So one of the crazy things I got involved with promptly after graduation is this Mother’s Day performance at the Pacific Asia Museum my friend Andrea Apuy is co-directing.
It’s called “Chinese American Stories: My Mother” and since it’s on Mother’s Day, I’ve invited my Mom to see it.
That’s right… I’m getting on stage and telling a story about my mother… with my Mom in the audience! Am I insane!? I feel as nervous as I did in second grade when I was forced to enter speech contests in Chinese School (more like pronunciation contests, because we’d recite poems and stories and stuff; not usually things we wrote ourselves) and had to speak on stage in front of my parents and all the parents of all the other students. Nerve-racking!
Except now I’m doing this supposedly willingly and of my own free will. I blame the decision on the delirium due to lost brain cells during my final semester of MBA school.
Anyway, I’ll be telling a story that has been previously told on this blog, but it’s a story that was meant to be read on the page (or screen, rather), so even though the story was already written, I’ve had to do a lot of “re-working” of this thing.
Oh yeah, there is a also great cast of Chinese Americans who will also share stories for and about their mothers, so it’s not just me who will be up there. (And Taiwanese American Joz will temporarily overlook being lumped in as a Chinese American, for this performance only.)
Here’s the cast listing:
Henry Ong
Judy Soo Hoo
Anna Gee
Marshall Wong
Linda Chong
Ann Lau
(Me)
Denesa Chan
Joyce F Liu
Ewan Chung
Andrea Apuy
Regina Cheng-Sheu
Elbert Traister
Howard Ho
If you come, it would be a great way to spend Mother’s Day afternoon. I suggest brunching in Old Town Pasadena, coming to the Museum and then wandering the Pacific Asia Museum for a bit before the 2pm performance.
Doesn’t that sound like a lovely way to spend an afternoon with Mom?
“Chinese American Stories: My Mother”
Sunday, May 11, 2008 from 2-4pm
Mother’s Day Performance
A presentation of community, family and personal memories collected in a writing/oral history workshop by playwright Henry Ong.
Free with museum admission; call 626.449.2742 ext. 31 to RSVP.
Pacific Asia Museum
46 North Los Robles Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101
Museum Admission
$7 for adults, $5 for students/seniors
Parking: Free parking is available in museum parking lot, located on corner of Los Robles and Union in Pasadena
aw - i wish i could come and cheer you on! but, i already have nerd-plans: an afternoon/evening of d&d.
Wow, this is very cool, and I forgot to say that your mom is also very cool.
I wish I could be in LA to see you perform though.
Ah too bad I’m not in LA, we’d come see it. Good luck, I’m sure you’ll do fine!
we still need to rehearse… you let me know when is a good time. it will be fun.
man, i WISH i could be there. kick *ss, joz!
CONGRATS! … you sure you can’t push it till the next weekend
Good luck … I’m sure it’ll be really fun.
Congratulations! Break a leg.
That is cool…sorry I can’t make it as we have meeting for 670X that day. Good luck! say Hi to your mom.
you’ll be great, I’m sure! too bad I live on the other side of the country & can’t go see it…
You’ll do great! Don’t think about it too much. I am sure your mom will get a kick out of it. And the other stories will probably be much racier than yours, anyway…. so mom can take issue with the other folks!
Go Joz!
Sure as hell beats my lunch + flowers…
OMG! Please tell me you will be video taping this and posting the video here afterwards!!!!!!!!!