Week One: Getting started

Why a blog?

It's kinda old hat, these days. Everybody starts a blog to promote a pet project, and it's not exactly cutting edge for a theatre (large or small) to document a show from beginning to end, to stir up interest among potential audience members (all 39 faithful, for some shows, it seems). On the other hand, it has the potential to keep me out of trouble, so…

This is the “official” blog for the Seattle production of YELLOW FACE by David Henry Hwang, one of the foremost Asian American playwrights working the stage. Given that Dave’s latest show, Chinglish, has been announced as Broadway bound (freakin’ Broadway! $$$ gah! $$$), this production (his last show before Chinglish) might have a certain amount of literary interest to folks.

YELLOW FACE is a co-production between me (the Pork Filled Players), and David Hsieh (Repertory Actors Theatre). Why a co-production? The reasons are varied and many (i.e., lots of dollars go into producing a play), but each of us brings in separate strengths: ReAct, with its long history of producing quality theatre (and a frequent presenter of Northwest premieres), and Pork Filled Players, with its deep knowledge of Asian American theatre and of the subject matter of the play in particular (i.e., I’m a college bud of David Henry Hwang). As well, there are some deep complementary strengths between the two groups (and detailing the ties between us and a THIRD company, SIS Productions, is a subject of a whole ‘nother blog post).

So, what’s YELLOW FACE about? You can read the official press release—it’s called a mockumentary, but, really, it’s gossip—not only about show biz people like David, Jane Krakowski and Lily Tomlin, but of national political figures like Wen Ho Lee, Sen. Tom DeLay and others ("Hm. Wondered what Jane REALLY thought of how she was portrayed here." “Well, obviously she couldn’t fit in THERE, but there was a space HERE after the…uh…incident...”). Thanks to my ties with David, I know more than most folks what’s true and what’s not; of course, I also realize half of what I think I know is wrong.

So, as the production and rehearsal unfolds, we’ll be clueing you in on what’s going on in rehearsals and productions. We’ll be peeling back the layers a bit and show you what it takes to get a show on its feet and going, from first rehearsal to design to load in to the hell that is called “tech week” to opening night.

Like…the ever present question: what does a producer do? Well…in the beginning is the void, without form and is all chaos. And the producer comes in and imposes their will on the chaos—by pretty much raising the cash to set the production in motion. They hire the director, hire the designers (but not the actors), and they promote the hell out of the show. Most of all, they get butts in seats. Group sales. Pump the media. Find sponsors. Buy ads. Stoke social media and….write blogs. So, now you know.


So, don't forget. YELLOW FACE opens on Friday, August 5 and runs through Saturday, September 3 at the Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area). Shows are 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. Admission is $15 General Admission, $12 Students/Seniors/Artists at the door; tickets can also be purchased in advance at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/181433) for $12 General, $9 Students/Seniors/Artists. Discounted group rates are also available for parties of 10 or more. For more information and ticket reservations, please call the ReAct Box Office at (206)364-3283 or visit online at http://www.reactheatre.org.
 

Oh. Who am I? I’m Roger Tang, Artistic Director and Managing Producer of the Pork Filled Players (meaning I do a lot of the crap work no one else wants to do). I began as a designer and worked on the very very first production of F.O.B. by DHH, as well as Song For a Nisei Fisherman by Philip Kan Gotanda (which David directed) and David’s House of Sleeping Beauties. I’ve produced a score of shows, including NW premieres of Paper Angels by Genny Lim and Living Dead in Denmark by Qui Nguyen (the zombie Shakespeare martial arts play). I also edit the Asian American Theatre Revue, the web’s top resource on Asian American theatre, which earned me the moniker, “Godfather of Asian American theatre” from A. Magazine. I’ve also written a few scripts myself, the majority of which are self indulgent pap (but I also have one or two that aren’t too bad).

We’ll talk more later.