Leaves Scratching Across Pavement When one sees the leaves falling off the branches and scratching across the sidewalk, you know that autumn has arrived and so has a new arts season. Even a dreary economy hasn’t managed to slow down the creativity as this new arts season promises nothing if not variety. Go out and [...]
Fans of Amitav Ghosh’s “Ibis” trilogy have been eagerly awaiting the second novel ever since he beguiled them with his narrative powers in “The Sea of Poppies”. While the first novel took its readers through the opium fields and factories in Bihar through Calcutta’s thriving European community and international trade onto a refitted slave ship [...]
Little Italy. Chinatown. Japantown. These ethnic enclaves — communities within larger American cities — were the centers of immigrant life for many newcomers. Seattle’s International District included what was known as Nihonmachi or “Japantown”, located east of 4th Ave. between Jackson and Yesler, and along Main to 7th. Vestiges of this once thriving community are [...]
Well-known Asian American comedienne Margaret Cho, 42, is known for her raunchy, in-your-face comedy, covering topics as broad as her career. Nothing gets passed the Korean American from San Francisco, who espouses LGBT rights and pro-choice perspectives. She even pokes fun at her traditional Korean mom whose English proficiency means she’ll always be misinterpreted [...]
There is a theory that the third generation is the one that makes cultural inquiries into their past. They are removed enough to want to look back, while their influences are diverse enough for them to create something new. Ever since a guest at Erin Lau’s first performance of “The Graciela Project” told her this, [...]
Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime fell out of power in 1979, but the atrocities that occurred during their short-lived rule continue to affect multiple generations around the world. Some of these challenges faced by second-generation Cambodian Americans are the focus of Michael Golamco’s play “Year Zero”, in a newly-revised version to be presented by SIS Productions. [...]
When is a refugee granted asylum in the U.S.? That is the question explored in Village Theatre’s current production of “Take Me America”. Written by Bill Nabel with music by Bob Christianson, this new musical foregrounds the private struggles of immigrants to America from around the world. Writer and lyricist Nabel explains that the inspiration [...]
A casual visitor to “After the Martini Shot” — Mika Tajima’s exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum — might see a room full of slick, edgy works of modern art: video monitors, photographers’ light fixtures on stanchions, sculptures, and paintings — some on the walls — several in a storage rack of unfinished lumber, as [...]
These qualities resonate and radiate from the music of Young Sub Lee. People are often surprised and intrigued by the similarities between jazz and Korean traditional music when they hear Lee perform. He pours all of his energy, body and soul, into the music, creating a driving intensity that engages and inspires listeners to dream [...]
Frederic Wong’s “Brush, Ink, Mind: the Practice of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting” takes the reader step-by-step through the elements of learning calligraphy and brush painting in the Chinese tradition. The book is methodical like an instruction book or like a primer written in clear, steady prose. According to Wong, in the Chinese art form, calligraphy [...]
What were you doing Labor Day weekend — last year, the year before, 20 years ago? For many of us the answer would be: grilling teriyaki chicken, hamburgers, or vegan tofu links. Thousands of writers would say, “I was writing.” And a smaller number was, in fact, hammering out 100 pages. Is that really possible, [...]
Highlights “Swimming The List” is a new performance piece by Stranger Genius Award winner Susie Lee that fuses dance, technology and live music to present an imaginatively intense, fantastical journey of creativity throughout a routine day. Featured dance artist Ying Zhou with music by Emily Greenleaf and live digital imagery by Keena Rhoades. Sept. 23 [...]
How can we ever find the time to pursue our creativity? This is a common question in a society busy with work and family, but the Susie Lee Ensemble hopes to provide an answer. In their new dance piece, “Swimming the List”, the ensemble features solo dancer Ying Zhou in an exploration of how creative [...]
Martial arts releases in the U.S. have come a long way since Bruce Lee first graced our silver screens in the early 1970’s. Back then, Hong Kong-made action movies were mostly about tournaments involving opposing schools that touted differing fighting styles. Inevitably, the good guys prevailed over the bad guys who always tried to cheat [...]
Highlights Paul Kikuchi’s Portable Sanctuary performs in the century-old Union Station on Sept. 18 from 1 – 3 p.m. 401 South Jackson St. Admission is $5 – $15 on a sliding scale and the first 30 guests receive a free copy of the new Portable Sanctuary album. The compositions and improvisations the group does here [...]
For Nari Baker, the process of putting together her exhibit “Talking to Ghosts: Waiting in River Between Worlds” was as much a journey of discovery as it was for the participants she interviewed. Featured at Jack Straws New Media Gallery, the exhibit presents eleven adopted Korean Americans, including Baker herself, addressing their birth parents in [...]
His English is impeccable, his French is impressive, and his Hebrew will blow you away, but Togo Igawa was born in Shinjuku, Tokyo and grew up speaking Japanese. As an international star, Igawa has acted in Hollywood studio films like “Memoirs of a Geisha”, “The Last Samurai”, “Eyes Wide Shut”, “Revolver” and “Sunshine”. However, he [...]
Highlights Activist Grace Lee Boggs is 96 years-old and still going strong. She has participated in every major social justice movement of the 20th century. Her analysis of what lies ahead for social change activists is anthologized in the book, “The Next American Revolution” with the assistance of Scott Kurashige, Associate Professor in the American [...]
Sitting in a small café in Seattle’s University district, singer-songwriter Emi Meyer spoke with me about her recent tour of Japan, her experiences growing up playing music and the process of culturally coming to terms with her Japanese and Caucasian heritage. With three albums available on CDBaby, iTunes, and at Uwajimaya, she has achieved [...]
Throngs of fans lined the streets of South Downtown on a recent sunny Sunday. As they filtered through the doors of Showbox SoDo to kick-off this year’s International Secret Agents (ISA) concert tour on July 31, anticipation filled the room, excitement heard through an eruption of delighted squeals and showcased in homemade signs expressing love [...]
Intercultural translation always poses challenges. American playwright Mia Chung was intrigued by the challenge of understanding North Korean culture. “I felt very alienated from North Korea,” says Chung, who believed the isolated nation served “as a bizarre massive brainwashing experiment.” “In short, I was very susceptible to the simplistic caricature of North Korea that [...]
A reunion is afoot in Seattle theatre during August. Local theatre producer and ReAct Theatre board member Roger Tang collaborates again with his college dorm-mate David Henry Hwang in ReAct’s production of Hwang’s play “Yellow Face”. “I like to joke that I knew Dave before he had a middle name,” says Tang. “We were theme [...]
Highlights “From Hiroshima To Hope” (see related article elsewhere in this issue) is the annual ceremony of remembrance for victims of all war as well as those of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki atomic bombings in 1945. Lantern preparation starts at 6 p.m. with a program of musical performances & speakers starting at 7 p.m. Lantern floating [...]
A spin-off from the sci-fi anime television series, “Trigun: Badlands Rumble” reintroduces its primary characters against a landscape that appears to be the American West in outer space. Based on the original story line created by Naito Yasuhiro, this English subtitled adaptation features a menacing, muscular man with the unlikely name of Gasback — pronounced [...]
Writer: “What’s the difference between photography and writing a novel?” Dean Wong: “Well, with photography, you have to be there. You have to see the scene in front of you, you have to be ready to capture it. “The thing that I find fascinating about writing is that you don’t need to be there to [...]
Highlights “Talking To Ghosts – Waiting In The River Between Worlds” is an installation by Nari Baker. The piece is a collection of messages from Korean transnational adoptees to their imagined birth families. Viewers are invited to listen to these messages through rotary telephones. Through this community process, it is hoped that people cam [...]
BY CYNTHIA MEIJIA-GIUDICI I have a very strong tie to the Filipino community of Seattle. My father, Tiburcio, was a FCS councilman in the late ‘60’s and my mother was Mrs. Filipino Community of Seattle queen, 1969-1970 and FCS Mother of the Year, 2003. I mention these ties to the community because I am proud [...]
BY LUCIA ENRIQUEZ In the course of a summer that I spent in a lot of airports, the short story collection “In the Company of Strangers” by Michelle Cruz Skinner proved to be the ideal companion. The 16 stories read quickly but make their impact slowly and with uncanny perplexity that befit the hurry-up-and-wait rhythm [...]
BY MARILYN MCENTYRE Married to her favorite classmate in her final year of medical school, Michelle Au finds herself pregnant a year into residency — one of the most physically demanding stages in a doctor’s life. She and her husband, also a newly minted MD, sometimes go for days on different shifts, arranging brief visits [...]
