WATCH: CAATA ConFest Virtual Series, Episode 5
CAATA ConFest “Return to the Source”, Episode 5
“From the Source, Seeds for a Myriad of Worlds”
Download a program for the episode here: https://bit.ly/caata-program-ep4
On Monday, December 7, 2020, the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA) presented the fifth episode of its ongoing monthly ConFest Virtual Series, “From the Source, Seeds for a Myriad of Worlds,” on Monday, December 14, 2020 at 1PM HST, 2PM AKST, 3PM PST, 4PM MST, 5PM CST, and 6PM EST. The episode was hosted by Roger Tang (Producer, Pork Filled Productions, Seattle; Board Member, CAATA). “From the Source, Seeds of Myriad Worlds” celebrated the rich tapestry of Asian American theatre throughout the country with presentations from Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston (Boston, MA), Bindlestiff Studio (San Francisco, CA), East West Players (Los Angeles, CA), Ma-Yi Theater Company (New York, NY), Pork Filled Productions (Seattle, WA), SIS Productions (Seattle, WA), and Theater Mu (Minneapolis, MN). The episode will be broadcast on Howlround and on CAATA’s Facebook page.
The online event included archival footage from Bindlestiff Studio’s 30th Anniversary Gala and a short sketch comedy play from the show “HOEVID-19” by the all Asian American womxn comedy troupe Granny Cart Gangstas; excerpts from Pork Filled Productions’ 2015 production of The Tumbleweed Zephyr by Maggie Lee, as well as clips from their sketch comedy performances; and a visual history celebrating SIS Productions’ 20th year as a female-run Asian American theatre company. This episode also featured presentations from Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston, East West Players, Theater Mu, and Ma-Yi Theater Company that focus on their histories and achievements as Asian American theatres as well as their transition into the digital space during COVID-19.
“From the Source, Seeds for a Myriad of Worlds,” was the fifth episode of CAATA ConFest’s Virtual Series exploring the theme of the upcoming 7th Asian American Theater Festival & Conference (ConFest) “Kuʻu ʻĀina, Kuʻu Piko, Kuʻu Kahua – Return to the Source” in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The in-person ConFest will center the voices of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander theater practitioners, and feature the thriving theater community of Hawaiʻi, where Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander faces on stage are the norm, not the exception. “Ku‘u ‘Āina, Ku‘u Piko, Ku‘u Kahua – Return to the Source” is a call to all theatre artists to reconnect with their foundations and their sources of knowledge: their land, their family, their center. The online series and its presentation of the wide diaspora of Pan Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle East North African, and Native & Indigenous American stories will be a vehicle through which both the audience and artists can ground themselves in their cultural knowledge and the many identities that we bring to our communities.
