Rick Shiomi
Encyclopedia
Rick Shiomi is a Japanese Canadian playwright
, stage director and taiko
artist. He is a founder and currently the Artistic Director
of the Minneapolis, Minnesota
based Asian American theater company, Mu Performing Arts
.
camps during World War II
. They had previously lived in Vancouver
, British Columbia
; however, they moved to Toronto
after their release and soon thereafter gave birth to their son, Rickey Allan Shiomi, in 1947. Shiomi was raised there and graduated from the University of Toronto
with a degree in history in 1970.
After graduation he continued his education in British Columbia
, receiving a teaching diploma from Simon Fraser University
. He then went on to travel the world, teaching in Japan
and Hong Kong
for one year before returning home to Canada
where he became a prominent member of the Japanese Canadian community. One of the projects he was involved with was organizing the Powell Street Festival
, and he edited a film titled The First 100 Years which was based upon a slide show, and designed to teach children about Japanese Canadian history. An active member of the Japanese Canadian Citizen's Association, Shiomi helped edit Inalienable Rice: A Chinese & Japanese Canadian Anthology.
During his time in Vancouver
, Shiomi met up with playwrights David Henry Hwang
and Philip Kan Gotanda
. Gotanda read one of Shiomi's short stories about a Japanese Canadian detective and suggested he submit the story for adaptation to the stage to the Asian American Theater Workshop in San Francisco. Shiomi followed Gotanda's advice and wrote Yellow Fever
.
at the Asian American Theater Company
where his first play Yellow Fever
was produced in 1982, for which he received the 1982 Bay Area Theater Circle Critics Award and a “Bernie” for new play from the San Francisco Chronicle
.
He later moved to New York
where the play was produced by the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
and then had a successful off-Broadway run. Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
produced several of his plays, including a prequel to Yellow Fever
titled Rosie's Cafe and a sequel, Once is Never Enough, co-authored with Marc Hayashi and Lane Kiyomi Nishikawa.
as a visiting lecturer, Shiomi found an emerging Asian American community and a well-developed general theater scene. He also met his future wife who, along with others, helped him co-found Theater Mu. As the Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
, Shiomi has worked with many other Minnesota
based organizations to make Asian American cultures more accessible to the public, and has been recognized with a 2002 Asian-Pacific Leadership Award for Excellence & Innovation in the Arts from the State of Minnesota Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans and The Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Vision in 2008.
As a playwright, Shiomi has written a number of plays for Mu Performing Arts
. The first play Mask Dance, was based upon the stories of young Korean adoptees who were early participants in the company. The play involved both a traditional performance form, in this case Korean mask dance, and a contemporary American story. Other plays written in this style were Song of the Pipa and The Tale of the Dancing Crane. Shiomi works almost entirely behind the scenes, or behind a taiko drum, but with the play The Tale of the Dancing Crane, he took center stage as an actor. He shared a traditional Japanese story of losing one precious thing to find something better and combined it with his own story of discovering taiko
.
Shiomi co-wrote the play The Walleye Kid with Sundraya Kase, which he adapted from a traditional Japanese fable titled Peach Boy
, and the play was produced in 1999. The original story tells of a Japanese child who is found inside a peach and adopted by the old couple that discovered him. In The Walleye Kid, Shiomi has moved the setting from the warmer climate of Japan to the icy winters of Minnesota where the baby emerges from a giant Walleye. In this play, he explores what Asian, specifically Korean adoptees have experienced as they adapt to life in America. Walleye Kid, The Musical, which Shiomi adapted from the play, was most recently produced in 2008 by Mu Performing Arts
at the McKnight Theatre of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
. In 2002, he co-authored Hmong Tiger Tales with Cha Yang, which was co-produced at the Weyerhaueser Auditorium by Mu Performing Arts
and St.Paul's Steppingstone Theatre For Youth.
in San Francisco, InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia, The Bloomington Civic Theatre in Minnesota
, St. Paul's SteppingStone Theatre for Youth, and has helmed numerous productions for Mu Performing Arts
, including two by David Henry Hwang
, the play Yellow Face and Hwang's revisal of Flower Drum Song
by Rogers and Hammerstein.
artist, who began playing in 1979 as a member of Katari Taiko in Vancouver
, British Columbia
. In the 1980's, he studied with Grandmaster Seiichi Tanaka of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, performing with several groups, including Soh Daiko of New York (as a guest artist) and Wasabi Taiko in Toronto
. In 1997, at the behest of actors at Mu Performing Arts
, he began teaching taiko, forming Mu Daiko, a taiko
drumming ensemble, that same year. Under his leadership, Mu Daiko evolved into a regular troupe, performing one mainstage production a season, and over the years developed an extensive outreach and educational program with over a hundred engagments annually. In 2005, Mu Daiko performed at the mainstage performance, Taiko Jam, at the National Taiko Conference in Los Angeles
. As lead player and composer for Mu Daiko for more than ten years, Shiomi garnered numerous awards including a 1998 MN State Arts Board Cultural Collaborations Award for taiko, a drumming collaboration with Ragamala Music and Dance Theater; a 2002 Paddle and Drum Composition Award for "Chrysanthemum Dawn"; and a 2004 Paddle and Drum Composition Award for "Kiyomizu Cascade". In 2010, he retired from regular participation in the Mu Daiko, which is now led by Iris Shiraishi.
in June 2011. In this anthology of new plays by Asian American playwrights, Mu Performing Arts
developed and produced the world premiere of six of the seven featured.
.
1982 - “Bernie” for new play from the San Francisco Chronicle for Yellow Fever
.
1984 - Ontario Multicultural Theater Award.
1990 - Ruby Schaar Yoshino Playwriting Award for Uncle Tadao.
1998 - MN State Arts Board Cultural Collaborations Award for taiko, a drumming collaboration with Ragamala Music and Dance Theater.
2000 - Minnesota State Arts Board Cultural Collaborations Award with Cha Yang and St. Paul's SteppingStone Theatre for Tiger Tales: Hmong Folktales.
2002 - Asian-Pacific Leadership Award for Excellence & Innovation in the Arts from the State of Minnesota Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans.
2002 - Paddle and Drum Composition Award for "Chrysanthemum Dawn".
2004 - Paddle and Drum Composition Award for "Kiyomizu Cascade".
2006 - Award from the Powell Street Festival
on the 30th anniversary of the Festival.
2008 - The Sally Ordway
Irvine Award for Vision.
“Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright & Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts”, “Backstage Pass with Lia Chang”, September 6, 2011.
”On the Town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in Washington D.C. and New York”, “Backstage Pass with Lia Chang”, August 2, 2011.
”Rick Shiomi Checks out Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of Library of Congress, “Backstage Pass with Lia Chang”, July 29, 2011.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, stage director and taiko
Taiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
artist. He is a founder and currently the Artistic Director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of the Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
based Asian American theater company, Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts is a Minneapolis based theater group formed in 1992 by Rick Shiomi, Dong-il Lee, Diane Espaldon, and Martha Johnson. It is composed of Theater Mu, which features stage performances and Mu Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble...
.
Early life
Mr. Shiomi's parents were among the many Canadians of Japanese descent who were forced into internmentInternment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
camps during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. They had previously lived in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
; however, they moved to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
after their release and soon thereafter gave birth to their son, Rickey Allan Shiomi, in 1947. Shiomi was raised there and graduated from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
with a degree in history in 1970.
After graduation he continued his education in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, receiving a teaching diploma from Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
. He then went on to travel the world, teaching in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
for one year before returning home to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
where he became a prominent member of the Japanese Canadian community. One of the projects he was involved with was organizing the Powell Street Festival
Powell Street Festival
The Powell Street Festival is an ongoing annual festival in Japantown, Vancouver. Originating in 1977 the Powell Street Festival is the largest Japanese Canadian festival and the longest ongoing community event in Vancouver...
, and he edited a film titled The First 100 Years which was based upon a slide show, and designed to teach children about Japanese Canadian history. An active member of the Japanese Canadian Citizen's Association, Shiomi helped edit Inalienable Rice: A Chinese & Japanese Canadian Anthology.
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Shiomi met up with playwrights David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University...
and Philip Kan Gotanda
Philip Kan Gotanda
Philip Kan Gotanda is an American playwright and filmmaker. Much of his work deals with Asian American issues and experiences.- Biography :...
. Gotanda read one of Shiomi's short stories about a Japanese Canadian detective and suggested he submit the story for adaptation to the stage to the Asian American Theater Workshop in San Francisco. Shiomi followed Gotanda's advice and wrote Yellow Fever
Yellow Fever (play)
Yellow Fever is a play by R. A. Shiomi which takes place on Powell Street in Japantown, Vancouver, a gathering place for the local Japanese-Canadian culture. Set in the 1970s, the Sam Spade-like main character, Sam Shikaze, must work to unravel the mysteries that surround him...
.
Playwright
Rick Shiomi began his theater career in San Francisco, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
at the Asian American Theater Company
Asian American Theater Company
Asian American Theater Company is a non-profit theatre performance company based in San Francisco.-Background:The Asian American Theater Company was established in 1973 by playwright Frank Chin to develop and present original works of theatre about Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent...
where his first play Yellow Fever
Yellow Fever (play)
Yellow Fever is a play by R. A. Shiomi which takes place on Powell Street in Japantown, Vancouver, a gathering place for the local Japanese-Canadian culture. Set in the 1970s, the Sam Spade-like main character, Sam Shikaze, must work to unravel the mysteries that surround him...
was produced in 1982, for which he received the 1982 Bay Area Theater Circle Critics Award and a “Bernie” for new play from the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
.
He later moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where the play was produced by the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Founded in 1977 and led by Artistic Producing director Tisa Chang, the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre is a New York based theatre group that explores the Asian American experience. Pan Asian Rep provides professional opportunities for Asian American artists to collaborate and create unique works...
and then had a successful off-Broadway run. Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Founded in 1977 and led by Artistic Producing director Tisa Chang, the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre is a New York based theatre group that explores the Asian American experience. Pan Asian Rep provides professional opportunities for Asian American artists to collaborate and create unique works...
produced several of his plays, including a prequel to Yellow Fever
Yellow Fever (play)
Yellow Fever is a play by R. A. Shiomi which takes place on Powell Street in Japantown, Vancouver, a gathering place for the local Japanese-Canadian culture. Set in the 1970s, the Sam Spade-like main character, Sam Shikaze, must work to unravel the mysteries that surround him...
titled Rosie's Cafe and a sequel, Once is Never Enough, co-authored with Marc Hayashi and Lane Kiyomi Nishikawa.
Mu Performing Arts Artistic Director
While in MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
as a visiting lecturer, Shiomi found an emerging Asian American community and a well-developed general theater scene. He also met his future wife who, along with others, helped him co-found Theater Mu. As the Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts is a Minneapolis based theater group formed in 1992 by Rick Shiomi, Dong-il Lee, Diane Espaldon, and Martha Johnson. It is composed of Theater Mu, which features stage performances and Mu Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble...
, Shiomi has worked with many other Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
based organizations to make Asian American cultures more accessible to the public, and has been recognized with a 2002 Asian-Pacific Leadership Award for Excellence & Innovation in the Arts from the State of Minnesota Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans and The Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Vision in 2008.
As a playwright, Shiomi has written a number of plays for Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts is a Minneapolis based theater group formed in 1992 by Rick Shiomi, Dong-il Lee, Diane Espaldon, and Martha Johnson. It is composed of Theater Mu, which features stage performances and Mu Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble...
. The first play Mask Dance, was based upon the stories of young Korean adoptees who were early participants in the company. The play involved both a traditional performance form, in this case Korean mask dance, and a contemporary American story. Other plays written in this style were Song of the Pipa and The Tale of the Dancing Crane. Shiomi works almost entirely behind the scenes, or behind a taiko drum, but with the play The Tale of the Dancing Crane, he took center stage as an actor. He shared a traditional Japanese story of losing one precious thing to find something better and combined it with his own story of discovering taiko
Taiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
.
Shiomi co-wrote the play The Walleye Kid with Sundraya Kase, which he adapted from a traditional Japanese fable titled Peach Boy
Momotaro
is a popular hero from Japanese folklore. His name literally means Peach Tarō; as Tarō is a common Japanese boy's name, it is often translated as Peach Boy...
, and the play was produced in 1999. The original story tells of a Japanese child who is found inside a peach and adopted by the old couple that discovered him. In The Walleye Kid, Shiomi has moved the setting from the warmer climate of Japan to the icy winters of Minnesota where the baby emerges from a giant Walleye. In this play, he explores what Asian, specifically Korean adoptees have experienced as they adapt to life in America. Walleye Kid, The Musical, which Shiomi adapted from the play, was most recently produced in 2008 by Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts is a Minneapolis based theater group formed in 1992 by Rick Shiomi, Dong-il Lee, Diane Espaldon, and Martha Johnson. It is composed of Theater Mu, which features stage performances and Mu Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble...
at the McKnight Theatre of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is located in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota and hosts a variety of performing arts, such as touring Broadway musicals, orchestra, opera, and cultural performers. It serves as a home to several local arts organizations, including the Minnesota Opera, The Saint...
. In 2002, he co-authored Hmong Tiger Tales with Cha Yang, which was co-produced at the Weyerhaueser Auditorium by Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts is a Minneapolis based theater group formed in 1992 by Rick Shiomi, Dong-il Lee, Diane Espaldon, and Martha Johnson. It is composed of Theater Mu, which features stage performances and Mu Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble...
and St.Paul's Steppingstone Theatre For Youth.
Stage Director
As a stage director, Shiomi has directed at the Asian American Theater CompanyAsian American Theater Company
Asian American Theater Company is a non-profit theatre performance company based in San Francisco.-Background:The Asian American Theater Company was established in 1973 by playwright Frank Chin to develop and present original works of theatre about Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent...
in San Francisco, InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia, The Bloomington Civic Theatre in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, St. Paul's SteppingStone Theatre for Youth, and has helmed numerous productions for Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts is a Minneapolis based theater group formed in 1992 by Rick Shiomi, Dong-il Lee, Diane Espaldon, and Martha Johnson. It is composed of Theater Mu, which features stage performances and Mu Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble...
, including two by David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University...
, the play Yellow Face and Hwang's revisal of Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was afterwards presented in the West End and on tour...
by Rogers and Hammerstein.
Taiko Artist and Mu Daiko
Shiomi is also an award-winning taikoTaiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
artist, who began playing in 1979 as a member of Katari Taiko in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. In the 1980's, he studied with Grandmaster Seiichi Tanaka of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, performing with several groups, including Soh Daiko of New York (as a guest artist) and Wasabi Taiko in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. In 1997, at the behest of actors at Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts is a Minneapolis based theater group formed in 1992 by Rick Shiomi, Dong-il Lee, Diane Espaldon, and Martha Johnson. It is composed of Theater Mu, which features stage performances and Mu Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble...
, he began teaching taiko, forming Mu Daiko, a taiko
Taiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
drumming ensemble, that same year. Under his leadership, Mu Daiko evolved into a regular troupe, performing one mainstage production a season, and over the years developed an extensive outreach and educational program with over a hundred engagments annually. In 2005, Mu Daiko performed at the mainstage performance, Taiko Jam, at the National Taiko Conference in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. As lead player and composer for Mu Daiko for more than ten years, Shiomi garnered numerous awards including a 1998 MN State Arts Board Cultural Collaborations Award for taiko, a drumming collaboration with Ragamala Music and Dance Theater; a 2002 Paddle and Drum Composition Award for "Chrysanthemum Dawn"; and a 2004 Paddle and Drum Composition Award for "Kiyomizu Cascade". In 2010, he retired from regular participation in the Mu Daiko, which is now led by Iris Shiraishi.
Recently Published Work
As the Artistic director of Mu Peforming Arts, Shiomi has overseen the development of new plays including Ching Chong Chinaman by Lauren Yee, Cowboy Versus Samurai by Michael Golamco, Happy Valley by Aurorae Khoo, Bahala Na by Clarence Coo, Asiamesia by Sun Mee Chomet, and WTF by Katie Ka Vang. He is a co-editor of "Asian American Plays for a New Generation," published by Temple University PressTemple University Press
Temple University Press is a university press publishing house that is part of Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The press was founded in 1969....
in June 2011. In this anthology of new plays by Asian American playwrights, Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts
Mu Performing Arts is a Minneapolis based theater group formed in 1992 by Rick Shiomi, Dong-il Lee, Diane Espaldon, and Martha Johnson. It is composed of Theater Mu, which features stage performances and Mu Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble...
developed and produced the world premiere of six of the seven featured.
Awards and honors
1982 - Bay Area Theater Circle Critics Award for Yellow FeverYellow Fever (play)
Yellow Fever is a play by R. A. Shiomi which takes place on Powell Street in Japantown, Vancouver, a gathering place for the local Japanese-Canadian culture. Set in the 1970s, the Sam Spade-like main character, Sam Shikaze, must work to unravel the mysteries that surround him...
.
1982 - “Bernie” for new play from the San Francisco Chronicle for Yellow Fever
Yellow Fever (play)
Yellow Fever is a play by R. A. Shiomi which takes place on Powell Street in Japantown, Vancouver, a gathering place for the local Japanese-Canadian culture. Set in the 1970s, the Sam Spade-like main character, Sam Shikaze, must work to unravel the mysteries that surround him...
.
1984 - Ontario Multicultural Theater Award.
1990 - Ruby Schaar Yoshino Playwriting Award for Uncle Tadao.
1998 - MN State Arts Board Cultural Collaborations Award for taiko, a drumming collaboration with Ragamala Music and Dance Theater.
2000 - Minnesota State Arts Board Cultural Collaborations Award with Cha Yang and St. Paul's SteppingStone Theatre for Tiger Tales: Hmong Folktales.
2002 - Asian-Pacific Leadership Award for Excellence & Innovation in the Arts from the State of Minnesota Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans.
2002 - Paddle and Drum Composition Award for "Chrysanthemum Dawn".
2004 - Paddle and Drum Composition Award for "Kiyomizu Cascade".
2006 - Award from the Powell Street Festival
Powell Street Festival
The Powell Street Festival is an ongoing annual festival in Japantown, Vancouver. Originating in 1977 the Powell Street Festival is the largest Japanese Canadian festival and the longest ongoing community event in Vancouver...
on the 30th anniversary of the Festival.
2008 - The Sally Ordway
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is located in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota and hosts a variety of performing arts, such as touring Broadway musicals, orchestra, opera, and cultural performers. It serves as a home to several local arts organizations, including the Minnesota Opera, The Saint...
Irvine Award for Vision.
Theater productions
- 1982 Yellow FeverYellow Fever (play)Yellow Fever is a play by R. A. Shiomi which takes place on Powell Street in Japantown, Vancouver, a gathering place for the local Japanese-Canadian culture. Set in the 1970s, the Sam Spade-like main character, Sam Shikaze, must work to unravel the mysteries that surround him...
- 1984 Once is Never Enough
- 1987 Rosie's Cafe
- 1988 Play Ball
- 1992 Uncle Tadao
- 1998 The Walleye Kid
- 1999 Tales of the Starfruit Tree
- 1999 Tales of the Dancing Crane
- 2000 Song of the Pipa
- 2002 Tiger Tales (with Cha Yang)
- 2006 Filipino Hearts
Multimedia credits
Story Editor and Staff Writer for Canadian television series ENG, which is produced by Alliance on CTV.- Images of the First Hundred Years, Powell Street Revue, 1980 (documentary, 11 min.)
- Dance to Remember (as writer), CBC, Inside Stories, 1991 (30 min.)
Other
- Garrick Chu, Sean Gunn, Paul Yee, Ken Shikaze, Linda Uyehara Hoffman, Rick Shiomi, eds.; Inalienable Rice: A Chinese & Japanese Canadian Anthology Powell Street Revue & The Chinese Canadian Writers Workshop. 83 pp.
- Srikanth, Rajini and Esther Yae Iwanaga; Bold words: a century of Asian American writing, Rutgers University PressRutgers University PressRutgers University Press is a nonprofit academic publishing house, operating in Piscataway, New Jersey under the auspices of Rutgers University.-History:...
, 2001, ISBN 0-8135-2966-2 - Josephine Lee, Don Eitel and R.A. Shiomi, eds.; Asian American Plays for a New Generation, Temple University PressTemple University PressTemple University Press is a university press publishing house that is part of Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The press was founded in 1969....
, 2011, ISBN 1-4399-0515-0
External links
- http://www.muperformingarts.org/
- Chang, Lia.
“Up Close and Personal with Rick Shiomi, Award-winning Playwright & Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts”, “Backstage Pass with Lia Chang”, September 6, 2011.
- Chang, Lia.
”On the Town with Rick Shiomi, Co-Editor of “Asian American Plays for a New Generation”, in Washington D.C. and New York”, “Backstage Pass with Lia Chang”, August 2, 2011.
- Chang, Lia.
”Rick Shiomi Checks out Performing Arts Playwrights Series in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of Library of Congress, “Backstage Pass with Lia Chang”, July 29, 2011.