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Dialogue-Provoking Humor
Award-winning multimedia performer Dan Kwong is familiar with the barriers prejudice creates.
During his growing-up years in Southern California in the 1960s, Dan’s two main passions were baseball and the space program. But as the son of a Chinese father and Japanese mother, Dan saw no Asian role models in either field.
What he heard, though, were his mother’s stories of her family’s life in an internment camp after Pearl Harbor Day–and schoolmates’ taunts about his Chinese heritage.
Today, Dan relates these experiences in multimedia presentations that challenge his audiences to re-examine the way they think. Dan’s honors for his work include a Rockefeller Foundation Award and numerous City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs grants. His book, From Inner Worlds To Outer Space, compiles some of his most popular performance scripts. Continue reading
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His “Mission”: Educate and Entertain
California history happens this weekend, at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse.
They’ll be giving four performances of The Mission Play–the specific production for which the Playhouse was built, in the 1920’s!
The Mission Play, written by John Steven McGroarty in 1911, is a retelling of the struggles of the Franciscan priests who founded California’s 21 missions. The show, which blended facts and fiction, was a smash success when it opened in 1912. According to the Mission Play website, the local transit company added extra trains specifically for play attendees–and the play is credited with causing L.A.’s first traffic jams.
Theatre professional Jonathan Salisbury is not only a Shakespearean actor and director, but a familiar face on PBS. Jonathan, who has directed both theatrical productions and films, is the director of the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse’s 2013 edition of The Mission Play.
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Creating a Sense of History
On her website, Marissa Herrera describes herself as a “creative being.” She: dances, choreographs, acts, teaches, writes, and develops content.
And this weekend, she also takes her audiences to a historic place.
As the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse presents John Steven McGroarty’s historic spectacle, The Mission Play, Marissa portrays one of the main characters. She is Father Junipero Serra’s adopted daughter, twenty-year-old Anita.
Marissa talked about her experiences creating her character for the 2013 Mission Play revival, and what it was like to bring this California classic back to the stage after six decades.
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