|
East West Players
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American experience today. Overview Established in 1965 by Mako, Rae Creevey, Beulah Quo, Soon-Tek Oh, James Hong, Pat Li, June Kim, Guy Lee, and Yet Lock as a place where Asian-American actors could perform roles beyond the stereotypical caricatures they were being limited to in Hollywood. An early statement of purpose read: "To further cultural understanding between the East and West by employing the dual Oriental and American heritages of the East-West Players." Current mission statement: As the nation's premier Asian American theatre organization, East West Players produces artistic works and educational programs that foster dialogue exploring Asian Pacific experiences. Current vision statement: * Contin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California
Little Tokyo ( ja, リトル・トーキョー) also known as Little Tokyo Historic District, is an ethnically Japanese American district in downtown Los Angeles and the heart of the largest Japanese-American population in North America. It is the largest and most populous of only three official Japantowns in the United States, all of which are in California (the other two are Japantown, San Francisco and Japantown, San Jose). Founded around the beginning of the 20th century, the area, sometimes called Lil' Tokyo, J-Town, 小東京 (Shō-tōkyō), is the cultural center for Japanese Americans in Southern California. It was declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1995. History In 1905 the area of "Little Tokyo" was described as "bounded by San Pedro, First and Requena streets and Central avenue. The ''Los Angeles Times'' added: "It has a population of about 3,500 Japanese, with quite a colony of Jews and Russians and a few Americans. . . . there are 10,000 Japanes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Box Theater
A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black box is a relatively recent innovation in theatre. History Black box theaters have their roots in the American avant-garde of the early 20th century. The black box theaters became popular and increasingly widespread in the 1960s as rehearsal spaces. Almost any large room can be transformed into a "black box" with the aid of paint or curtains, making black box theaters an easily accessible option for theater artists. Sets are simple and small and costs are lower, appealing to nonprofit and low-income artists or companies. The black box is also considered by many to be a place where more "pure" theatre can be explored, with the most human and least technical elements in focus. The concept of a building designed for flexible staging tech ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Muraoka
Alan Muraoka (born August 10, 1962) is a Japanese American actor and director who plays Alan, the current owner of Hooper's Store, on the television show ''Sesame Street'' since 1998. He currently serves on the board of directors at thBayard Rustin Center for Social Justice an LGBTQIA safe-space, community activist center, and educational bridge dedicated to honoring Bayard Rustin through their mission and gooworks Early career Muraoka was born in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, CA. Muraoka's first experience as a performer came at the age of ten, where he appeared as "The Candy Man" at a movie theatre during the intermission of a double feature. According to the biography on his official site, he performed throughout high school where he also had his first experience as a director - ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?''. Muraoka studied at the Theater Department of UCLA and won the Carol Burnett Musical Theatre Award for performance. While at college, he performed in several Walt Dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alec Mapa
Alejandro "Alec" Mapa (; born July 10, 1965) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He got his first professional break when he was cast to replace B. D. Wong for the role of Song Liling in the Broadway production of ''M. Butterfly''. He gained recognition for roles such as Adam Benet on '' Half & Half'', Suzuki St. Pierre on '' Ugly Betty'' and Vern on '' Desperate Housewives''. Mapa recurred as Renzo on '' Switched at Birth''. Mapa co-hosted the Logo network reality dating game show '' Transamerican Love Story'' with Calpernia Addams in 2008. In 2013, he debuted in his own one-man show, '' Alec Mapa: Baby Daddy'', which was made into a concert film and premiered on Showtime in 2015. Early life Mapa was born in San Francisco and attended George Washington High School. While in high school, he played Randolph McAfee in the production of ''Bye Bye Birdie''. Mapa's senior year productions were ''Cabaret'' and ''Harvey'', both in which he had the lead roles. Mapa was also a c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amy Hill
Amy Marie Hill (born May 9, 1953) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Hill's first major role was as Yung-Hee "Grandma" Kim on '' All-American Girl'' where her character became the breakout character of the short-lived television series. Hill has been a mainstay on American television in her work, many of her roles being major recurring roles, the most notable being: Mrs. DePaulo on ''That's So Raven'', Mama Tohru on '' Jackie Chan Adventures'', Mrs. Hasagawa in '' Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' (reprising the same character she played in ''Lilo & Stitch''), Ah-Mah Jasmine Lee in ''The Life and Times of Juniper Lee'', Judy Harvey in '' Enlightened'', Mah Mah Ling in ''American Dad!'', Beverly Tarantino in '' Mom'' and Ms. Mannering in '' Preacher''. Hill was a series regular on the Amazon Prime Video show '' Just Add Magic'' as Mama P along with recurring in '' Unreal'' as Dr. Wagerstein on the basic cable network Lifetime and The CW romantic comedy musical ''Crazy Ex-G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lauren Tom
Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress. Her roles include Lena St. Clair in '' The Joy Luck Club'', Julie in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', Dot in the final season of ''Grace Under Fire'', and the voices for Amy Wong in ''Futurama'', Dana Tan in '' Batman Beyond'', Jinx and Gizmo in ''Teen Titans'' and '' Teen Titans Go!'', Minh and Connie Souphanousinphone in '' King of the Hill'', and Numbuh 3 in '' Codename: Kids Next Door''. She portrayed Celia Mack in the Disney Channel series '' Andi Mack'' and also played Mrs. Tran in the CW series ''Supernatural''. Early life Tom was born in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois,Tom in the daughter of Nancy (née Dare) and Chan Tom, Jr. She has a brother named Chip. Their parents were born in Chicago, and their grandparents came from Kaiping, Guangdong, China. Raised in Highland Park, she grew up as a Catholic in a largely Jewish neighborhood. Career Theatre At the age of 17, Tom landed a spot with a touring com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Saito
James Tomio Saito (born March 6, 1955) is a Japanese-American actor of stage, motion pictures, and television. Saito is best known as the original Shredder in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Dr. Chen in the ABC series ''Eli Stone'', Harry Kim in the Netflix film '' Always Be My Maybe'', and Kenji on '' Modern Love''. In 2020, Saito became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Early life Saito was born in Los Angeles to Japanese parents. He graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in theater. He later studied acting with actress Uta Hagen at HB Studios, located in New York City. He was in the last group of students who studied with Sanford Meisner on the island of Bequia in the Grenadines and then continued with Meisner in North Hollywood. Career Saito also appeared in the movies '' Life of Pi'', '' Big Eyes'', ''Wilson'', '' While We're Young'', ''I Think I Love My Wife'', '' The Thomas Crown Affair'', '' The Devil's Advoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BD Wong
Bradley Darryl Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor. Wong won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in ''M. Butterfly'', becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and Theatre World Award for the same role. He was nominated for a Critic's Choice Television Award for his role as Whiterose in ''Mr. Robot'', for which he also earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Wong is known for such roles as Dr. George Huang on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', Father Ray Mukada on '' Oz'', Dr. John Lee on ''Awake'', Dr. Henry Wu in the ''Jurassic Park'' franchise, Hugo Strange in '' Gotham'', and Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme in the film '' Seven Years in Tibet''. Wong is the host of the HLN medical documentary series ''Something's Killing Me with BD Wong''. He has also done extensive voiceover work and stage acting. Wong voiced Captain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States. The publication has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes. It is owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by the Times Mirror Company. The newspaper’s coverage emphasizes California and especially Southern California stories. In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to labor unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. In recent decades the paper's readership has declined, and it has been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff reductions, and other controversies. In January 2018, the paper's staff voted to unionize a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodney Kageyama
Rodney Masao Kageyama (November 1, 1941 – December 9, 2018) was an American stage, film and TV actor. He was a Nisei Japanese American (second-generation) and besides acting in Asian American theater groups, he was also a director and designer. With his roles in the “Gung Ho” film and television series and the “Karate Kid” franchise, he was a trailblazer for Asian Americans in Hollywood. Career Theatre Born in nearby San Mateo, Kageyama began his career in San Francisco in 1965 as one of the original members of the Asian American Theater Company. While in San Francisco he attended the American Conservatory Theater. In 1979, Kageyama moved to Los Angeles where he joined the Asian American theatre group, East West Players (EWP), working as an actor, director, and designer. In 1985 he received a Drama-Logue Award for Costume Design for EWP's ''Rashomon''. In 1993, Kageyama directed ''The Grapevine'', written by Grateful Crane Ensemble founder Soji Kashiwagi, produced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Lone
John Lone (; jyutping: zyun1 lung4; born October 13, 1952) is an American actor. He starred as Pu Yi in the Academy Award-winning film '' The Last Emperor'' (1987), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. A veteran of the East West Players, he appeared in numerous high-profile screen and stage roles throughout the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s, in films like '' Iceman'', '' Year of the Dragon'', ''M. Butterfly'', ''The Shadow'', and ''Rush Hour 2''. He was also nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in ''The Moderns''. Biography Lone was born in 1952 as Ng Kwok-leung () in British Hong Kong. He was raised in an orphanage and later adopted by a woman from Shanghai. At age 7, he was sent to train in the style of the Peking opera at Hong Kong's Chin Chiu Academy, where he was trained in singing, dance, and classical Chinese theater techniques. It was here that he was given the name "Johnny"; he chose the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuki Shimoda
Yuki Shimoda (August 10, 1921 – May 21, 1981) was an American actor best known for his starring role as Ko Wakatsuki in the NBC movie of the week ''Farewell to Manzanar'' in 1976. He also co-starred in the 1960s television series '' Johnny Midnight'' (39 episodes), with Edmond O'Brien. He was a star of movies, early television, and the stage. His Broadway stage credits include ''Auntie Mame'' with Rosalind Russell, and ''Pacific Overtures'', a musical written by Stephen Sondheim and directed by Harold Prince. During World War II, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, Shimoda was incarcerated to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center. Broadway stage credits * '' Teahouse of the August Moon'', Martin Beck Theatre, (1953–1956), as Mr. Keora, choreographer * ''Auntie Mame'', Broadhurst Theatre, (1956–1958), as Ito * ''Pacific Overtures'', Winter Garden Theatre, (1975–1976), as Abe, First Councillor Filmography Film * ''Auntie Mame'' (1958) as Ito * '' Don't Give Up t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Lauren Tom")
