Princess went to #LAStageDay

May 28, 2013 //

The Fairy Princess is delighted to note that her speech for LA Stage Day is up and avail on the world wide Interweb, and she thanks Terence McFarland and his crew for having her. Because they were so focused on getting a clear image of The Fairy Princess, the power point photos did not make it to the video – so sometimes there are laughs or sighs or whatnot that did not make it there…

Therefore The Fairy Princess is now going to post the text of her speech WITH inserted photos and you can choose to either watch the speech first HERE, and then re-read it with photos, or you can just read it, and choose for yourself if you think it’s funny.

“I told Alec Mapa…(Oh, he’s on SHOWVILLE on AMC – Thursdays at 10pm – watch!)

that I was asked to speak today on Diversity, and he said to me,

“What are you going to say after you yell “Kill Whitey”?

My name is Erin Quill

I am a graduate of Carnegie Mellon, an Original Broadway Cast Member of a show that won a Tony with dirty puppets, and I also told famed Director, Moises Kaufman that he could kiss my ass almost a year ago today .

Over 25,000 people read that post within a few weeks, and the resulting uproar caused La Jolla Playhouse to have a ‘talkback’ on the subject, which prompted East West Players to have a conference on the subject which lead to Chicago’s Silk Road Theater Company also having a conference on the subject. After which, I wrote about what was happening in London at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Orphan of Zhao helping out the East Asians in England – which led to a conference, and then I wrote about the Brownface makeup in the Broadway Revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which lead to a closed door meeting. Oh I wasn’t invited to any of them, so I am very grateful to be here at LA Stage Day.

Some might say I am blogging my way to unemployment, I say…..

Call me Tiger Blogger.

I wanted to talk a bit about theatrical ethnic cleansing, because it has been a shocking year for Asians in theater and everyone seems to be tip toeing around it. Well, I don’t got time for that, so call me Hurricane Erin, and buckle up – cuz I have got a Little List.

Let’s start at the very beginning because Julie Andrews said to, and I always do what she says….this is where you acknowledge that there are no Asians in the production, but it doesn’t really matter that there are Caucasians in heavy makeup portraying them

…I call this ‘neglectful’ racism, or, in the words of a country singer, “accidental racism’….because you are going to now tell us, you didn’t KNOW you were being offensive, because everyone has done The Mikado THAT WAY forever, and thus…it’s just tradition.

Ummm, excuse me, are you trying to convince me that Tevye is going to come out and do the bottle dance now? I was born and raised in New York? Fugeddaboutdit!

I know that YELLOWFACE is fun – I totally get it. Asian people have great hair, we have gorgeous eyes, kimonos are comfortable and who doesn’t love their way around some noodles – I get it – we are blessed. Our women are gorgeous and our men can kill you wearing a cloth belt and their bare hands.

We’re a sexy bunch – but that is no excuse to culturally skin us and wear us like a coat.

Or let me put it another way – eyeliner is not supposed to extend all the way to your ear!

No matter how much makeup you put on, no matter what kind of cheong sam you choose to wear….it’s not going to work, you are still not going to wake up and be Tamlyn Tomita….

– I get that you are frustrated by this. I mean everyone wants to change something about themselves – I mean, I would like to be 5 foot ten and have Scarlett O’Hara’s pre-partum waist line, but that is not going to happen either. We all have to be ok with that.

There I go being too polite, damn those genes – OK– White People – and let me say now, I am White myself – just like serial killers, most movie stars, and Sarah Palin – you are now officially on notice that YELLOWFACE or BROWNFACE is not sexy, smart OR fun – it’s wrong.

It’s offensive

It’s culturally irresponsible…

and you look like idiots.

ROWR….TIGER BLOGGER!

So now that I have taken YELLOWFACE off the table, permanently, how can we change? Well where does most theater begin?

Casting…this is where the excuses start – this is where you tell us that you would love to cast us, but there are just none of us available, which is why The Emperor of China was played by a blue eyed blonde

According to Equity, there are 763 members identifying themselves as Asian American as of 2012. There are only 3% of the Broadway roles available going to Asian Americans, according to a study by AAPAC, so someone was available.

Unless every regional theater in the country simultaneously decided to do Miss Saigon, King and I, South Pacific, Bombay Dreams and Flower Drum Song all at once in a mass extravaganza titled The “Praise to Buddha Oscar Hammerstein had the Yellow Fever” Cherry Blossom Festival.

You can’t find us? You’re not looking. 763 Equity Members identifying as Asian American – that’s right, I brought in math, booyah!

Oh, that 3% of Broadway drops to 2% when it goes to Non Profit world – but you know, that is NY and this is LA, however we don’t even have a study like that for LA because….no one cares about Asian presence on the Los Angeles stages…and that is a blot on the great Theater City that Los Angeles is. Why are you not utilizing us? You can’t say training – we have grads here from Julliard, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, NYU, etc, etc, etc…so no, you can’t say training.

You COULD say it’s because you do not even think about it. It’s neglect. It’s choosing to not see us. We live in LOS ANGELES! One of the most diverse cities in the United States – don’t be lazy.

What if your play or musical is set somewhere in America, but you do not choose to have Asian people in it – you don’t call for them in the breakdowns, even if you see them, you don’t cast them simply because….“if I have Asians in it, people won’t understand because they were not in the country at that time”

Just because there is not a TONG or a TRIAD or a BROTHEL in Chinatown reference in your play does not mean we do not fit in America.

Folks – You do not have to keep trying to ‘explain’ our presence in this country – we have been here since the 1800’s. No, we didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, but Gold Mountain has surely landed on us. Oooh, You know what happens when a Chinese person throws dynamite? A transcontinental railroad, that’s what.

Ok, so here I am yelling about Diversity and you are all ‘blah, blah, blah what can it matter anyway?”

After the big blowup on The Nightingale, La Jolla Playhouse cast it’s next big show, Glengarry Glenn Ross with a multi-ethnic, multi-aged cast – that dirty talking real estate office looked like any and every real estate office in this country today.

The Old Globe chose to do the new Asian American musical, Allegiance. It broke box office records.

Both shows were nominated in several categories for San Diego Critic Circle Awards – and the individuals nominated for their performances included the names Manu Narayan, Lea Salonga, Michael K. Lee, Stafford Arima … Currently the disco musical about Imelda Marcos HERE LIES LOVE is selling out at NY Public Theater

and has been extended and also picked up several Drama Desk nominations – .I think you get my point, Diversity is Awards and Dollars that make you holler, Honey Boo Boo child…..

Here is a thought – Put in the breakdowns that you are looking for Asian Americans in your cast, see what happens. You don’t have to hire us, but invite us to the party. Do the outreach because we have so long been pushed aside, we don’t believe you when you use the word ‘multi-cultural’ casting.

Let’s talk about the Art for just a second…why do people go to the theater? Yes, beyond being entertained? They go to see themselves. Well, they go to see themselves suffer, choose foolish love, and sing ballads, but what they are connecting to is reflections of themselves. That is the power of theater. Theater is affirmation.

Why would Asian American audiences, which have the highest disposable income of any group in America – why would they go to theater If they cannot even go to a play set in China or Japan and see Asian America performers? As theater artists, we need them IN the building. We need butts in seats. If people see themselves, they will buy a ticket – and if Asian people see their relatives in shows – they will buy all the damn tickets! And probably cater opening! Trust!

Finally, let’s address our biggest issue in the last year – exclusion from plays and musicals where the shows were set in China –- I am speaking about La Jolla Playhouse, to the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Roundabout, and anyone who has ever staged The Mikado

– except Eric Idle, his was great.

Here is the thing about CHINA –– there are Chinese people in it. Oh and Japan has people – people who need people…people who are in fact, Japanese people. Same goes for Thailand and Korea and India and Sri Lanka.

If you can go to a map – and PLEASE, please go TO a map

– if you can go to a map and see where your show is set, you should know enough to not erase our faces from our history! We can help!

You cannot erase us because you didn’t like that in your last workshop, your Asian American cast told you that a song about a Geisha in a play set in China was inaccurate.

You cannot grab all the beautiful costumes and colors and fabrics of India, and leave out South Asians who can tell you that the colors you picked for the saris are those of mourning.

And you definitely cannot go TO China, grab their oldest play, their best loved work, their “Hamlet’, keep the Chinese names, costumes and then cast everyone except British East Asians, because you say in a repertory season of ‘classic’ plays, no one would ‘buy into’ their faces in a Brecht piece.

When you do that not only do you lose all artistic integrity, but everyone who leaves your show has turned into FogHorn LegHorn….

“What, I say What, What, What was that?”

Diversity, the rallying cry of Diversity is supposed to make us all smarter. It is supposed to make us look at our world and see each other. it is not a stick to beat us with when you would rather Caucasian faces in an Asian story.

And to have it done out of neglect, out of indifference, by several members of a community who we have stood alongside in their fight for recognition, for marriage equality, for health care?

That was not just a slap in the face, that was a Joan Collins/Linda Evans tumble into the fish pond bitch slap! Grab me some shoulder pads, because I was PISSED OFF!

This is the theater! We don’t do that to each other.

There are positive things happening for Asian Americans in theater – ACT in San Francisco is staging The Orphan of Zhao

ACT just finished another original production with an Asian American creative team and cast- Stuck Elevator.

New workshops are going forward for Allegiance

and Heading East, but you don’t want other folks to get all the awards, do you? What are you going to do?

I asked my API pals who are Actors what were their best and worse moments – best was hands down, being on stage, doing the thing they do best and love – their worst moments were always, always when people had an idea of ‘what’ they were, but no idea ‘who’ they were. We had all been told at certain points to ‘act more Asian’ , “be more submissive’ , ‘be less bold’, ‘change their base to gray so they would look less yellow, less Asian’ and it was never, ever from another Asian American.

Because you never tell people how to act more like people, do you? We’re just people.

My dear friend who is long gone now, Anderson Jones,

used to say to me, when we would have these conversations – conversations about invisibility, about non –representation, he would say, “IF THEY KNEW BETTER, THEY WOULD DO BETTER”

My wish for Los Angeles theater is simple – now that you KNOW, I challenge you to be more inclusive. It will make us all better.”

NOTE: The Fairy Princess did not stick to her text – she did ‘improv’ in certain moments, and therefore did not want to ‘let it stand’ in regards to The Nightingale, that the Actress pictured, was the only Asian American in the production – there were 2 out of 12 in that production. One played a Spoiled Princess and the other was a bird.

Erin Quill – The Fairy Princess

Tags Diversity, Manu Naryan, Tamlyn Tomita, Telly Leung

Categories Diversity

When the Fairy Princess took a coach and horses to LA Stage Day

May 22, 2013 //

Last Saturday, The Fairy Princess took a coach and four horses (of the theatrical Apocalypse) to LA Stage Day, which was hosted by LA Stage Alliance, and she just wanted to reflect on a few thoughts from the day.

The Fairy Princess was extraordinarily touched to have been asked to be a Keynote Speaker – particularly because no one has ever asked her to comment on what she, in fact, wrote about…nor has she been asked to be on Panel Discussions or anything of that nature in regards to her thoughts on Diversity in theater.

She needs to thank the CEO of the LA Stage Alliance, Mr. Terence McFarland, someone that she has known for a long time, and admired, for inviting her to attend and be provocative.

The Fairy Princess knew exactly what she was going to say, and how she was going to say it, which was why she had hoped that there would be more Asian American faces in the audience…to say that my blood pressure was under control as I watched the audience file in, would be a lie. When she did not see that many API faces attending, it just resonated how far removed most API Actors and Actresses feel from the mainstream Los Angeles theater crowd, I hope most of them missed it because they had a matinee to attend.

However, I was grateful to see Michael Seel, Exec. Dir of The Boston Court Theater,

Drama Desk Winner (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) Deborah S. Craig,

Andy Lowe, Production Manager at East West Players,

and of course, Chil Kong of The Ovation Awards Nominating Committee,

out in the audience, looking at their faces calmed me down.

There was a comment made in a review of the day by Don Shirley, that I was ‘visibly choked by her fervor’, and The Fairy Princess just wanted to comment on that – it was not the ‘fervor’, it was looking out at the crowd and seeing Deborah S. Craig tearing up and Andy Lowe nodding yes, yes, yes at what I was saying, that had her a bit shaken.

Because she knew that they were representative of the friends who had gone through similar experiences that were named towards the end of the talk – being asked to be ‘more submissive’, told that they were ‘too bold’, told to “act more Asian”, and finally, one friend was told to change her makeup’s base color to gray, so that she would appear less ‘yellow’, and seeing them nod and agree, made her very emotional.

The Fairy Princess has been told all those things – well, not the makeup thing, but the other stuff for sure – and when you are repeatedly told those kind of negative things, it takes a toll on you. So as she looked at Deborah and Andy, and by their reactions ‘knew’ that they too, had had those experiences, the emotional response was overwhelming. Through her mind ran all the messages from friends who, throughout their careers, had had some really amazingly awful things said and done to them, in an attempt to ‘make them more Asian’ for theatrical purposes…and a moment had to be taken.

So…’fervor’…I don’t know…maybe?

The Fairy Princess could take a huge professional ‘hit’ for her comments, but if this was the one and only time she was to speak – she wanted it to count. Many people, after reading the blog, will tell her that “you are just saying what everyone else is thinking’, but it is one thing to blog, and it is quite another to stand in front of a few hundred people who may or may not choose to hear what you are saying with an open mind.

The Fairy Princess came to LA Stage Day a bundle of nerves, a bit nauseated, and she was truly humbled by the reception that she received. So many hugs, so many well wishes, so much was overwhelming…who would have thought?

The other Keynote Speakers were engaging and all spoke in their own way, about changing the way theater and the practitioners of theater, think. On inclusion, on fundraising, on innovation, on staying true to their own mission – it was a great group of speakers and I congratulate them all.

The text of the speech has not yet been posted – yes, it was recorded, perhaps it will be released in parts, at this point, The Fairy Princess is waiting to hear about it.

Thank you to all who contacted The Fairy Princess via Twitter and otherwise to let me know you were still thinking about what was said the next day – hope it will keep us all thinking the day after that. And the day after the day after that….

Thank you for listening. The most overwhelming part of the day was being able to say what I have thought in the past – and have it seemed to have been heard, it is an extraordinary feeling.

Tags Chil Kong, Deborah S. Craig, East West Players, LA Stage Alliance, LA Stage Day, Michael Seel, Terence McFarland, Thank You, Theater

Categories Diversity

Get this crap off my Desk….Awards! Oh, the Drama!

May 1, 2013 //

The Fairy Princess is pleased to announce that she will be a Keynote Speaker at the LA Stage Alliance’s Stage Day Conference on May 18, 2013!

Wait, I have to do a speech? Awww nuts….

This is SO exciting! I mean, we will get to shoot the breeze and talk about all those silly kerfuffles that happened with Asian American representation in Theater over the last year, and oh MY will we laugh because it was all so….

Sorry, wait a minute – what’s that you have there?

Ah yes, Drama Desk nominations – so exciting, The Fairy Princess knows so many on this list, let’s take a look:

Billy Porter for KINKY BOOTS – well, naturally – he is amazing in that show. Christiane Noll for CHAPLIN – she’s so talented, remember her turn in RAGTIME as Mother? Oh, I loved it so much…

The Cast of WORKING is getting recognized! Nice!

Oh look, HERE LIES LOVE which is now at The Public is getting quite a few nods – Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Director of a Musical, Outstanding Lighting Design, Outstanding Lyrics and Outstanding Music – oh they must be so pleased!

Yeah, they look pretty happy

Ok, going down the list and going down the list and….ummmm – hold please….let me look at this list for Best Featured Actor and Actress in a Musical….oh dear.

NO!

THIS CANNOT HAPPEN AGAIN!!!!!!!

I thought we agreed!

I mean AAPAC made a statement!

The Roundabout Theater agreed to a close door meeting to discuss this…this…the…’Brownface’ and the faux Bollywood accents and the…I feel like I am Foghorn Leghorn and all the Award Committees are trying to prove they are chicken hawks!

Lemme get this straight Drama Desk Awards – in a musical about Asians, played by Asian Americans, there are no Individual Nominations (And btw, that is totally fine and happens a lot and it is not the reason for the following outburst).

But the people wearing heavy makeup and using crazy Bollywood gestures have Nominations for Best Featured Actor and Actress in A Musical!

For being directed to inhabit their roles with what the The New York Times said was “…silly imitation exoticism …in absurd burnt-umber makeup”

(The Fairy Princess wants to be quite clear, that no Actor or Actress takes the stage and gives any sort of performance in a Broadway revival without direction, so she is fairly certain that the choices made to portray Neville and Helena Landless were not from the Actors. This is not about the talent or a personal attack on these particular actors)

(Obviously the Actors do not go around their daily lives striking these kinds of poses – that would be RIDICULOUS)

Those two have the nominations, not these two…

Mr & Mrs. Ferdinand Marcos as played by Jose Llana & Ruthie Ann Miles

Again, so we are clear…these two

Hmm, -Rather unfortunate photo

And NOT any of the people pictured here

HERE LIES LOVE…and Asian Americans…er…Asian American Love

The Fairy Princess has a question for the Drama Desk Nominating Committee – If you nominate Caucasians made up to resemble what is a stereotype of an Asian person, isn’t that, well…endorsing the use of stuff like….oh, I don’t know….

THIS?

Or, well….

THIS?

Oh Drama Desk Committee, you have many, many things to worry about, so I will give you the answer…it’s not B.

THE ANSWER IS YES!

Because you see, the makeup is only a few kick ball changes away from..(.and I so hesitate to use this photo because, well, it’s AWFUL), but you see, by endorsing those kinds of performances with such a distinguished award, oh Drama Desk Nominating Committee, you are only a few shades away from endorsing…uh…THIS

Yeah, remember when people thought THIS was ok? (TOTALLY NOT OK!)

Aha! THIS is the part where everyone is going to get mad, and argue that using Brownface or Yellowface is fairly standard in our industry – alive and well since the 1800’s, and that Caucasians wearing exaggerated makeup to resemble Asians is, in no way, comparable to Minstrel performances that characterized and dehumanized African Americans shamefully in this country.

Because… let’s face it – everyone did The Mikado in High School, and they LOVED wearing the Yellowface, they thought it was fun! They did not, and do not think absurd shuffling, and forgetting consonants and wearing eyeliner from the corner of their eye till it nearly touches their ear was bad! They had a good time!…. And then they went and lost their virginity at the Cast Party afterwards – and yeah, they were probably still wearing the makeup because…’that’s hot’.

Cuz to us….

Cindy Cheung & Christine Toy Johnson at La Jolla's talkback...they look so pissed off I feel like I need to go practice piano and bring home an A plus. TIGER ACTRESSES! RRROOOOWWRRR

Cindy Cheung & Christine Toy Johnson
at La Jolla’s talkback…they look pissed, huh?

Yellowface or Brownface is the SAME as Blackface.

It really, really is.

Because what it says is – and think about this just a bit before everyone flies off the handle and starts bashing me on Broadwayworld.com – (and yes, I have seen the posts – nice grammar, Crackpots) – when you erase Asian faces from roles where they are possible, have them played in heavy makeup by Caucasians whose very portrayals mock their heritage, and then endorse those portrayals with an AWARD, it tells us one thing – loud and clear.

It tells us we don’t count.

And here’s the thing…if there is one thing we are known for, it’s being able to count.

It says “We are so used to not seeing you, that when we do see you, well…you are not as we had imagined, so we’d rather just forget the you that is you, and you know…make it up.”

Etcetera, Etcetera, Etectera….

I mean, if you can see this from space….

FROM SPACE

But when you go to the theater where there is a South Asian character and you don’t see this…

You see this…

Something is rotten, and we are nowhere near Denmark.

What are ‘we’ supposed to think? What would YOU think?

The Fairy Princess is NOT calling The Drama Desk Awards racist, because that would be absurd!

There have been many past winners of the Drama Desk Awards who are, in fact, Asian American – Francis Jue for David Henry Hwang’s YELLOWFACE

(In context, a title disturbingly appropriate.)

Deborah S. Craig won for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for her breakthrough performance as Marcy Park.

So it is NOT that The Drama Desk Awards are racist – and let’s stop throwing that word around like a frisbee – it is that…it is that they are so used to seeing Caucasians play Asian, that it didn’t mean a damn thing to them. And that is the saddest part of all.

Theater is supposed to break the stereotypes, not endorse them.

It’s supposed to lift you up, and by ‘you’, I mean everyone.

The Drama Desk Awards DO have 3 Nominations this year for Asian Americans –

Joel de la Fuente: OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE – Hold These Truths

Jane Wang – OUTSTANDING MUSIC IN A PLAY – Strange Tales of Liaozhai

Eugene Ma – OUTSTANDING MUSIC IN A PLAY – The Man who Laughs

The Fairy Princess wishes them well. She actually wishes everyone well – but truthfully what would be great is if the cast of HERE LIES LOVE sits right in front, so no matter WHO wins, they are seen.

We. Are. Seen.

And, scene.

Finally, for all the people who comment, who are sooooo threatened by the ability to see something a different way, I just ask you – why do you like theater? Do you like it because you learn something when you go? Do you like it because it can make the world brighter? Or, do you just like calling me a bitch?

Because the reason I write this is not because I ‘like’ theater, it is because I love theater. I have devoted my life to it. I just want it to be better, for everyone. I want people of all races to be able to GO to the theater and see themselves.

Seeing yourself is powerful. Seeing yourself is empowering. Seeing yourself is halfway to becoming the person you want to be.

I had a friend who is unfortunately gone now, and what he always used to say is “If they knew better, they would do better” – and this blog is to point out that sometimes people do not know, and I just try to explain to them that they need to do better. So simple. I just say it…well….

In a really snarky way.

Because…that’s me.

Anyway, this is a thrilling awards season, and I wish all the Nominees of everything well, besides….

Werd!

Tags Billy Porter, Broadway, Chaplin, Christiane Noll, David Byrne, David Henry Hwang, Deborah S. Craig, Donna Lynne Champlin, Drama Desk Awards, Francis Jue, Here lies Love, Kinky Boots, Manu Narayan, Ragtime, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Public Theater, Theater, Tony Awards, Working, Yellowface

Categories Diversity

It’s time to throw down a Straight…Alliance that is

March 29, 2013 //

A lot has been said this last week about a certain subject….

TEAM KHALEESI!!!!!!! (We Mother of Dragons have to stick together)

TEAM KHALEESI!!!!!!! (We Mothers of Dragons have to stick together)

No, no, no, no, no, no…..must not be distracted (But OMG, is not EVERYONE on pins and needles for Season 3? COME ON!)

What we, in the States have been watching closely this past week is not some sport that takes way too much attention and air time, or some Scandalous television show that has fairly graphic sex scenes for a show on ‘regular’ television (Ok, Ok, I just am OBSESSED with Kerry Washington’s mouth when she pulls a Chandra Wilson (but in an Olivia Pope way) monologue on people)

No, we’ve been watching these folks:

The Supremes...I mean, the Supreme Court Justices of the United States of America

Not quite as attractive as these folks:

I seriously have a problem

But those Justices have the ability to change the lives of some people I know and love, people like, well….these folks –

Or these two, who had to fly to New York City to put a ring on it….

Or you know…any of the people I know, who I have trusted to hold my child….

Relax, it was Halloween!

Here’s the thing – this:

Equality – UNDER THE LAW

is not going to hurt you!

It’s not going to change how you talk to your kids, it’s not going to change that you need to walk your dog before you leave the house for work, it’s not going to change the fact that Mayor Bloomberg is right and you shouldn’t buy that sugary beverage with the 12 tablespoons of sugar in it to go with your fast food….

But it could enhance the lives of people like…well, like….some of these people…

Photo by Brian Putnam

Or this guy….

Or them….

The point is, it’s about the LAW. It is not about a book that has a dozen different authors, half of whom were cut out by King James because he was the King and he didn’t like what he was reading…or that he couldn’t read the Latin, so he had it translated, and then other people didn’t like some of the things, so they edited down, and now all sorts of ‘lost Bible texts’ have been showing up in the middle of the desert saved by some Ancient Egyptian Hoarder. It is a book where the contributing authors had the ‘intent’ of teaching and relating moral questions that can be useful…it’s not, it was never intended to be clinical or accurate.

Because miracles and such are not clinically quantifiable, and we do not need them to be. We just have to believe….

Otherwise I would be stoned for wearing white – and not just after Labor Day in the Hamptons!

Or my Father could have offered my sexual services to a teeming mob, so that they did not kill someone visiting the house.

Or..how about this- if you had to, in this modern age, find your way to a place you had never been before- would you use a compass or would you use Mapquest? Cuz the compass did not even work that well in Christopher Columbus’s time…I shudder to think of what kind of mess you would get into in Lower Manhattan!

The point is – this is the United States of America – not the “United as long as we all think and act exactly the same” America – and we get to be different. We get to celebrate our Diversity every day, and we are lucky to be able to do so. So if you know an LGBT person, if there is one in your Family, or someone you work with – it’s not your ‘job’ to judge them, it’s your duty to fight for their equality, the same way equality was fought for YOU by people that came before.

That is my relative, Mike Quill, Union Leader of the TWU – they fought, among other things, for equal pay regardless of race. When he passed, Martin Luther King Jr wrote his obituary

People you never met – you ride on their backs…we all do.

And speaking OF Martin Luther King, Jr.

So that, truly, is the point.

It’s going to happen – either now or later, and we are all only as good as our actions.

What he said…

I will tell you a story about the first Gay Wedding I went to. It was in Australia. My Cousin, Ralph was marrying his longtime Partner. Now Ralph had 3 siblings, none of whom attended the wedding – in fact, his Sister told me she thought it was ‘disgusting’. His Mother and Father were there, because as his Father said to me, “He’s my Boy”. I was in Cairns visiting my Grandmother who was then 90 years old…or maybe the 90th was coming up, anyway it was the same year – I went four times that year, so the timeline is off in my head. (Oh – and he had tons of friends there, so we did not miss his siblings at all, it was a lovely party, but I am jumping ahead)

There was a ton of debate – not to me, I was singing, I was GOING to be there – amongst those of the Family who were going to be invited, as to whether or not they would attend. As my Grandmother was in her 90th year, I waited a bit before I brought it up, because I was not, honestly, sure of what she was going to say. The world was a different place from when she had grown up. She was born in 1910. She had seen telephones come into homes, she had seen cars become an everyday item. She had seen the television go from black and white to color, and she had even managed to email. You might think, at that point, that she would have said ‘that’s enough, I’ve seen enough change in my life’.

I said, “Grandma, you know I am singing at Ralphie’s wedding“. She said she knew. I asked her “Are you going to go?” And she said, “Well of course I’m going to go – I’m invited, aren’t I? We’re family aren’t we? I go to ALL the Family weddings.”

And that was that.

As Family, we were equal in my Grandmother’s eyes.

As Citizens of the United States, we deserve that as well.

And if you do not like what I’m saying….Kiss my Fan Tan Fannie!

I usually do not post photos of my son on this blog, because he is so cute I think someone will steal him. After all, he was born in the Year of the Dragon and we all know what happened to Khaleesi in Season 2! (Damn Magicians). But I wanted you to see part of his Family…and this is only PART (and most of y’all I didn’t put in because I thought you’d yell at me or cuz u r on a big, fat TV show).

And even if you WERE to attempt to try and steal him, all of these were months ago and he doesn’t look like this anymore…

He’s cuter. 🙂

Tags Avenue Q, Book of Mormon, fag hags, GLBT, Marriage Equality, Straight Allies

Categories Bears, Celebrate Your Gay Friends, Diversity, gay pride, Gay Republicans, Giving, GLBT

An #Acorn Grows Off Broadway

March 28, 2013 //

Many moons ago – how long has it been since The Fairy Princess blogged…a while, apologies, my kid is almost 10 months as of this writing and he is pulling himself up on everything in an attempt to give me heart failure and himself a concussion every ten minutes.

Anyway, way back those many moons ago, I was sent a Casting breakdown for a new musical called BUNTY BERMAN PRESENTS, which was supposed to take place in Bollywood – which, if you have never heard of it, is India’s Hollywood only with more musical numbers and no full frontal nudity. (Just kidding Bollywood, I know who you are)

Bollywood is a wonderful place full of talented people. People who sing, and dance, and act – often at the same time. They are a People who Perform for People, and they make way more films than the United States Film Industry.

“Nothing’s better than more, more, more” – Graphic stolen from Businessweek article

So I was thrilled to hear that The Acorn Theater was going to do a new musical based on this concept until I read the Casting Breakdown which stated “NOTE: We are open to seeing actors who are non Indian but who can believably play Indian characters.”

This was super not cool. This was like saying, “We thought that hideous Bollywood-esque production of PIPPIN in Chicago was a GREAT idea!

Boy, this looks kinda sari, doesn’t it
(Jen Bludgen & Co in Circle Theatre’s PIPPIN)

This was like saying Moises Kaufman is going to have me over for Passover Seder!

This was like saying the RSC was right! (Which is LUDICROUS because everyone knows that ACT is actually right!)

This was like saying everyone was ok with no South Asians in South Asia….actually, it wasn’t ‘like‘, was it? That was what it was ACTUALLY saying.

It was looking to be a very “Drood” Bunty….with everyone in Brownface and accenting up a storm…and The Fairy Princess did use it as an example of what the trickle down effect can be when we “Whitewash’ Asian Americans out of Asia.

However, Director Scott Elliott very sneakily grabbed a page from the ACT Playbook and yep, he gone and dun it!

In a musical set in India, he cast South Asians!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not only that – he cast Erik Avari…who I j’adore as Bunty!

Erick Avari aka Bunty Berman

WHY do I j’adore?

BECAUSE HE IS IN THE MUMMY!!!!!!!!

The Fairy Princess has an unusual love for that film…and all it’s many spinoffs…she has even, dare I confess, watched that one about The Scorpion King when he was a young man…anyway, as Whitney used to sing, “it’s not right, but it’s ok”…but I mean COME ON a Mummy that comes back to life and is HOT? What’s not to love?

Seriously, WHO does not love THE MUMMY?

Anyway, not ONLY are there people who were born in India playing the role of someone who was born in India….wait a minute…I can’t…I have to….can we stop for a moment and just yell SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!!!!!!! This is AWESOME!

Right, George?

It was the LAST thing I ever expected, given the Casting Breakdown that went out. I thought it was going to be a hot mess that would make everyone’s third eye get a twitch. Honestly, I did. I was wrong.

So here’s the deal, The Fairy Princess wrote about the “Broadway Brown” of Edwin Drood and mentioned that Bunty was coming up and possibly not having South Asians in the production. People got very mad, and tweeted mean and nasty things to The Fairy Princess, things that were ignorant and based in racism and all sorts of stuff. Things got a little threatening, and things got quite heated. Why everyone was so ‘het up’ over a show that had already announced it’s closing was the real mystery.

All that kerfuffle made The Fairy Princess kinda….not mad, not sad, certainly not glad, (I’m not effin’ Anne of Green Gables) but just a little tiny bit exasperated at how many Caucasians tried to ‘school’ me on what a ‘show within a show’ means and how many were convinced it was their ‘right’ to use exaggerated face paint and use exaggerated gestures to typify a culture because when they did that role in college, they had a great time.

The Fairy Princess was feeling a bit…well, annoyed that every time she wrote a blog post it had to include a map to show where in Asia they were white washing the culture from. The Fairy Princess was starting to think that the umbrella was not adequate for the sh*tstorm that seemed to rain down on her each and every time she pointed out things every Director should be on board with – things like context and authenticity and yes, creativity.

The Fairy Princess’s wings had drooped and her tiara needed a polish. But her crystal ball told her to not lose faith, to check back in and see what the situation was with Bunty Berman Presents, after all….anything can happen in the wood….

The Fairy Princess put on her Mary Poppins “Spoonful of Sugar” recording, and went internet searching, and low and behold…. it seems…it seems…it seems…the point has been made.

Which makes TWICE! (San Fran’s ACT was 1st)

The Fairy Princess does not take credit – maybe this was their plan ALL ALONG?!?!?! Who knows? But perhaps, perhaps she helped a little bit. Perhaps being a mouthy Asian American with an Internet connection has hit a chord? A Dominant Seventh? Who knows what would have been the result if there had been blogging back when Miss Saigon was opening on Broadway with a Caucasian playing a Eurasian Pimp?

It seems that people are listening. Or reading, rather.

(I mean, no one would actually be LISTENING to me unless I was speaking at a conference…I’m available for weddings and bar mitzvahs too, btw…) Anyway…

Let’s DO this thing:

The Fairy Princess would like to congratulate the Cast of BUNTY BERMAN PRESENTS: Erick Avari, Raja Burrows, Nick Choksi, Katie Chung, Sevan Greene, Andrew Guilarte, Shoba Narayanan, Lyn Philistine, Debargo Sanyal, Pallavi Sastry, Gayton Scott, Lipica Shah, Alok Tewari and Sorab Wadia

She would also like to give five tips of the tiara to Director of The New Group, Scott Elliot, who is helming this production – written by Olivier Award nominee Ayub Khan Din and Grammy and Emmy Award winner Paul Bogaev.

Careful the things you write, people will listen….

Categories Diversity

Hope, Sadness & Thank You Kevin Gray

February 13, 2013 //

The Fairy Princess wanted to take a brief moment and congratulate the British East Artists on their award of Nee Hao Magazine’s Man and Woman of the Year Award.

The fight for recognition in theater or for those in the UK, theatre, is so very complicated and exhausting, that it is truly, truly a wonderful thing to see their work recognized in a way that the US Asian Americans have yet to be, though AAPAC is doing great work under the leadership of Pun Bandhu.

Here is the article from Nee Hao and as part of the “international support’ team, I am absolutely thrilled.

NEE HAO’S MAN AND WOMAN OF 2012: BRITISH EAST ASIAN ARTISTS

February 5, 2013 8:03 pm

After much deliberation from the judges in reviewing a pool of impressive candidates, a decision was made. On February 9, the winner of the first-ever Nee Hao’s Man and Woman of the Year Award is to be received by the British East Asian Artists (BEAA), a collation of amazing men and women from diverse professions involved in directing, acting, writing, broadcasting and filmmaking. Normally the award should go to an individual man and woman, but this year an exception is to be made because of the special achievement of this group. A full list of the other finalists will be in articles to follow.

The Judges’ Decision

BEAA was selected by a stellar line of judges comprising of:

Dr. Catherine Xiang In charge of Mandarin section at LSE; responsible for Asian Languages, liaison for Confucius Institute Business, London
Raymond Wong MBE, the Honorary Chairman of the Bristol Chinese Association
Dee Lo, presenter and co-producer of BBC Radio Chinatown in Manchester
GK Tang, the founder and entrepreneur behind OrientalUK.com based in the North East
Ben Donn, Entrepreneur and founder of V Town Events based in Manchester.

Editor of Nee Hao Magazine Steven Ip, who was not part of the judging panel, had this to say: “Their courage in breaking barriers to incorporate more East Asians into the arts and cultural sectors is truly inspirational. Fighting racism, prejudice and underrepresentation, the BEAA truly deserves universal recognition; I am proud that Nee Hao has played a small part in recognising their contributions”.

Gathering together in 2012, the BEAA campaigned against the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) adaptation of the Chinese play “Orphan of Zhao”. The RSC only cast three British East Asian actors in the play, reflecting a lack of the organisation’s dedication to equal opportunities-casting. The pressure exerted on the RSC through BEAA’s efforts in rallying up online support resulted in a written statement by the RSC to review their policies. Although it is impossible to recount all the individuals involved in the initiative, notable mentions have been made regarding Daniel York, Anna Chen, Dr. Broderick D.V. Chow, Kathryn Golding, Paul Hyu, Michelle Lee, Chowee Leow, Hi Ching, Jennifer Lim, Lucy Sheen, and Amanda Rogers.

man-of-the-year

Victor Wong, Executive Director of the Chinese Canadian National Council, who co-nominated the group stated:

“Through their efforts, the BEAA successfully challenged the racist assumptions and stereotyping of the theatre industry. Their efforts to break the glass ceiling of “invisibility” in the UK also benefits the British Chinese and East Asian communities in general, and especially for young people at the beginning of their careers. The BEAA were able to attract international support and also engaged with important allies including Equity representatives, media, funders and political representatives”.

Yinsey Wang, contributing editor of Nee Hao, who also supported the nomination of BEAA, stated of the Nee Hao’s Man and Woman of the Year project:

“We wanted this award to support what we feel is lacking in the British East Asian community: unity. The BEAA has shown dedication to a truly unified cause and enchanted the imagination of the British East Asian. As a British East Asian, I feel empowered to know that together we can make substantial differences in Britain, and can even engage the serious problems that affect the heart of the international community, such as racism, underrepresentation and misunderstanding”.

BEAA continues to create extensive ripples in the arts and culture of Britain, providing a forum for creatives to share and develop their work. Nee Hao is proud to celebrate this year’s men and women from the BEAA that have outlined 2012 as an important step forward for all British East Asians.

For more information about BEAA, visit britisheastaa.wix.com. To read their 30 October 2012 statement, click here.

A statement by BEAA is to be made at the awards ceremony and shall be reported on after the festivities of Nee Hao Magazine’s Chinese New Year Show in London, which includes a fashion show, performances, a charity raffle in support of Chinese orphaned and abandoned children, and delightful culinary creations.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Fairy Princess also wanted to take a moment, and recognize the passing of a true Artist and Pioneer for API performers, particularly those of us who fall into the even smaller category of “Eurasian’ aka “Hapa” aka “Mixed Race” performers – Kevin Gray, known for his work in Miss Saigon, The King and I, Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, and many more – died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 55.

(If you click on the names of the shows, you will find articles from Playbill.com on his many successes)

Here is an interview of Kevin when he was doing The King and I at The MUNY

When I looked at my Facebook and Twitter feeds, I was staggered by how many of my friends had worked with him – friends of all different backgrounds and so many different kinds of shows – he touched them all through his work and his friendship. He was a pioneer simply because he was a wonderful performer and his talent was second to none.

This is not an obituary of Kevin, it is simply a thank you – I am not qualified to write one for him, but Theatermania and Playbill have done so, and if you click the words there, you will see them.

The Fairy Princess wanted to acknowledge that though we are all still fighting for recognition on our world stages, there was a brilliant warrior fighting that same fight, simply by being a standout in all he did.

Rest in Peace Kevin Gray – many thoughts and prayers to your Wife and Family.

And, Thank you.

Tags British East Asians, Diversity, Eurasian, Hapa, Kevin Gray, Miss Saigon, Nee How Magazine, Royal Shakespeare Company, The King and I, The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera

Categories Diversity, Uncategorized

Doing it a bit too Brown, Old Chap….No Roundaboudit

January 30, 2013 //

The Fairy Princess has been lax – and I admit it. I have not been blogging because there has been a new addition to the family. My Niece arrived on December 28, adding to the fun of my having a now, 8 month old, and my first niece who is nearing her second annum. So…blogging came a very distant second, third, fifth to the holidays and the naming days and actually all other days that could possibly have a name. I apologize, my wings were trying to beat quickly, but there was just SO MUCH happening I could not get a clear thought in my head.

Until I saw this.

What is that? Ceylonese Arm Wrestling?

Was ist das?

You may ask – and you may ask it in German, as I have just done. German would be the way to address this issue because, this issue cannot be addressed properly in English. It should have been able to be addressed in Sinhala or Tamil, but that would assume one has familiarity with the languages of Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, and one cannot assume, as Felix Unger warned us so many years ago.

If you have not been flap ball changing around The Broadway, you may not know that there is currently a revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood playing at The Roundabout Theater. The premise of Drood, which was a novel that was never finished by Charles Dickens, is that we are watching a ‘show within a show’. Meaning we have been transported back in time to Victorian England to watch a show done by a Thespian troupe, who are giving us a show about a book that was never finished.

The musical has no ‘definitive’ ending. All we really have is the setup, and then after poor old Edwin has been ‘whacked’ every which way but Sunday, the audience gets to vote on who ‘did it’. Much merriment ensues. Technically you have to see the show several times to see all the different ways in which Old Edwin bites the dust. Therefore not only is it a show within in a show, it’s a moneymaker within a moneymaker. If you love it, you will go back to see it over and over until you are satisfied that you have exhausted every possible motive everyone could have possibly have had, and you will bask in the knowledge that you, good Sir, are a bona fide fan.

It is all very good to want to place things in Victorian England, I wouldn’t mind a place there myself – next to the Dowager Countess of Grantham if possible – but this is impossible because we live in 2013.

Yes, hard as it is to believe it, The Fairy Princess is beating her wings after the Mayan Calendar told us that life as we knew would end. (They did not predict the end of the world, the History Channel has been very clear on that matter, don’t get it twisted). And the Fairy Princess knew that two of the characters in the musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, are supposed to be from Ceylon. Which is now the country of Sri Lanka. But in 1870- something was Ceylon.

So when there was an announcement that Drood was coming back to Broadway, I was eager to see who would be cast as Helena and Neville Landless. All I knew was that they were both to have been from Ceylon. I have never been to Ceylon now Sri Lanka, guess where it is?

Oh. Sri Lanka borders Asia, The Middle East, and the Indian Ocean. If one were to own property in Sri Lanka, one could probably even see parts of Africa from their backyard. (Which would make Sarah Palin happy – she likes land masses viewable from backyards). The Fairy Princess loves research though, so she thought since she now knows WHERE Sri Lanka is, she would take a look at the people of Sri Lanka.

What do people of Sri Lanka look like? I thought I would take a look – Sri Lankan people in 1870…go!

Ceylonese Man Circa 1870

If I were casting the character of Neville Landless in Drood, I imagine that I would look to people who have appeared in musicals, on Broadway or National Tour, who may have South Asian heritage. (Actually you could go a lot of different ways with this, given where Sri Lanka is, but let’s go with the supremely easy choice of South Asian).

It would be refreshing to have that Diversity in the Cast of a Broadway show. It would also fit with the storyline – in fact, it is WRITTEN IN the storyline, and…there are lots of people to bring in and sing for it. After all, since the Original Drood hit Broadway, we have had a whole crop of South Asian Broadway performers setting new standards. It is awesome! So…who would I call?

I might go with Aasif Mandvi, who played Ali Hakim in the last Broadway Revival of OKLAHOMA! (And yes, I had to sing it to spell it)

Or…I mean, you could go with Dev Janki,

Dev Janki – Recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Choreography

Or certainly, without a doubt I would call the star of the only South Asian Broadway show, BOMBAY DREAMS, the one and only Manu Narayan Here’s a clip of him (pay no attention to Mike Meyers or Jessica Alba, you can DO it!)

Yep, any of the aforementioned Dudes would have done a great job of representing a Native of Ceylon, and they have the chops to sing it, dance it, and have been on Broadway stages previously. Easy peasy. I was able to cast that part in two minutes.

But let’s see who Director, Scott Ellis went with:

Andy Karl, Native of Ceylon (Now Sri Lanka)

Now, Wikipedia tells us that it is not actually clear to what extent Helena and Neville Landless are Ceylonese, or Sri Lankan. Perhaps the choice was that Neville Landless is NOT a Native of Ceylon, perhaps he is a British Ex-Pat, who just lived there and got some sun….

I could have gone with that, till the NY Times pointed out, “silly imitation exoticism‘ and “...absurd burnt umber makeup‘. Which seems to imply that the Director, Scott Ellis, is actually meaning to have a Caucasian Man put on “Brownface’ and dance around in an imitation of what is South Asian traditional dance.

No!

Who would DO that?

THE MYSTERY! OF! BROADWAY BROWN!

Ok, perhaps the part of Neville has been cast with what the NY Times calls ‘absurd burnt umber’ leanings, but let’s turn to the part of Helena. After all, brothers and sisters don’t always look alike.

I mean, in my Family, which is Eurasian, we all look completely different. I decided I would try again – given that Neville has been painted in shades of Umber, I guess that the Director was going for a “Native” look – so I took a Google walk, and here is what a Native Girl from Ceylon (Now Sri Lanka) looked like in the 1870’s.

A Native Girl of Ceylon circa 1870

And here is how Director, Scott Ellis saw the role:

Jessie Mueller, Native of Ceylon circa 1870

Well.

How awkward.

This is as bad as a white guy playing the King of Siam…oh wait…yeah, see – that rarely happens anymore. This is as bad as the Engineer being played by Jonathan Pryce!

Yeah, ummm, Broadway doesn’t DO this anymore, right?

The issue is not whether or not Helena and Neville are technically Ex-Pats of England brought up in Ceylon, or that this is a show within a show and they are portraying actors from Victorian England who would have portrayed natives of Ceylon in burnt umber makeup – the issue is – why?

Why would you, in the year 2013, find it a strong directorial choice to have two Caucasian actors put on makeup and ‘exoticism’?

If they are English ex-Pats, wouldn’t they be as Caucasian as they both are, but just wear the Native dress and perhaps have an accent? OR…here is a thought – if you are to make the determination that the characters are Native Ceylonese, maybe cast some Actors who look like they could be from that area?

I mean, why Cast this way in the year 2013?

This just does not make any sense!

This is like telling me that Julie Taymor and Bono hang out and go for long walks together! This is like saying that Porgy & Bess should have had an All Asian American Cast! This is like saying that The M*therf*cker with the Hat should be cast with all White Peo…oh wait, didn’t they do that in Connecticut? Nevermind. It’s Connecticut. The point is – all those thing are ridiculous!

I mean, if Neville and Helena were from Africa – which, as you can tell on the map, is just right across the sea from Sri Lanka, and NOT implausible, would you allow Caucasian actors to put on Blackface? They damn well wouldn’t. And THAT is actually Equality – if you would not do it to one Minority, you do not to it to the Others. Even Steven in this case, works just fine.

But wait, they will probably say that they looked, but could not find any South Asian Actors. Yes, yes, we hear this all the time – no Asian actors to be found, thus we were FORCED to use Caucasians in the role.

Really? Couldn’t find any South Asian Actors and Actresses….I see….what? They were all off working for the Wachowskis on their next Sci Fi movie because Tom Hanks is now going to do Broadway and there was an Opening? Right. Nice try.

I mean, is the whole cast of the Bombay Dreams busy?

The Fairy Princess is astounded. Here is a show which is written to include South Asian characters, and they were erased in favor of a what? In favor of a Mikado-esque depiction of the Natives of Ceylon now Sri Lanka!

(Before we get too crazy, please note: Actors are hired, directed, and give the performances that the Creative Team wishes them to give. So no hating on Andy Karl and Jessie Mueller – they are both very talented Broadway performers. All my Caucasian friends who have seen the show have raved about it. As for the rest, the Fairy Princess is reasonably assured you would understand their feelings.)

Most would ask why, Fairy Princess? Why does this tilt your tiara? It is a limited run, and who is this really going to hurt? I mean really?

What effect can one show have on an under represented group?

Well, l received a Casting Breakdown from a new show that the Acorn Theater is presenting, it’s called BUNTY BERMAN PRESENTS -It is a show about Bollywood. It is written for an entire Indian Cast by a writer from England named Ayub Khan Din.

Here is the first line of the Breakdown:

NOTE: We are open to seeing Actors who are Non Indian, but who can believably play Indian Characters.

I mean, if South Asian people don’t get to play South Asian on Broadway – why should they get to play themselves Regionally? Why, when it is so FUN for Caucasians to put on thick makeup and accents and have a rip roaring, R and L dropping, Sari wearing heck of a time?

The Fairy Princess has no answer for this. The Fairy Princess finds this very sad.

So five smacks of the wand to The Roundabout Theater and Director Scott Ellis – you had a chance to be a leader, and embrace Diversity in a show where it is part of the plot, and you chose not to. And if you still do not see what effect the casting of a Broadway show can have, what the trickle down is, then please go and re-read that line from the Bunty Berman Presents Breakdown.

And you know what?

KISS MY FAN TAN FANNIE!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A Statement just released by AAPAC:

Visit our website: http://www.AAPACnyc.org

AAPAC Opposes Brownface in Roundabout Broadway Production

After seeing The Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” and receiving numerous complaints about the use of brownface in the production, AAPAC feels it is necessary to release the following public statement:

We were deeply disappointed to see white actors impersonating characters of South Asian descent complete with brown grease paint, appropriation of costumes and dance movements and relying on stereotypes in place of characterization. The obvious talents of the actors notwithstanding, the use of brownface had the effect of being extremely surreal and alienating, as if a joke was being told that was not intended for the Asian American community to hear.

We understand that the racism inherent in this musical is a reflection of the social mores within 19th century British panto and Music Hall traditions. Director Scott Ellis was being true to tradition, historical precedent, and to the story itself.

However, we would assert that if these characters came from the British colonies of Jamaica or Cameroon, and not the British colony of Ceylon (now present day Sri Lanka), blackface would never have been utilized in the same casual way. Today, you would never see a white actor in blackface playing the title role in “Othello” with the excuse of, “oh, well, that’s what was done in Shakespeare’s day.” We wonder why minstrelsy is acceptable when it comes to Asians?

The Roundabout production seems to show little awareness of the long history of Asian impersonation we are trying to put behind us or how racial politics and demographics have changed even in the 28 years since this show first premiered. There were a myriad of ways Mr. Ellis could have handled this issue with more sensitivity. For one, he could have hired actors of actual South Asian descent. Or, if he wanted to preserve white actors in these roles, the use of brownface would have been more ironic or satirical had the entire ensemble been cast multi-culturally. This would have been particularly effective since Hispanic-American star Chita Rivera was already in the cast. However, we have heard from quite a few members of the Asian acting community, including those with major Broadway credits, that requests from their representatives to secure an audition were denied.

The Roundabout Theatre Company does not have a good record when it comes to inclusive casting. Last year, we released a report looking at the percentages of actors of color hired at 16 of the top not-for-profit theatre companies in New York City over a five year span. The Roundabout made our list of the five theatre companies least likely to hire actors of color. In fact, they ranked second to lowest.

We are reaching out to the Roundabout to engage in closed-door discussions about these issues and are hopeful that they will accept our invitation. We are certain that their record does not reflect a conscious policy of exclusion and we hope that by bringing these issues to a more conscious level, the Roundabout can become an ally in an industry-wide commitment to more inclusive casting.

In the meantime, if you feel as strongly as we do, it would be very helpful if you take two minutes to send Artistic Director Todd Haimes a short missive via their FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/RoundaboutTheatreCompany.

Until there is conscious attention given to these issues throughout the industry, opportunities for American actors of Asian descent–and all actors of color– will never be truly equal.

Yours in Solidarity,

The AAPAC Steering Committee

Pun Bandhu, Cindy Cheung, Kimiye Corwin, Angel Desai, Siho Ellsmore, Christine Toy Johnson, Peter Kim, Julienne Hanzelka Kim, Nancy Kim Parsons, Kenneth Lee, Allan Mangaser, Eileen Rivera

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

UPDATE FROM THE ROUNDABOUT THEATER COMPANY PAGE:

Thank you for your post. Listening to our audiences is at the core of Roundabout’s values, so we appreciate all feedback and take it very seriously.

Roundabout’s leadership team is planning to meet with Asian American Performers Action Coalition to discuss their concerns. In the meantime, we will refrain from further comment here on Facebook, and look forward to a constructive meeting.

Tags Assif Mandvi, Broadway, Brownface, Chita Rivera, Dev Janki, Diversity, Manu Narayan, musicals, Roundabout Theater, Scott Ellis, The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Categories Diversity, Show Tunes

Pucker UP #RSC, cuz I am bending over….

October 18, 2012 //

The Fairy Princess was sitting, all snug in her bed, while visions of Equality dancing in her head…when from across the Pond, there arose such a clatter, she sprang from invitations to Conferences to see what was the matter….

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water….

Gregory-Doran_avatar_1412690540

This is Gregory Doran, and he is British. He is not ONLY British, he is ‘veddy, veddy’ British, and has been acting and directing with the esteemed Royal Shakespeare Company since 1987.

He is more British than Downtown Abbey, he is more British than Dames Maggie, Judi, and Peggy ! (Though he is in fact Nothing Like a Dame.) What he IS, is a conqueror.

Whoops, that is William the Conqueror!

In the great tradition of the sun never setting on the British Empire, he has helped make England once again an Invading nation! Not just of hemlines and great butts….

Pippa-Middleton-garticle-2

…but of theater, no wait, I have to spell it their way – Theatre!

Gregory Doran, the Lord Dudley of Dialogue, the Wolsingham of Words, the Essex of Iambic Pentameter, he has DONE IT!

He has conquered CHINA!

Not even MYTHIC China, but actual, true, Yuan period China!

Just to catch you up, the Yuan period was founded by the great Kublai Khan, (who was the Grandson of a little guy with an attitude problem called Ghengis. Yes, Ghengis Khan. Who was Mongolian. Which, is Asian.).

This is John Wayne as Ghengis Khan
Maybe he can get a job in The Orphan of Zhao?

Right after Khan decided ‘if you like it better stick a flag in it‘ – which was in the 13th Century, there came a playwright – Ji Junxiang. He wrote, they believe 6 plays, but this, The Orphan of Zhao has survived the ravages of time AND was the first zaju (Chinese “Mixed Drama or Play) to be translated into a Western Language! Go Ji Junxiang! Author, Author!

OK, so it’s translated. Now what do we do with it?

If I was looking for a British company to take a new spin on a Chinese classic, which many give the same weight to as a little forget me not called HAMLET, I would likely pick The Royal Shakespeare Company.

And not just because I have dual citizenship with Australia and am therefore under the realm of

keep-calm-and-carry-on

And not just because my Mum happens to be an Advanced Teacher in the British Royal Ballet System and was the youngest to ever achieve that, and then they raised the age limit and it will never, ever be done again. (My Mom kicks ass and takes names en pointe!)

No, I would pick RSC because they are known for great work, and a play that has stood the test of time like The Orphan of Zhao, deserves that. Who would do a better job at a centuries old play with a new translation?

Why NO ONE! No one could do a great play better than the Royal Shakespeare Company – they have swords, they have training, they have accents, and they have cheeky bits they throw in for the commoners. They even went to China – real, actual, modern China, to find the right look for the show. All of which I applaud.

Research is a key ingredient to theatrical success, and after doing all that research, they decided upon this image to promote the show:

Look at that PUNIM!

Ah, but does it look like THIS punim?

116240901-fn_354750c

Yeah…uh…not so much…..

If you have read me before, you know from past posts how much I love it when they put Emperors of China into plays and guess what – there IS an Emperor of China in this play! I wasn’t sure what an Emperor of China from this period was going to look like, but not to worry, not to worry –Gregory Doran knows, because when he wrote about going to China for research, he used this picture of an Emperor of China on his blog:

AAM_Ming_Prince_Zhu_Youyuan

So of course, when casting his play he went with this guy:

Steven Ventura, Emperor of China

Because that just made sense.

Oh ALSO in this show is a Chinese Princess! Perhaps they are going to try harder with this one, because the Princess is a pivotal character and kills herself and all that kind of stuff. This time I am going to find my OWN image of a Chinese Princess – I mean, I cannot keep relying on Gregory Doran, he’s busy!

182aafe10ae0e4208acbd380985eafff

So…how did I do, Mr. Doran? Am I close?

Lucy Briggs Owen, Princess of China

Apparently not.

Let’s throw it to Lady Grantham

In fact, there are 17 Actors in this show, The Orphan of Zhao, and out of those 17….3 are of Asian Heritage. Which explains this Cast Photo:

AN_11624474-Read-Only

And this one:

A rehearsal for the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Orphan of Zhao. Photograph: Kwame Lestrade

Out of the three Asian heritaged actors 2 of them play dogs, and one plays a maid.

Holy Nanking, Batman!

So lemme get this straight – this is a Chinese play, the setting is China, they went to China to get the technical aspects right, but what they did not bring back from China was the notion that there are CHINESE PEOPLE IN CHINA!

What? They went and saw La Jolla’s Nightingale and thought “Oh, the Colonies, they always get it wrong, I know exactly how to fix this!”

This is not a male Swan Lake,

this is not a Sondheim musical where people sing and dance during patter songs while playing a tuba

– this is a play SET IN CHINA!

n-SILK-ROAD-MAP-628x314

How many times do we have to talk about Diversity in China during the 13th Century?

I repeat, there WAS NO DIVERSITY AMONG THE EMPERORS IN 13th CENTURY CHINA!!!!

WHY?

BECAUSE IT IS GD CHINA, WHITE PEOPLE!

If you set a show in Africa, Mr. Doran, would you cast the Emperor of Africa as a Caucasian Man?

anigif_enhanced-20100-1396482706-3

I’m thinking, probably not.

I will state, for the record – I have NO, count it zippo, nada, nunca, no problem with Diversity. I LOVE DIVERSITY. But here’s the thing, translate the play – go ahead, fine, Bravi for doing it, but do not set it in CHINA! Put it somewhere ELSE. Or, here’s a thought…crazy but it might work – CAST ASIAN ACTORS IN A PLAY SET IN ASIA.

Because to Chinese people, the title of EMPEROR OF CHINA, or PRINCESS OF CHINA means something. For heavens sake, would you cast Joan Chen as Princess Diana? Could she play it? OF COURSE – would British people believe it? No. This is not just bursting through The Great Fourth Wall, this is using dynamite and boiling pitch so the fire can be seen from space!

Here is the kicker RSC, and bloody hell is it ballsy- you take a CHINESE play, take OUT the Chinese people, and then you have a link to order the tickets & get play information IN CHINESE- IN CASE CHINESE HERITAGED PEOPLE WANT TO GO? Hooker say what?

I’ll tell you what I would say: cào nǐ zǔzōng shíbā dài (肏你祖宗十八代) = screw your ancestors to the eighteenth generation!

Actually, RSC, you are quite behind, here in the Colonies we went through this months ago. There was a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s fable, The Nightingale, the leads were Caucasian, and of the two APIs in it, one was a BIRD (sound familiar?) and the other was a spoiled Princess.

Which offended my eye, so I plucked it out and wrote about it.

Then you see, over 25,000 people across the globe read my blog post about The Nightingale, and it set off a giant ruckus. Which led to a ‘talkback’ with the Asian American Theatrical Community at La Jolla Playhouse. The next time their AD was directing a show, Glengarry Glen Ross he did THIS:

Diversity, in an appropriate way, did great things for that show – it had fantastic reviews, because Diversity is how the world looks today. Everyone won. The Fairy Princess has no problem with Diversity. The Fairy Princess has no problem, personally, with the Actors cast in The Orphan of Zhao – I am sure they are amazing, they are after all, with the Royal Shakespeare Company!

The Fairy Princess has a problem with the Artistic Decisions made in Casting this show. Because Asian Actors are completely and totally underrepresented in commercial and public theater. Therefore the ‘argument’ that you are making the cast Diverse by casting Caucasians as Asians is like saying you are starting an All Girls School that will only be attended by the Men of Manchester United. It doesn’t make sense.

And no, crazy Interweb nutjobs -don’t yell at me about once upon a time ‘there was one black actor in a Shakespeare show, or the second spear holder past Caesar’s epaulets could have maybe been Asian.’

That’s not an excuse to white wash CHINA.

Now, likely, yes, I am not going to work in England, regardless of my passport, because of this post. And likely, Gregory Doran is going to view me as an Upstart Yank who doesn’t know what she is talking about.

Mr. Doran, I want to let you know, that I happen to be Irish, Welsh, and Chinese – with dual citizenship from the USA and Australia. My Family, on both sides, has been under British rule for centuries, so when it comes to Imperialism, the family has had it’s fair share. Why are you hearing from me? Way over here across the pond?

I am pissed off for my fellow British Asian Actors.

This is WORSE than The Nightingale!

(But I bet La Jolla Playhouse will be sending you a muffin basket of thanks)

You have a trailer with accents! Starring a Caucasian baby! Who comes next on the screen? A Caucasian man in a peasant hat that you likely bought IN CHINA…when you were doing research for this Chinese play you chose to do! You haven’t even tried to ‘escape’ the issue by calling it something stupid like “Mythic China” (Steven Sater, I’m talking to you). You are setting the show in real, actual CHINA!

I am just…I cannot….words have escaped….you are the ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY!

Act Royal!

Fie on you, Sir – FIE! I lay the bulk of responsibility for this fiasco of international relations at the door of Artistic Director Doran – because he is Directing, and wrote a blog about all the research he was doing, but how could anyone who wrote/adapted a play about China allow this to happen?

JAMES FENTON – wherfore art thou?

Veddy, veddy bad form and five swipes of the wand to you, I beseech thee, m’Lords –

Kiss my Fan Tan Fannie!

Oh and PS – MOISES KAUFMAN APOLOGIZED!

Which means I scored a HIT – a VERY PALPABLE HIT! (Ahem)

Tags Asian Actors, British, Emperor of China, fairy princess, Gregory Doran, Ji Junxiang, John Wayne, Kublai Khan, Mythic China, Nightingale, Orphan of Zhao, RSC, Whitewashing China

Categories Diversity

HERE LIES….Good Stuff!

America, we are having a bad week…

“Yeah, I said it like that” When the Fairy Princess went to #LAStageDay

When the Fairy Princess took a coach and horses to LA Stage Day

Get this crap off my Desk….Awards! Oh, the Drama!

It’s time to throw down a Straight…Alliance that is

An #Acorn Grows Off Broadway

Hope, Sadness & Thank You Kevin Gray

NEE HAO’S MAN AND WOMAN OF 2012: BRITISH EAST ASIAN ARTISTS

Doing it a bit too Brown, Old Chap….No Roundaboudit

Pucker UP #RSC, cuz I am bending over….

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