ABOUT THE GRANT
- $45,000 to First Voice to support J-town, Chinatown, Our Town (working title) (MAP 2019)
ABOUT THE PROJECT
In the rain, a mixed race young man born and raised in San Francisco waits for his Uber. Surrounded by destitute people scurrying for shelter and rich people sauntering home he thinks about moving away to a kinder gentler place. The spirits of his grandmothers snatch him, whisking him backwards and forwards through time. Reminding him that his ancestors built this City, it’s Soul will always be with him and his great-grandchildren need him to remember. J-town, Chinatown: OurTown (working title) written by Brenda Wong Aoki, composition by Mark Izu, inspired by their son & his family’s 122 year history in the nation’s first Japantown & Chinatown. An amalgamation of story, jazz with Chinese & Japanese instrumentation, Nohgaku, contemporary dance & multimedia by Olivia Ting, costumes by Lydia Tanji, Japanese and Chinese American home movies by Stephen Gong from the Center for Asian American media. Says Wong Aoki, “This work is about identity and homeland in an increasingly multiracial America, especially in cities where historic cultural districts like Chinatown and J-town are being dismantled, or no one from the culture lives there anymore. The play is about belonging…in a complex, interconnected, chaotic world. Ultimately this is an American story.”
ARTISTIC TEAM
Brenda Wong Aoki // Facebook // Twitter
Stephen Gong // Facebook // Twitter
Mark Izu // Facebook // Twitter
Lydia Tanji