Nationality American Plays Be Like Water Role Writer | Name Dan Kwong Genre solo performance | |
Born November 26, 1954 (age 69)
United States ( 1954-11-26 ) Occupation Performance artist, writer, teacher Education School of the Art Institute of Chicago | ||
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Dan Kwong is an American performance artist, writer, teacher and visual artist. He has been presenting his solo performances since 1989, often drawing upon his own life experiences to explore personal, historical and social issues. He is of Chinese American and Japanese American descent. His works intertwine storytelling, multimedia, dynamic physical movement, poetry, martial arts and music. Kwong is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has been an Artist with the multicultural performing arts organization Great Leap since 1990 and assumed the position of Associate Artistic Director in 2011, and a Resident Artist at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, California since 1992.
Contents
- It s great 2b american classroom patriots dan kwong
- Dan kwong grandmas grapes gonggi nori
- Major Solo Performances
- Major Collaborative Performances
- Plays
- Video
- Published works
- Teaching Curating
- Fellowships Awards
- References
Dan kwong grandmas grapes gonggi nori
Major Solo Performances
These works explore subjects such as cultural confusion and discovery in a mixed heritage family; allergic reactions to “Model Minority Syndrome"; dysfunctional family "Asian American-style"; Asian male identity; Japanese American internment during WWII; the impact of HIV/AIDS on Asian Americans; the American space program; Asian American single motherhood. Kwong has performed in venues across the United States and in England, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Mexico, Canada, China and Korea.
Major Collaborative Performances
Plays
Kwong's first play, Be Like Water, was developed with Cedar Grove OnStage, and received its world premiere at East West Players in Los Angeles, in September 2008, as part of the EWP mainstage season. Directed by Chris Tashima. It is currently being developed into a feature-length screenplay.
Video
Since 2010 Kwong has directed and edited an ongoing series of environmental music videos in collaboration with singer/songwriter Nobuko Miyamoto, produced by Great Leap: B.Y.O. CHOPSTIX (2010), MOTTAINAI (2011), and CYCLES OF CHANGE (2012), all featuring Miyamoto as the lead character. CYCLES OF CHANGE was created in collaboration with the acclaimed Chicano rock group QUETZAL and features their lead singer Martha Gonzalez. All videos can be seen on YouTube under the Great Leap channel, and can be found through greatleap.org.
In Fall of 2014 Kwong began preliminary work on a new documentary/art video project, The House on Robinson Road. The video will look at the legacy of Kwong's great-grandfather through his house on Hong Kong island (built in 1933 for him, his wife, 5 concubines and 21 children), and its connection to the evolving relationship between Kwong and his father.
Published works
Kwong's first book, FROM INNER WORLDS TO OUTER SPACE – The Multimedia Performances of Dan Kwong, a collection of performance texts from 1989 to 2000, was published in 2004 (University of Michigan Press). The significance of his body of work is acknowledged in the landmark book, A History of Asian American Theatre, by Esther Kim Lee (Cambridge University Press, 2006). His work is featured in Hideyuki Yamamoto's book, Asian American Drama: Dramatic Representations of Masculinity (Kobe University, 2008), the first book ever published in Japan on this topic. Also: Performing America (Univ. Michigan Press, 1999) in Robert Vorlicky's essay, "Marking Change, Marking America: Contemporary Performance and Men's Autobiographical Selves"; and In Other Los Angeleses (Univ. of California Press, 2002) by Meiling Cheng. His essays and performances have been published in The Journal of American Drama and Theatre (2002, Vol. 14, No. 2), Getting Your Solo Act Together (Heinemann Books), High Performance Magazine, and various anthologies including On A Bed of Rice – A Feast of Asian American Erotica; Yellow Light – The Flowering of Asian American Art, and Living in America – A Pop Culture Reader. His visual artwork is included in Let's Get It On – The Politics of Black Performance published by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.
Teaching / Curating
As a teacher Kwong has led numerous workshops in autobiographical writing and performing throughout the U.S. and in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Canada and Japan. In 1991 he founded “Treasure In The House,” L.A.’s first Asian Pacific American performance and visual art festival, presented at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica, California, serving as its curator until 2003. Beginning in 1994, his ground-breaking performance workshops ("Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Asian Men...") ultimately led to the spawning of similar groups (led by "alumni" of the original group) in New York, New Haven, Boston, Portland, Philadelphia and beyond, playing a key role in the development of the national Asian American performance community. Since 2005 he has served as Project Director of "Collaboratory", Great Leap's mentorship program designed to develop the next generation of artist-leaders in Los Angeles.
Fellowships / Awards
City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Grantee (Samurai Centerfielder) - 1990
Brody Arts Fund Fellowship, Performance Art (Samurai Centerfielder) - 1990
Art Matters Inc. Fellowship, Performance Art (Samurai Centerfielder) - 1990
City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Grantee (Tales From The Fractured Tao) - 1991
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship - 1992
City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Grantee - 1992
Franklin Furnace New York, Emerging Artist Fellowship - 1994
Japanese American Internment Commemoration Competition Grantee (Correspondence of a Dangerous Enemy Alien) - 1994
City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Grantee - 1994
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (The Dodo Vaccine) - 1995
Art Matters Inc. Fellowship, Performance Art - 1995
L.A. Contemporary Exhibitions Project Grant - 1995
Alpert Award in the Arts, Nominee - 1995
Djerassi Residency Fellowship - 1995
Rockefeller Foundation Award (The Dodo Vaccine) - 1995/96
City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Grantee - 1997
Asia Pacific Performance Exchange (APPEX) International Residency Fellowship - 1999
The Durfee Foundation - Project Completion Grant (Woman Warrior Tales, Indonesia) - 2000
Asian Cultural Council - Traveling Fellowship (From Inner Worlds, Thailand) - 2001
Alpert Award in the Arts, Nominee - 2001
City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Grantee – 2003
California Community Foundation, Outstanding Mid-Career Artist Fellowship – 2004
Japanese American Historical Society, Outstanding Contributions to Japanese American Culture – 2005
C.O.L.A. Award, Outstanding Mid-Career Artist - 2005
The Durfee Foundation - Project Completion Grant (Sleeping With Strangers, Kunming/Beijing/L.A.) - 2006
The Durfee Foundation - Project Completion Grant (Be Like Water) – 2007
Gyeonggi Creation Center Intl. Residency Fellowship, South Korea - 2009
City of Los Angeles Culture Exchange International Grantee (From Inner Worlds, South Korea) – 2010
City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Artist Fellowship (The House on Robinson Road, Hong Kong) – 2014/15