By Dmae Roberts
Directed by Carolyn Holzman
A collage play with movement, music and sound, Volcano Embrace was performed by Dmae Roberts, Elaine Low, Mary Jo AbiNader, Wendy Graybill, and Sharon McAllister under the direction and choreography of Carolyn Holzman at Dreams Well Studio, November, 1999.
Hawaiian music was by Sam Kama, original music by Stephen Hoyt, lighting design by Sharon McAllister and set design by Jeri Swatosh.
By Ellen McLaughlin
Directed by Carmela Lanza-Weil
This multi-ethnic production revolves around the character of Maxine (Sherry Okamura), a search and rescue pilot hired by Dessa (Ithica Tell), a mother whose twelve-year-old daughter, Charlotte (Angela Rollins), has been abducted. Maxine’s search for the girl parallels her search for her own mother, Evie, (Julie Cowden) appearing as a ghostly Amelia Earhart figure throughout. Maxine must also care for her elder Grandmother (Trish Egan) while searching for the lost girl.
Lanza-Weil gathered some of the best talent in Portland to collaborate on this original collage play with Playwrights Sharon Whitney, Ellen West, Cindy McGean, Vicente Guzman-Orozco and Dmae Roberts. This team of commissioned writers created a play based on material gathered from a series of workshops at the Dougy Center and Grief Watch about the theme “What Hurts, What Helps” in overcoming loss and grief.
Dmae Roberts, Ping Khaw-Sutherland and Elaine Low presented a series of 40-minute readings from the stage play Lady Buddha at Multnomah County libraries during Asian Heritage month in May 2001.Those who enjoyed the MediaRites production in June 1997 at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center featuring stories of Kuan Yin, the Asian Goddess of compassion and mercy now have a chance to see the new version of the play.
Tell Me, Janie Bigo is an original romantic comedy with magic and music; one of a handful of plays around the country that allows Asian Americans a romantic and comedic side. This fast-paced and energetic play tells the story of Janie Bigo, an Amerasian trying to carve out a life for herself in Portland as leader of a girl group called The Bigos (which means America in Taiwanese), and of her romance with Buck Tanaka, a magician who inadvertantly saves her life when someone tries to kill her.
This play was first produced in Seattle at the Northwest Asian American Theatre in 1997 and was rewritten for Portland audiences and produced at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center in 1998 under the direction of Carmela Lanza-Weil and featured veteran actress Elaine Low (see photo).
