In the playwriting classes I teach at East West Players' David Henry Hwang Writers' Institute, I tend to work my students' fingers to the bone and chide them if they are ever brave enough to show up late. Their reward? A full-length play that they can be proud of, one that they've rewritten and rewritten and rewritten until their hands are bleeding. Staged readings of the seven plays from my Writing Is Rewriting class this semester begin this Sunday.
If you're interested come on down to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles for these free performances and study how I sit in the audience inconspicuously, silently judging the proceedings, while furiously taking angry notes on a legal pad.
Lest I've painted a not-so-great picture of the events, please know that I am proud of the progress that these talented playwrights have made and their plays rock more than ever.
If you're interested come on down to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles for these free performances and study how I sit in the audience inconspicuously, silently judging the proceedings, while furiously taking angry notes on a legal pad.
Lest I've painted a not-so-great picture of the events, please know that I am proud of the progress that these talented playwrights have made and their plays rock more than ever.
Sunday, June 28, 2009 @ 12:00 p.m.
THE LONG ARM OF STANLEY MATSUI
by Paul Kikuchi
As an official for the local basketball organization, Stanley Matsui is assigned to monitor a group of rowdy parents and family members of the 7th grade Tsunami Ladybugs. A comedy where there's more action in the bleachers than on the court.
Sunday, June 28, 2009 @ 2:00 p.m.
ROCK GOD OPERA
Book and Lyrics by Cynthia Ignacio
Music by Timo Chen
Orpheus and Eurydice are the most infamous rock n' roll couple of all time. When tragedy strikes, Orpheus must descend into an Underworld full of rock stars to face off against Hades in the musical showdown of a lifetime.
Sunday, June 28, 2009 @ 4:00 p.m.
MARRIAGE MONKEY
by Aurelio Locsin
In 1930s Los Angeles, Jun, a newly-arrived Filipino student, meets Marjorie, a white co-ed at USC. Will their infatuation blossom into love and marriage or will racial prejudice and anti-miscegenation laws threaten their union?
Sunday, June 28, 2009 @ 7:00 p.m.
CRIS CROSS
by Andrea Apuy Cheng
On the day Drew is to take his Medical Boards anything that can go wrong will. Will he pass, or will he just pass gas? Queries of gastrointestinal importance and the universal "WTF" are answered as the Angels, Saints and, of course, Filipino Catholics, en-"rape"-ture Drew's life.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 @ 7:30 p.m.
PAINTING BY NUMBERS
by Leslie Ishii & Karen Samski
What happens when you can no longer do what's "right?" You either break free or break down. It's the classic struggle of old conventions fighting off inevitable change. What will it be for Kit Yamamoto? In "Painting By Numbers," hearts are broken, secrets are revealed and true love wins out in the end. Or does it? Inspired by screwball comedies, family dramas, and Jane Austen's "Persuasion."
Wednesday, July 1, 2009 @ 7:30 p.m.
THE AMAZING WEDDING RACE
by Peter J. Kuo
1 Frantic Bride + 1 Gay Brother + 2 Fake Asian Parents + 1 Stripper + 1 Racist = A farcical barrage of confusing plans and flamboyant drama where race is not the real issue.
Thursday, July 2, 2009 @ 7:30 p.m.
THE APPLE OF OUR EYES
by Vincent Gabucan
Four friends in San Francisco's Chinatown during the years following the Chinese Exclusion Act. All four men struggle with love, a struggle that is forbidden, difficult, and often confusing. Are they destined to live in a state of sexual and social limbo forever?
East West Players
120 Judge John Aiso Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213.625.7000
$5 Suggested Donation
Click here for more information.