Summer 2007 has been a whirlwind of local and national activity for Mu Performing Arts, starting with the national Theater Communications Group conference at the new Guthrie Theater in early June. It was hectic and exhilarating to mix it up with artists and administrators from around the country, and to see Randy Reyes present a reading of an excerpt from a Japanese play, which earned, as usual, many compliments.
Then it was off to the First National Asian American Theater Festival from June 11-24 in New York City! I attended the full two weeks and saw many performances, which fascinated me and gave me a strong sense of how well Mu stands in that landscape. The cast and crew for our show, Happy Valley, arrived in the second week, and the experience was a great measure of how well we have all come to work together. We had a one day tech and while I was busy running to the hardware store or spraying set pieces on the streets, director Jen Weir, stage manager Stephanie Lein Walseth, and the cast (Maria Kelly, Katie Leo, Sara Ochs, and Sherwin Resurreccion) were madly but efficiently making all the artistic decisions in preparing for the opening night -- that same night! We had a packed house, and the audience response was wonderful. Cheryl Ikemiya, the program officer from the Doris Duke Foundation, one of the major festival funders, attended the opening and spoke of how impressive the production was. So it was kudos all around!
Then we zipped back home for Passing the Beat, the annual Mu Daiko Student Recital, and our fourth annual Gala Fundraiser at the Southern Theater. They were both energetic successes, and we nearly doubled our net fundraising for the Gala. So thanks to everyone: staff, board, volunteers, artists, friends and countrymen!
But we still couldn't stop the whirlwind. So Mu produced a workshop production of Dipped in Love by Sarah Moore at the Mixed Blood Theater. The audience response was immensely positive, with people asking when we will produce it on the main stage. During the same weekend, members of Mu Daiko performed the world premiere of "Unity in Diversity" at the Dragon Festival. Supported by the Minnesota State Arts Board, this collaboration with Mr. Ying Zhang, the Indonesian Performance Arts Association of Minnesota under Joko Sustrino, Thoeun Moen of the Light From Heaven Cambodian music group, and Brooke Newmaster of Chang Mi Dance and Drum Group, drew such a positive response from the artists and audiences that it now appears "Unity in Diversity" will live on for more performances in the future!
Even after all this activity, we presented the second half of our Jerome New Performance Program with readings of works by Juliana Pegues and May Lee. And finally in August, Mu Daiko members attended the North American Taiko Conference in Seattle, continuing our participation in that international feast of taiko groups and players.
As the dust settles, this summer will fondly be remembered as another great step forward when Mu emerged as a major presence on the local, regional, and national theater and taiko scene.
-Rick
