A PLAYFUL LOOK AT THE ASIAN DIASPORA THROUGH THE VIEWFINDER OF NOMENCLATURE

Donohue and Yung have collaborated previously on In Mixed Company’s “Lotus Blossom Itch” and “Enemy/Territory” at Dance Theater Workshop and “The Legend of the Pearl” at La Mama/Umbria.  For Jet Stream they gathered their regular collaborators from Slant Performance Group (Richard Ebihara), In Mixed Company (Peggy Cheng & Brian Nishii) and guests Julian Barnett and Abby Chan to create a collaborative tale that dips into personal tales of each artist’s name.

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EXAMINING INTIMATE ACTS OF DESTRUCTION.

“Rip It Open”, an exhaustive and athletic examination of each performer’s relationship to violence. This series of solos and duets features choreography by Donohue, lighting design by Frank DenDanto III, costume design by Anh Bui, video and sound design by Brian Nishii, with performances by Donohue, Peggy Cheng, Nancy Ellis, and Nishii.

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FOR ALL THIS, WE BEGIN WITH ONE BREATH.

“BOTH”, is a work about being Here, Now.  Though no longer the work we intended when we began, “Both” speaks from a time before 9-11, a time immediately after and, most importantly, right now.  Drawing from martial arts, contact improvisation, aerial dance and yogic, vipassana & zen meditation styles “Both” is a celebration of the human spirit.  “Bushido” is the samurai way - in modern terms it is the mettle to persevere and in “Both” it is manner and message in a look at our multicultural America.

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Maura Donohue/In Mixed Company with women, angry and ardent premieres “Righteous Babes” a provocative explosion of gender set to songs by ani difranco.  Performers include Peggy Cheng, Eirene Donohue, Nancy Ellis, boys beautiful Brian Nishii, Hanson Tse and invited guests. Lighting by Jay Ryan, Costumes by Maeve Donohue, Sound and video designs by Brian Nishii/Westwell Productions. 

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On April 30, 1975 when the final helicopter lifted off the roof of the American embassy in Saigon, over 30,000 other Americans were left behind.  Bearing the inescapable con lai (half breed) traits of American fathers, these children were often abandoned by their Vietnamese relatives and left to roam the streets.  They were called bui doi, or “dust of life”. In 1987 the Amerasian Homecoming Act allowed these children entry to America often based solely on the “passport” of these same traits i.e., blue eyes, a big nose or black skin.  In SKINning the surFACE Maura Nguyen Donohue uses this historical episode as springboard into a heated exploration of the bi-racial body and its personal and political repercussions. 

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When You’re Old Enough is a thought provoking autobiographical dance theater work depicting the experiences of a young woman of mixed Vietnamese and American heritage as she searches for an identity. In When You’re Old Enough Maura’s once white aligned identity receives a shattering blow in the form of a family secret.  The new found knowledge spins her into a 45 min journey through the treacherous landscape of racial alliances and personal history. 

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Islands: a hapa wet dream is an exhilarating 40 minute, multimedia work that brings together many voices in an exploration of the Asian American experience from a hapa, or biracial, perspective.  The work includes gripping poetry written by Ava Chin, live Japanese taiko drumming, luscious compositions by Forrest Fang and highly charged performances from the dancers.  Costume and scenic design created by Maeve Donohue.

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Spewing forth from the vat of pop culture, Lotus Blossom Itch, is a full-throttle, in-your-groin tour of rock-n-roll’s promised pleasures of the Orient.  The work uses prevailing images of the Exotic to populate this theatrical domain with circa 1960’s lounge lizard lotus blossom bitches and biddable Bangkok boys.  Itch creates a movement style derived from various performance of exotica by intermingling movement from Peking Opera, Karate, Hula, Middle Eastern dance with hard-driving text. Traditional and contemporary entertainment styles converge and collide into a surging frenzy of the erotic and violent. Original collaborators included poet Ava Chin, Scenic Designer Perry Yung, Lighting Designer Jay Ryan, and special guests, Slant Performance Group.

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