Playfest Promises Diverse Stories, Performances in 9th Show
Actor and playwright Jamie Lin first made it to the stage in kindergarten in a supporting role in a school Christmas show performance and later got more serious about theater in college. But then she noticed something missing from the play scene in Boston: stories like hers.
“I made my way into playwriting when I was tired of seeing non-Asian stories on stage and figured I might be able to write my own,” she told the Sampan in an email.
The lack of Asian American narratives, she said, is one reason Lin got involved in the Asian American Playwright Collective, which will host its ninth Playfest series of plays on Oct. 23-25 at The Foundry in Cambridge.
The Collective, Lin said, brings together a large group of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander talent “and allies” that are still a rarity on Boston stages.
Formed nearly a decade ago, the Asian American Playwright Collective aims to expand the representation of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander theater creatives in Boston's theater scene, said founder Christina R. Chan. She said the goal is for the theater scene to more accurately reflect Massachusetts demographics.
The group also helps local Asian American and Pacific Islander actors and playwrights advance in the arts.
“AAPC playwrights have gone on to receive local, national, international awards, productions, publications, and grants. Actors, directors, and backstage talent work in greater Boston and nationally,” said Chan in a email.
Chan co-founded the Collective with Hortense Gerardo, Greg Lam, and Livian Yeh.
“I think the founding members recognized a confluence of AAPI theater artistry in the area and wanted to connect, share work, and support each other’s writing,” said Michael Lin, who’s been involved with the group since 2018, by email.
The group's signature show has been its annual Playfest in Cambridge. This year, the group said, audiences can expect an even more diverse lineup this year than in previous shows.
“Playfest 8 was an entirely AANHPI team,” Jamie Lin said of the event’s writers, actors, and directors. But this year, she said, “We're excited to build upon our multiculturalism with Playfest 9, with a robust ensemble of 18 actors that includes white and Black/Latina talent and an AANHPI director team that boasts credits like A.R.T., Company One, Fresh Ink, and Front Porch. We're honored to live in a city whose Asian American arts scene is being led by the groundbreakers at CHUANG Stage, but there is always, always room for more and everyone!”
Also this year, Michael Lin said, audiences can expect a mix of local talent from across the AAPI diaspora presenting a diverse slate of plays, "including excerpts from longer pieces about Boston history, vignettes about political protest, treatises on family dynamics, and a biblical apocalypse.”
The titles for Playfest 9 will be “Unwrapped” by Michelle M. Aguillon; “Why Aren't You Boycotting, Too?” by Christina R. Chan; “Scenes from a Rally” by Hortense Gerardo; “Auntie Stoner Sess” by Diana Khong; “The Shrewing of the Tame” by Greg Lam; “Sibling Rivalry” by Jamie Lin; “Don't Call Us, We'll Call You” by Michael Lin; “Go Wildcats!” by Vivian Liu-Somers; “Tell Me A Story” by Angele Maraj and “The Second Coming” by Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro.
Jamie Lin said her work will include topics such as “food, competition, and siblings learning to break the cycle.”
And, she promised mysteriously, it will feature “a stellar needle drop!”
Chan said her play this year is an excerpt from her full-length play called "Busing the Buffer Zone" that was inspired by the real life story of Chinese mothers -- garment workers and non-English speakers -- who organized a boycott against forced busing in 1975 in Boston Public Schools. The shortened play at Playfest 9, she said, is about how a Chinese mother must convince her best friend and co-organizer to join a boycott during the school busing program “and not put her son on the school bus before other Chinese families arrive at the bus stop.”
The actors and playwrights said they appreciate that Playfest performances usually contain good mix of comedy and drama. But it’s also hard to escape politics, which are often a necessary part of the arts.
“I always think art is a political act, or good art should be political in some way or another,” said Jamie Lin. “Our Playfest expands the idea a casual audience member might have of what being Asian or Asian American is — our collective is very much not a monolith, and our plays showcase that. I've also seen some of my playwright peers write more actively political work and more importantly, scenes of community solidarity and allyship. When our neighbors are being stolen from our streets, it's important to remember the power in numbers and the strength of community building and organization.”
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