In response to the shooting in Atlanta and the rise in hate crimes it underscored, Asian American theater artists took action, organizing support and self-care programs for the Asian American community while using their platforms as performers to speak out.
The two guests on this week’s episode of Variety’s Stagecraft podcast, Christine Toy Johnson and Leslie Ishii, were among the theater creators who appeared in “Stronger Together. And Stronger Than Ever” (pictured), the video statement released by the Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists (CAATA) and featuring Lea Salonga, David Henry Hwang, Ruthie Ann Miles and Telly Leung, among many others. “It was to say: ‘We’re strong. We have come together in solidarity, and we’re actually stronger because we’re together and we’ll be moving this way as we go forward,'” said Ishii, the board president of CAATA and the artistic director at Perseverance Theater in Juneau, Alaska.