I recently read an article about how being an artistic director is like surfing, where the great skill is in being flexible and able to respond to changing conditions, catching the right waves as they build to a crest. With our vision solidly in place, we realize that change is the constant, and that our ability to respond to the waves coming from that great ocean of artistic substance is one of our most important tasks. I feel like we are now riding two great waves that will have a memorable impact upon our company in the next few years.

The first is our successful grant application to the Theater Communications Group to have me mentor Randy Reyes in the field of artistic directorship. Randy is an extraordinarily talented theater artist (actor, director, educator) who came to Mu wanting to contribute to the development of the company. With his high level study at Julliard and high quality work at the Guthrie, both on stage in the education department, Randy is truly poised to take on even broader responsibilities. And I personally feel excited to have an artist of his caliber to mentor in the wide range of theater work at Mu. I plan to have Randy deeply involved in our development programs like the New Eyes and New Directions Festivals, in our mainstage work by directing our remount of Circle Around The Island by Marcus Quiniones in March 2007 at the Guthrie, and in our behind the scenes administrative and artistic decision making process. The grant will cover the costs to have Randy on our staff for two years starting August 1st. So get ready for a whole new wave of artistic and organizational action!

The second great event was the Next Big Bang - the first Asian American Theater Conference held June 18th to 20th. In three tremendous and historic days, almost two hundred Asian American theater artists, representing over forty companies and themselves as individual artists, came together and shared stories and strategies. Such notable figures as Roberta Uno (of the Ford Foundation), Philip Kan Gotanda, and Jessica Hagedorn gave keynote addresses, and the topics of breakout sessions ranged from the unique challenges facing Asian American theater companies to visioning for the twenty-first century. And as great and informative as these experiences were, it was the personal encounters among artists, both as individuals and as representatives of companies, that made this conference a major event, a happening where plans and ideas, hopes and dreams, critiques and analyses came surging to the surface. This conference was a joyful realization of where this new wave of Asian American Theater came from and how huge it can be if we can take advantage of the contacts and communications we made there.

Big things are happening, and once again we find ourselves catching these waves to get the best ride possible. We are excited to see where they’ll take us next!