The 7th Annual New York City Asian American Student Conference will be held at New York University this Saturday, April 27th. This is a great opportunity to learn about Asian American issues, network with community leaders, and meet up-and-coming Asian American performers.

This year’s workshops and panels include topics on immigration, civil justice through the lens of hip hop, politics of Gangnam Style, racial appropriation, and more.

Details on some of the many great speakers:

Our keynote speaker this year is award-winning journalist and activist Helen Zia, who has covered social and political movements of the Asian American community for the past thirty years. Her range of work is deeply rooted in civil rights advocacy, as noted in her involvement in the landmark anti-Asian violence Vincent Chin case of the 1980s. Other speakers and performers in attendance this year will include CNN-featured comedienne Jen Kwok, “Yellowface” playwright David Henry Hwang, Youtube performer Joseph Vincent, NYC-based comedian and writer Hari Kondabolu, and many other prominent and influential Asian Americans.

Don’t miss out! Registration is free. More information on nycaasc.com.

Ease yourself with some music and tapping to greet the spring of New York at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA). Next Friday on March 22 from 8pm-10pm, a fantastic live improvisation of cotemporary and traditional musicians, singers and dancers will let you to do so.

The Artists Min Xiao-Fen, Jin Hi-Kim and Max Pollak with their unique performing style and award-wining experiences will provide you with a stunning Friday night. Min is known for her fluid style of music and appearance on Björk’s album, Volta, Kim for her own compositional method of combining ancient instrument and Western orchestra, and Max for his creation of RumbaTap, an unparalleled merge of authentic Afro-Cuban music with American rhyme tap and body music.

You know you don’t want to miss this exceptional event.

Admission is $15 per adult, $10 per MOCA members. RSVP required to programs@mocanyc.org.

—

Mia Wang is a contributing writer at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Continue the conversation by posting a comment here, on OurChinatown’s Facebook page, or on Twitter at @ourchinatown.

This event is hosted by the Chinese Students and Scholars Association of New York University. Cost of tickets: NYU students $7; non-NYU students $18-48. For non-NYU audiences, tickets will be available for sale as the day of the event (March 9th) at NYU Ticket Center (566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South).

—
Jia Guo is a contributing writer at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Continue the conversation by posting a comment here, on OurChinatown’s Facebook page, or on Twitter at @ourchinatown.

David Henry Hwang’s play is back on stage!

On Tuesday, March 5 at 7:30 pm, join MOCA for a special performance of David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and the Railroad at the Signature Theatre with an exclusive post-performance Q&A.

The story is about two Chinese workers struggling through poverty and hunger to reconnect with the traditions of their homeland while on a California mountaintop in 1867 near the Transcontinental Railroad. The Dance and the Railroad follows the twice-extended Golden Child as the second production in the Residency One: David Henry Hwang Series.

Come and experience the story with the actors’ brilliant and nimble performances. $25 per ticket. Limited tickets are available.

—

Mia Wang is a contributing writer at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Continue the conversation by posting a comment here, on OurChinatown’s Facebook page, or on Twitter at @ourchinatown.

The parade is going for the Guinness World Record of Most Dancers in a Lunar New Year parade! Better Chinatown has maps to follow the dancers and marchers.

With support from CAAAV, NYAGRA, the Queens Pride House, APICHA, and NQAPIA, the Lunar New Year For All contingent will also be marching on the 17th, recruiting LGBTQ members of the API community, as well as their family and allies. “It’s a reminder to our families and communities of origin that we are someone’s brother, sister, son or daughter,” says organizer Ryan Shen. “We’re here to show our community that we are here and proud.”

The Lunar New Year For All marchers will convene at 11:30 AM at Hester Street and Mott Street. Look for their banners! You can also go volunteer and help them create their “GIANT SNAKE” at 10am at Project Reach.

If you can’t make any of the above, join them for an after-march banquet at Project Reach at around 3pm until 5pm. No RSVP required.

—

Kyla Cheung is a contributing writer at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Continue the conversation by posting a comment here, on OurChinatown’s Facebook page, or on Twitter at @ourchinatown.

Last night, the Sundance Film Festival got to relive a little Linsanity, as Evan Jackson Leong’s documentary on Jeremy Lin premiered to a sold-out crowd.

LA Times’ Steven Zeitchik reviews the film here, but the more interesting stuff is on the film’s Facebook page where the production team posts updates and behind-the-scenes photos from the festival in Park City, Utah. And, check out their Twitter for personal reactions from the audience.

Here’s a few, with high praise from Zeitchik:

‏@Selah_V: “The best movie @sundancefest : @LinsanityMovie…tears streaming down my face the whole time. Truly inspiring in so many ways. A MUST see!”

@derekcrocker: @linsanitymovie lived up to the hype! Filmmakers got lightning in a bottle w/ #linsanity and captured it per http://instagr.am/p/Uufh6-H2NR/

‏@ZeitchikLAT: Linsanity is as exceedingly likeable as its subject, and by far the most enjoyable movie I’ve seen thus far at #Sundance.

The doc is currently seeking a distributor at Sundance, and early reviews like the Times have been positive. If you feel so inclined, you can help support the documentary through their Kickstarter page, where they have teaser footage of the film.

I know what you Lin purists are thinking. Were you put off by all those ironically Chinese-style bootleg Jeremy Lin biographies? Have no fear, the doc is legit.

Director Leong started the film years before Linsanity ever popped off, and the production team includes Chris Chen, who co-produced The Year of the Yao. Not to mention my dude, Brian Yang is a producer, and without a doubt the world’s biggest Jeremy Lin fan. Yang is also a regular on CBS’ Hawaii 5-0, and not so coincidentally, the doc is narrated by 5-0 star Daniel Dae Kim.

–
Ren Hsieh is a contributing editor for OurChinatown. You can find him on Twitter at @TheRealRenHsieh. Continue the conversation by posting a comment here, on OurChinatown’s Facebook page, or on Twitter at @ourchinatown.

Make sure to dust off your worst (or best?) holiday sweater for MOCA’s ugly sweater fest tonight! Sponsored by MOCA, the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, and Hyperallergic, the festivities will include live music from rapper Masia One and tunes from DJ Mas. Comedian Sheng Wang will host the festivities. Come enjoy spiked punch and compare ugly sweater patterns and stories with other holiday revelers! Best of all, part of the proceeds will be donated to CAAAV towards their advocacy work in helping post-Sandy Chinatown.

The party starts at 8 pm tonight, at 215 Centre Street in the Museum of Chinese in America. Make sure to RSVP to programs@mocanyc.org if you haven’t yet. Admission is $20, and $15 for MOCA members.

And tomorrow night from 6 to 9 pm, you can continue supporting Hurricane Sandy relief efforts by attending a fundraising dinner co-hosted by Chinatown Partnership and Chinatown Business Improvement District. For $25, you can enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet at Grand Harmony on 98 Mott Street. All dinner proceeds will go towards businesses in Chinatown. Buy your tickets here. You can also contact Chinatown Partnership at 212-346-9288 or info@chinatownpartnership.org for more information, or if you’d like to be a sponsor.

—
Gina Chung is a contributing writer at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Continue the conversation by posting a comment here, on OurChinatown’s Facebook page, or on Twitter at @ourchinatown.

Presented by MOCA, AAWW, and Hyperallergic, the party will include spiked punch, live music, and festive fun. Hosted by comedian Sheng Wang with performances by rapper Masia One and music by DJ MAS.

A portion of the proceeds will go towards CAAAV for their response to the needs of Chinatown when Hurricane Sandy hit.

Who: MOCA, AAWW, Hyperallergic
What: Ugly Sweater Holiday Party
When: Tues, Dec 18 at 8pm
Where: Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre St.

Admission: $20/$15 MOCA members
RSVP required to programs@mocanyc.org. Facebook event page here.

While you’re there check out their current exhibitions Monsters and Marvels and Alt.Comics. 

Thursday, December 13th 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Municipal Building, 1 Centre Street, 19th Floor

Tuesday, December 18th 6:30 – 8:00 pm
163 West 125th St, 8th Floor

Tuesday, January 8th 6:30-8:30pm
Municipal Building, 1 Centre Street, 19th Floor

DREAMers

Directed by Adam Odsess-Rubin

Written by: Alton Alburo, Krystal Ballard, Rachel Lin, Adam Odsess-Rubin, Reka Polonyi, Luis Restrepo, Aamira Welthy

On Monday evening, the cast of DREAMers, a work of investigative theater presented by Theater for the New City’s NEW CITY, NEW BLOOD Reading Series in association with The Civilians Education Program, presented monologues collected from interviews with undocumented youth in NYC.

The performance took the form of a scripted reading, with the actors portraying various anonymous interviewees and their monologues gradually overlapping to form an increasingly synchronized chorus of voices. The actors, who conducted the interviews themselves before editing and compiling them to create a final script, presented the stories with sensitivity and nuance, touching on themes such as family, home, and what it means to be “American.” Despite the anger, sadness, and fear felt by many of the undocumented youth whose stories were featured in the performance, an overarching theme of the night was hope, as many of the interviewees discussed their ambitions for the future and expressed the hope that their stories would make other undocumented immigrants feel less alone.

Luis Restrepo gave a particularly spirited reading of a DREAMer who, despite having his illusions about life in the U.S. shattered upon his arrival to the States, remained undaunted and hoped to pursue his love of dance and theater: “I told myself, I’m here, I have to keep on going.” Rachel Lin portrayed an interviewee who, faced with the threat of deportation, consulted lawyers who told her to be on the lookout for the DREAM Act: “The DREAM Act didn’t come through, but DACA did.” Others, such as the interviewee played by Reka Polonyi, were skeptical about DACA, which was instituted under President Obama in August of 2012. The interviewee recalled seeing friends crying at the news: “Why are you crying? It’s nothing. It’s giving you only one piece of the cake.”

The performance also addressed the term “undocumented,” which is considered to be less offensive and dehumanizing than “illegal.” “I’d rather be called undocumented than illegal,” said an interviewee played by Aamira Welthy, adding that being considered “illegal” is burdensome, “like a shadow on our face.”

Recently, activists like journalist Jose Antonio Vargas have also urged media outlets to refrain from using the term due to its marginalizing effects and its inaccuracy.

“‘Ironically, describing an immigrant as ‘illegal’ is legally inaccurate,’ he said. ‘Being in a country without proper documents is a civil offense, not a criminal one.’”

—Ted Hesson, via ABC Univision

The aspirations of the young DREAMers were also a focal point of the piece, with many wanting their own achievements to lead to gains for their community or family members. “I dream of opening a clinic. Not here. In my own country,” said one interviewee. “If one day I could get citizenship that would be – wow. I would feel like nothing could stop me,” said another.

Lin’s interpretation of one interviewee’s experience provided a powerful and poignant look at the psychological effects of being undocumented. The interviewee spoke of the isolation and bitterness she often felt about her status: “People don’t realize how much this status separates you from others.” As a child, she felt that she couldn’t discuss her dreams with others: “I hated talking about other people’s dreams because I couldn’t have it. I couldn’t have those dreams. . . . But you can’t say that to people.” When the interviewee heard anti-immigrant jokes and slurs, she felt she didn’t have the right to speak out: “I felt wrong. I felt like I was lying to this country.” She added that she would never want anyone else to experience what she did, and hoped that her story, through the DREAMers project, would inspire others: “You have a community. You have a voice. There’s this hope you have.”

That same hope was epitomized in the words of another interviewee, played by Krystal Ballard, who declared, “I love this country. I love New York. Something really great awaits me in the future.”

In a talkback after the performance, audience members had the opportunity to talk to and ask questions of the cast and two interviewees. In response to a question from the audience regarding whether people were on the whole willing to discuss their stories with the actors, director Adam Odsess-Rubin spoke of one interviewee who thanked him for taking the time to record his story, as otherwise no one would ever have heard it.

“You get so much about an institutional issue if you only get five to ten minutes of someone’s personal experience,” said Steve Cosson, founding artistic director of The Civilians, at the conclusion of the talkback.

—
Gina Chung is a contributing writer at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Continue the conversation by posting a comment here, on OurChinatown’s Facebook page, or on Twitter at @ourchinatown.