We brought the frelling house DOWN. All the pieces were just perfect. We all had a great time.
Extra kudos to Jacqueline. Her piece included the issues with her mom, and touched on the tension of having a black boyfriend (“Brian and my Black Baby” is the name of one of her sections), and both mom and Brian were in the audience, sitting together. That girl has balls!
And a quick shout out to Eric. He will have an encore performance of his piece on Sunday for Hapa USC group. You go, boy! ( For those of you who don’t know, Hapa is a term derived from Hawaiian for “half”, it’s used to describe a multiracial individual.)
Alex will treat us to dinner tonight as our celebration dinner. Yey. Food.
Here’s a quick recap of last night’s show:
Love/Hate opening
Each one of us represent one thing we love/hate about being Asian/whatever we identify with. Hate: Exotic Oriental (Shan), Duties to Family Before My Own Happiness (Jacqueline), Unassertive (Nathan), and Being Called Fat (Alison). Love: History (Patrick), Compassion (Oakley), and Soul/Seoul Food (Eric).
Greek Life – Shan Shi
Chinese? Japanese? American?…No! A year studying abroad in Greece, Shan faces identity crisis forced on by everyone around her.
Quote: “Oh, I bet you want to know where I come from. [Greek stranger:] Oh, no. I just wanted to tell you you are very beautiful.”
Yesterday Once More – Jacqueline Lee
Starting from being “Kindergarten Feminist”, Jacquline bravely told the tale of fighting off her father’s poor treatment of women, and “the Myth of Asian Daughter’s Duty to Her Family”.
Quote: “That is just so…so…so…MULAN!”
Now Boarding – Alison Walker
A tale of a Korean girl adopted at 2 months old by white parents in MA reuniting with her biological parents and 6 older sisters, and learning about her roots and family.
Quote: “I used to think that airport is kind of sad. But then my friend told me that actually, it unites you with your family.”
Words Not Spoken – Patrick Shin
Hilarious and touching look at his interpration of what love is and how to show it revolving around his grandfather, a pink blanket called Pinky Boo, and Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On”.
Quote: “Celine Dion sings like an angel. She sings every high notes 10 times louder than it has to be.” (Later on, he did channel Celine for a few bars.)
Of Mom and Elephants – Oakley Boren
This story of displacement weaved through Oakley’s happy childhood, feeling of displacement at an American high school, and being branded by her mother as “looking like a prostitute.” And of course, superstitions about elephants.
Quote: “I’ve heard of Neo-Nazis before. But I didn’t expect them in such a nice, predominantly white neighborhood.”
Kigger – Eric Ferguson
Yet another brilliant comedic talent. Half black, half Korean, Eric allowed us to see what it is like to be “racially anonymous”, fighting off prejudice for the African American side, and enjoying the Korean side.
Quote: “Hell, I didn’t start a riot. I didn’t rob the liquor store. Did you see me running with someone else’s TV?”
Slaughterhouse – Nathan Go
A Philipino-Chinese growing up next to a slaughterhouse, Nathan introduced us to traditional feast of Philipino roasted pig or Lechon, and opened up his struggle with body image.
Quote: “I was playing ping pong. Some people call it table tennis. But I don’t think so.”
A whole lot of laughs. Some gasps and awwww. A few tears.
We indeed kicked ass and took names last night. Thanks everyone who showed up to support us. Another thank you shout out to Brandon, Shane, and Nora for coming out to see me last night.
And Alex. Dude. You rock. You brought us out of our Asian shells and let us loose on stage. Thanks, man.
