In The First Twenty: 20 Years of Asian American Playwriting, the voices and perspectives of six Asian American theater luminaries are brought to life through a series of thoughtful and engaging interviews that move far beyond identity politics.
The First Twenty, an initiative from ALL ARTS, invites artists from diverse and traditionally underrepresented communities to create original content that reflects their insights, discoveries and hopes for the future after the shifts of the last 20 years.
A Ma-Yi Theater Company production under the direction of Ralph Peña, The First Twenty highlights the perspectives of David Henry Hwang, Young Jean Lee, Mike Lew, Rehana Lew Mirza, Qui Nguyen, Lauren Yee and Chay Yew.
Insightful throughout and at times disarming, this newest documentary illuminates the evolution of Asian American theater over the last two decades.
The film examines the shift in how Asian American plays are broadly perceived, as well as the widening scope of subjects tackled by Asian American writers that move far beyond identity politics.
At a time when Asian American representation in the creative arts is more important than ever, the artists featured in the documentary are presented with an opportunity to weigh in on personal experiences with racism and to provide valuable insight into why visibility matters.