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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2000)
retu Veeke \all and a joy jump. l‘ been involved with Wo rars and have made thebe ini said. “ I have metpei lav e never met otherwise AGGIELIFE lay, April 14, 2000 THE BATTALION Page 3 Theater company to bring Asian-American experiences to stage BY JULIA RECINDUS The Battalion iversity at Texas A&M is a concept that is not lost on the A&M campus, as evinced by the efforts of Vision 2020 and other organizations aim to cultivate diversity on campus, fie non-profit group that is trying to bring awareness to idents and communities about diversity and the issues they jeis the American Asian theater company hereaw/now. iecompany was formed in 1989 with seven artists and now s20, aged 18 to 32. I Tlv cast itself is diverse, consisting of Asian-Pacific Is- iders — Laotian, Thai, Filipino, Chinese, Hawaiian, Ko- an, Indian, Japanese and Vietnamese. Each member takes lathe or she has experienced and uses it to entertain, mak- ime program more appealing. All material presented is iginal; the artists write, direct and act out their show. First performing in California to eager colleges and uni- irsities, the actors soon began to make their way across the ition. The show is a series of vignettes of Asian Americans, tto make dealing with the different aspects of Asian- terican life. Jtury Ho is an Asian American born and raised in Texas, ■ g, . !s a f ienna (j e£ esident of Beta Tau Omega and a junior engineering technol- ankle at the Indian S:J| lion booth at lastyeat took. SALLIE TURNERS ogy major. He said he first saw herec/w/now several years ago during a perfonnance at the University of Texas-Austin (UT). “I really didn’t know what I was going to see, 1 just heard it was good. I just found the show really moving and enter taining. I came out of that show just saying ‘Wow.’ Ever since then it’s always been a hot topic to bring them down to the A&M campus, but it al ways seemed far-fetched and unrealistic, in part because we were unsure how students here would react to it, and also because of how expen sive it is to bring a show like this down,” Ho said. When the chance arose for herecwt/now to make an ap pearance at A&M’s campus, Ho quickly booked them. In the early spring, he received a phone call from Alpha Kappa Delta Phi, an Asian sorority at UT, asking if A&M would like to co-sponsor a mini-college tour for the Asian American theater company.He accepted the opportunity, but not without a few worries. There was a question of support, but Ho said he had no rea- "I came out of [hereandnow] just saying 'wow.' Ever since then it's always been a hot topic to bring them down to the A&M campus. son to worry because the program has received support from many groups within the A&M and College Station communities. Other organizations involved in supporting the group’s visit are MSC Asian Cultures Education Committee, Asian American Association and Rho Delta Chi sorority. . Raj Sethuraju has been helping the organizations co ordinate the company’s cam pus visit. “It’s a vision for Asian students; it’s a huge under taking,” Sethuraju said. The issues addressed by the performance include in ner ethnic conflict, the diffi culties involved in coming to America, political injustice, prejudices, sexual experi ences and attitudes, gender issues and what it is like to grow up Asian American in the United States. .“It’s not just the culture conflicts but the parental ones too. What it is, is parents are brought up in different values, but have to incorporate values here and they [hereaw/now] try to present that; it’s much harder than it looks,” Sethuraju said. // — jarry Ho Beta Tau Omega president He said the organizations would like a broad-based audi ence, not just Asians, to come and enjoy the performances. “A lot of the themes hereandnow covers in the show are universal, meaning that it’s stuff most of us go through in our lifetime,” Ho said. “What’s great about the show is that they present it in an ‘artsy’ theatrical way that appeals to all ethnicities. We’d like to give students insight into the Asian American culture and heritage. We want the students to come out of the show with a broader perspective on culture in general. We want the students to understand that we all go through the same experiences.” Afterwards, a discussion and a reception with free food will take place, so the cast and audience can interact and share opinions and comments on a more personal level. Ho hopes this program is just the beginning of a series of Asian awareness programs to be titled “AsianLife.” “We want to create more awareness to the community be cause [Asian Americans] are very much a part of Aggieland. They want to leave a mark and create a mosaic. We want to add to the traditions, and this is one way to add to that,” Sethuraju said. On Saturday, hereandnow will be perform at 5 p.m. at Wehner 159. The cost is $1 at the door, and all proceeds will go to the Tzu Chi Foundation. PHOTOS COURTESY OF HEREA/VDNOW • PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SALLIE TURNER AND JP BEATO/The Battalion i said the “comedy impij endian Slip will emcee it e Variety Show, ners in this year’s Show! larmony; Apotheosis; t v; Jon Meyer: niv. Latin LxplomVftlj Paul Murello; Percussion ij tigg and 1 leather Johns:li :e Repertoire; andthd 3ats. will be based upon rt general approval oftk> erfonners will included and Derek Bergeron. :eeds from the shownl The money generate! tv will be used toputinS comedy performances, s» se. for the show are $8 atllid 'ice. her top universities,"Dot! aglas added that tlie recent o'- imited the University’so|® itive action employment 1 the administration is iversifying the facultytltrtf ts, such as advertising in! nes and newsletters. A ■ge? 20 Aggieland STAFF APPLICATION If you are interested in designing pages, writing stories, or taking pictures for the 2001 Texas A&M yearbook... then simply fill out this form and drop it off in room 004 (basement) of the Reed McDonald Building. •El enrolling in the Air Fort* come a commissions* you'll enjoy great pm rs of vacation each yes' oriunity to travel and . 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