Proquest Dissertations
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Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI' ASIAN AMERICAN THEATRE HISTORY FROM THE I960S TO I990S: ACTORS, PLAYWRIGHTS, COMMUNITIES, AND PRODUCERS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Esther Songie Kim, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2000 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Thomas Postlewait, Adviser Professor Lesley Ferris Adviser Professor Esther Beth Sullivan Department of Theatre UMI Number 9982598 Copyright 2000 by Kim, Esther Songie All rights reserved. UMI UMI Microform9982598 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Esther Songie Kim 2000 II ABSTRACT This dissertation surveys the history of Asian American theatre from the 1960s through the 1990s. Asian American theatre in the 1960s and 1970s began as an artistic resp>onse to both the civil rights and Asian American movements that fought for racial equality' and self-defined identity. As community-based organizations. Asian American theatre companies emerged not only to protest racial misrepresentations but also to create positive representations of Asian American culture. These companies also sought to create new employment opportunities for Asian American theatre artists. In chapter one. 1 provide a brief summary of Asian American history from the nineteenth century to the 1960s and 1970s in order to provide an historical context. In chapter two, I describe the beginning years of the first professional Asian American theatre companies and establish an organizational structure for the following chapters. Chapter three focuses on specific case studies and issues of the 1980s, including multicultural education, color-blind casting policy, and second-wave Asian American playwrights such as David Henry Hwang and Philip Kan Gotanda. Chapter four includes an analysis of the Miss Saigon controversy and a discussion of new performance groups in the 1990s. Each chapter is divided into four sections: actors, playwrights, communities, and management. While these four categories represent the founding agendas of the first four iii companies, they also encompass major issues that have shaped Asian American theatre during the last three decades. The issues related to actors include not only training, growing professionalism, and acting styles, but also the complex matter of identit)'. The role of playwrights in Asian American theatre is discussed in the context of commercialism, cultural authenticity, and literary legitimacy. The challenges of audience development have been intrinsically connected to community identities-which assume the highly contested concept of pan-ethnicit>'. And in relation to communities, theatre companies face the difficulties of developing a viable management model. 1 conclude the dissertation with an examination of the first meeting of Asian American theatre artistic directors in 1999 in Seattle. IV Dedicated to my parents, Kwang Su Kim and Kyong Cha Kim ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am tremendously grateful to my adviser. Dr. Thomas Postlewait. for his unlimited patience and support. He has been a true mentor who has guided me intellectually and who encouraged me to find my voice. He has also been an invaluable teacher of theatre history and writing. 1 thank Dr. Esther Beth Sullivan and Dr. Lesley Ferris for carefully reading this dissertation and for providing first-rate suggestions for improvement. I also thank Dr. Alan Woods for opening my mind to issues of racial identity in American theatre during the early years of my course work. I could not have completed this project without the Five College Dissertation Fellowship and the support of Hampshire College. I thank Loma Peterson. Carol Angus, Ynez Wilkins. Ellen Donkin. Mitzi Sawada. Roberta Uno. Lucy Bums. Barbara Kim. and many others, all of whom made my stay in the Pioneer Valley productive and enjoyable. 1 thank Ellen LaFleche for proofinding the drafts. Valleri Robinson for her friendship, and Richard Kim for helping me with the interviews. And most importantly. 1 owe my thanks to all Asian American theatre artists who helped me with my research. They are my inspiration, and this is their story. VI VITA March 1. 1970.........................................................Bom - Seoul Korea 1995..........................................................................M.A. Dramatic Arts. University of California. Santa Barbara 1995 - 1999..............................................................Graduate Teaching Associate. Ohio State University 1999 - 2000............................................................. Five College Fellow. Hampshire College PUBLICATIONS Book Review 1. Esther S. Kim. "Asian American Culture on Stage: The History o f the East fVest Players by Yuko Kurahashi.'' Theatre Survey. 41.1 (May 2000): 117-120. FIELD OF STUDY Major Field: Theatre VII TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract............................................................................................................................ iii Dedication ........................................................................................................................ v Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... vi V ita....................................................................................................................................vii Chapters: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1. Background 1.1 A Brief History of Asian America ..........................................................7 1.2 The Development of Asian American Theatre and Drama before 1965 ...........................................................21 2. Asian American Theatre in the 1960s and the1970s.....................................33 2.1 Actors' Theatre: East West Players in Los Angeles ............................................................................................ 36 2.2 Playwright’s Theatre: Asian American Theatre Workshop in San Francisco .................................................................. 53 2.3 Community Based Theatre: Formative Years of Northwest Asian American Theatre Company ................................... 81 2.4 Producer's Theatre: Pan Asian Repertory Theater in New York City ........................................................................................96 3. Growth. Multiculturalism. and Dilemma: Asian American Theatre in the 1980s....................................................... 109 3.1 Asian American Actors in the 1980s ................................................ 113 vni 3.2 Asian American Playwrights in the 1980 ......................................... 131 3.3 Communit>' and Asian American Theatre in the 1980s........................................................................................... 150 3.4 The Artistic Committee of the Asian American Theatre Company ..................................................................................165 4. Asian American Theatre in the 1990s......................................................... 183 4.1 TheMiss Saigon Controversy .............................................................. 183 4.2 New Performance Groups in the 1990s .............................................. 197 4.3 Conclusion .............................................................................................207 Notes ...............................................................................................................................214 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................226 IX INTRODUCTION This project began with a simple query about Asian American theatre, about who the participants were, what happened when they worked together, and when and in what order the historical