Monday, October 26, 1998
Miles from typical stereotypes
Asian American artists defy Hollywood’s typecasting by creating
a new look for themselves and examining their misunderstood,
misrepresented culture
in the annual event Å’Treasure in the House’
By Sandy Yang
Daily Bruin Contributor
The average moviegoer or television viewer probably won’t
recognize the kind of Asian representations in the performances
from Highways Performance Space. Missing are the Asian stereotypes
that are as one-dimensional as the screens the movies and TV shows
are viewed on. Instead, audiences will enjoy the three-dimensional
quality of live dramatic pieces, conveying just some of the many
portraits of Asian American experiences.
"Treasure in the House," an annual performance and visual art
series of Asian Pacific American works, including solo dramatic
pieces, dance and poetry readings, made its debut seven years ago.
It has given these underrepresented artists a creative means to
express their stories without the usual typecasting and
restrictions found in Hollywood. Given the artistic freedom, the
personal stories of Asian American artists have spawned productions
and characters that could never be typecast.
Running for five weekends (starting this Oct. 29), the series
starts off with five solo dramatic pieces followed by a Butoh-based
dance performance by Oguri and Li Chiao-Ping. The third and fourth
weekend feature a play (by the Vietnamese American performance
ensemble Club O’Noodles) about the nail salon business. The series
is capped off by readings from Hapa playwrights and poets.
"It’s about giving artists more opportunities to present their
work," says Dan Kwong, curator of "Treasure in the House." "And to
give audiences a chance to see … a concentrated group of
performances that are by and about Asian Americans and whatever
issue they choose to address."
Solo performer Ivy Yee says, "It provides a forum for Asian
Americans. There are no parameters, so we’re not limited to the
lies or someone else’s perception. These are our stories."
Yee, a solo performer who appeared in last year’s "Treasure in
the House," deals with family issues and growing up in her
household. In last year’s performance, Yee grabbed her breasts to
make the point that her brothers couldn’t hit her in the chest
anymore when playing football after puberty, as part of the story
about her becoming a woman.
This year’s piece (entitled, "Dad a.k.a. Johnny Wong") deals
again with her family and their black-market fireworks business,
focusing on her father this time.
"It’s so unusual," Yee says about her family business. "The
irony was that it was so normal for our family life. It’s also the
awareness of who (my father is) behind the cool, tough guy who
drank a lot and caused a lot of grief in our family. (I) wanted
some glimpses of the man behind the character."
For UCLA alumnus Alex Luu, this is his fourth appearance in
"Treasure in the House." Although he never intended to be a
performer while attending UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and
Television, Luu found his way to the stage from the stories he had
to tell. His one-man show, "Three Lives," tells a biographical
story which examines three generations of Luu men who must deal
with the immigration experience, the assimilation process and
racism.
"I’m really proud of the piece because it’s personal to me," Luu
says. "I think that the audience comes with an understanding of
really finding an inner voice within the confines of family,
loyalty and society."
With "Three Lives," Luu has traveled to theaters, college
campuses and high schools throughout Los Angeles. Meeting kids who
see him perform, Luu views his work as not just entertainment but
also a way to reach out to young Asian Americans who have few role
models to identify with in their lives.
"I actually get a big kick out of performing for high school
students because I taught for a couple of years in this big Chinese
community here in Monterey Park," Luu says.
"I think that what I saw when I was teaching gave me even more
inspiration to go out and tell my stories. When I was teaching …
I didn’t really see a lot of people of Asian ethnicity teaching in
the school, let alone doing something creative."
Yee agrees that seeing more Asian actors can only help to
encourage those who question if one’s heritage remains an
impenetrable obstacle to succeed in a performing career. She points
to actors like Russell Wong, Tamlyn Tomita and Margaret Cho who
have gained some fame for their acting careers.
"The more exposure you have, the more encouragement it allows
young folks to want to get into the creative arts," Yee says.
"Talent has always been there, and we’ve been ready and
waiting.
"That’s why you see a lot of people taking it into their own
hands and making a lot of independent films, because they know that
mainstream America isn’t ready to hear the stories the way we want
to tell it."
The lack of roles, most of which are stereotypical of Asians
anyway, hinders Asian American actors from pursuing a performing
career. But yet another reason causes this shortage and a seeming
disinterest.
Yee says that because of the way that Asian Americans are
raised, they are not taught to express themselves assertively.
"We’re not shaped to air our dirty laundry or to talk about things
in our families.
"(My family) isn’t even aware that I’m doing this piece. They
see it as a hobby (that is) not to be taken seriously. If my father
knew that I was doing this, he’d probably hit the roof."
Performer Paula Solano says, "It’s still a hard thing for Asian
students to even give themselves the option that you could be an
artist because of the whole thing about succeeding (which for
Asians) means financial success. (It) is so ingrained that it’s
hard to let go."
Yee, who works full-time in sales and relations, acknowledges
this in her own life as she performs during the evenings and
weekends.
"I don’t know if that has to do with my good parental Chinese
training," Yee says. "But there’s a part of myself that doesn’t
allow me to go be an artist full-time because it’s a really tough
life. Nothing would please me more than to be an artist full-time,
but I have an income to earn."
Solano, a full-time performer who is half Chinese, can attest to
the tough conditions of finding roles in Hollywood.
"I’m just beginning to do television and so most of the time the
only Asians you see are reporters and doctors," Solano says. "To be
mixed-race, they just don’t know what to do with me because in
Hollywood, they want to put you in a slot. What you see in
television or in movies are either a Caucasian story or a Black
story, once in a while a Latino story, and once in a blue moon, an
Asian story. It’s like somehow we live in separate worlds,
according to the media."
Solano, who will be performing a piece entitled "Appearances"
for Highways, counters Hollywood’s idea of what acceptable means
and presents characters who are molded by these ideals of beauty
and acceptance. Among the characters is a Chinese woman who is
disowned by her family for marrying a non-Chinese man, a Caucasian
woman who alters herself to look Asian and a Vietnamese teenage
girl who hangs out with a mostly Latino crowd.
"I think I was put here on earth, looking the way I do, to help
people feel validated," Solano says. "The world’s population has
many more Asians; this is the most populous group of people in the
world, and yet in this country, we see so few on the screen."
Even with the little Asian American presence, the images and
stereotypes may not always be desired.
"I think that a lot of these stereotypical images are how
society creates people of color," Luu says. "When people only see
(stereotypes), especially non-Asians, they can obviously believe
(them)."
For the performers and the audience at Highways Performance
Space, however, both will be free from these stereotypes. While
Hollywood may keep on churning out all-too-familiar images of Asian
Americans, as seen in "Lethal Weapon 4" or "Rush Hour," a steady
but slow progress is occurring in theater performances, as more
Asians are finding their voice and using it to tell their stories
while simultaneously combatting the stereotypes.
"Highways allows us to go deeper with things instead of just
saying it like in sitcoms or movies where there’s this
one-dimensional character with one-dimensional issues," Yee says.
"What we want to explore live is sexuality, violence, anything and
everything. A lot of times, these subjects can be taboo in Asian
culture. Now at least … there is that voice, and it’s important
to be heard."
ART: "Treasure in the House" runs from Oct. 29 to Nov. 29 at
Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica. Tickets are $12-15. For
ticket information, call (213) 660-8587.
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