| dc.contributor.author | Nothof, Anne | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2010-07-14T20:21:05Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2010-07-14T20:21:05Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2010-07-14T20:21:05Z | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2149/2663 | |
| dc.description | I presented my paper at the GENesis Asian-Canadian Theatre Conference, which took place from May 3-9, 2010 at the Factory Theatre in Toronto. This conference included theatre practitioners and academics, hosted by fu-GEN Asian-Canadian Theatre Company in conjunction with its 7th Annual Potluck Festival, which featured staged readings and performances of new works developed with the support of the theatre company. Presenters and performers came from across Canada and the United States to discuss Asian-Canadian culture and performance, and the consensus at the end of the conference that this was a unique and rewarding experience.
My paper was one of three on a panel entitled “Asian Regions”, which included a paper on Chinese-Jewish theatrical connections in Saskatoon, and Chinese Street theatre in Montreal. The discussion which followed indicated a strong interest in Alberta intercultural theatre, and some surprise that it existed at all. Since the conference included theatre artists who had worked in Alberta, however, such as Elyn Quan and Mieko Ouchi, ensuing discussion was better informed by the details I had provided in my analysis of the works of Marty Chan, Mieko Ouchi, Elyne Quan, Matsunaga-Turnbull, Paula Wing, and Mitch Miyagawa.
Papers presented at the conference will be published within the year by Playwrights Canada Press as one of a series of books on recent critical perspectives on Canadian theatre, edited by University of Guelph professor, Ric Knowles.
Many of the conference sessions and feedback on my paper will inform a chapter I am finalizing for publication by AU Press on intercultural Canadian theatre. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Founded in Edmonton in 1989 as a community-action collective company, Concrete Theatre has prioritized in its mandate a focus on cultural diversity. For the past twenty years, it has created workshops for schools and developed plays for young adults which explore issues of race relations. The focus has often been on Asian-Canadian groups: in the early 1990s, Padma Viswanathan and Philip McIntyre-Paul initiated a performance and visual arts project called Acting Our Colours, and in 1998, the Artistic Co-Directors of Concrete, Mieko Ouchi and Elyne Quan, created with Uma Viswanathan a Triptych of highly personal monologues. For the 1999/2000 season, Paula Wong adapted Joy Kogawa’s novel, Naomi’s Road for school and community audiences, with a cast comprising Edmonton-based Asian Canadian artists, and in the following season, Concrete developed Rice Stories with a Slant, a performance project which included a multi-media installation. The 2004/05 season featured a production of The Plum Tree by
Mitch Miyagawa, which explores the history of Japanese-Canadian internment and the Redress Movement. The annual Sprouts New Play Festival regularly features new works by Marty Chan, Mieko Ouchi, and Elyne Quan, among many others. Current Artistic Director, Mieko Ouchi continues to emphasize the importance of interculturalism in theatre for all ages. This paper will explore the intercultural philosophy of Concrete Theatre, and its collective expression of Asian Canadian history, society, and culture in Alberta. | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | 92.927.G1187; | |
| dc.subject | Community-action | en |
| dc.subject | Collective company | en |
| dc.subject | Concrete theatre | en |
| dc.subject | Cultural diversity | en |
| dc.title | Concretizing Asian Canadian Theatre | en |
| dc.type | Presentation | en |
