2020/21 Season Welcome From Artistic Director Lily Tung Crystal
Artistic Director, Lily Tung Crystal
GRACE LEE BOGGS
Asian American writer, activist, and philosopher Grace Lee Boggs once said:
“A revolution that is based on the people exercising their creativity in the midst of devastation is one of the great historical contributions of humankind.”
At the time Boggs, couldn’t have imagined the type of devastation both physically and metaphorically this year has brought to the world. Through a pandemic, racism, and violence, we artists continue to create at a time when theater as we know it is next to impossible. Our 2020/21 season is centered on revolutions in every sense of the word.
1. an instance of revolving.
From pivot to pivot, we’ve made many quick turns through our virtual programming.
2. a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something.
As we look towards our 29th season, one that’s unlike any that’s come before, we’re reinventing our mainstage productions.
3. forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favor of a new system.
Through this time of social activism and racial reckoning, Theater Mu is committed to creating anti-racist theater and supporting Asian American and other BIPOC artists.
For the first time, Theater Mu is offering a season in two parts, both of which embrace change, reinvention, and revolution.
Our virtual season ends this exceptional year with three offerings—a gathering of 30 of the nation’s most notable Asian American theater artists, a one-person play about a woman far ahead of her time, and a virtual design show that actually takes place at a theater.
Then next year we hope to truly gather together at the theater again. Our winter show Today is My Birthday by Susan Soon He Stanton mirrors the social revolution of the pandemic, as characters desperately try to find connection through isolation. And our summer show Man of God by Anna Moench presents four girls trying to ignite their own #MeToo revolution. In between, our New Eyes Festival will feature plays in development that speak of protest, rebellion, and the fight against injustice.
When I arrived at Theater Mu a year ago, I could not have imagined that my first season here would look this way. I’m immensely fortunate to be part of such a loyal community and a brilliant staff.
“Revolution is evolution towards something much grander in terms of what it means to be a human being.”
—GRACE LEE BOGGS
I’m grateful to be experiencing this salient, challenging time with the amazing human beings at Mu, including you. And indeed, together, we’re working towards something grander.
LILY TUNG CRYSTAL
Artistic Director