SWINGPOSIUM digital playbill
Keilee Photography
Bringing this incredible show to the Twin Cities would not be possible without the support of MARTIN & BROWN FOUNDATION, LES & KAREN SUZUKAMO, JEANNE SAKATA & TIM PATTERSON, and the TWIN CITIES JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE.
Thank you for joining us for San Jose Taiko’s Swingposium, co-presented by TaikoArts Midwest and Theater Mu!
actors, vocalists, and dancers Kyle Camay, Mika Dyo, Moses Ekel, Morgan Kempton, Emily Kuroda, Ruby Suro, Ryan Takemiya, Momoko Tanno
Ensō Daiko artists Vanessa East, Jeff Ellsworth, Craig Johnson, Liz Kane, Junko Kumamoto, Chiaki O’Brien, Susan Tanabe, Jennifer Weir, Hiroshi Yoshino; interns: Rose Chu, Kimi Romportl; TaikoArts Midwest: Emily Harada
San Jose Taiko artists Alex Hudson, Franco Imperial, Katy Itani, Stewart Kume, Geoff Noone, Braden Wong, Wisa Uemura
ft. community member Gloria Kumagai
jazz ensemble led by Nora Tycast & Brian Lukkasson ft. student musicians from metro area high schools
choreographer Shannon Butler
costume coordinator Hunter Goldsmith
sound & lights Live Event Services
Meet the organizations
SAN JOSE TAIKO was founded in 1973 and creates innovative performances and comprehensive educational programs, empowering diverse voices and educating across cultures to build a more accepting and engaged world. Inspired by traditional Japanese drumming, company performers express the beauty of the human spirit through the voice of the taiko, creating a vibrant, contemporary art form as they strive to connect people through cultural understanding, creative expression, and rhythmic heartbeat.
San Jose Taiko artists have also traveled to Minnesota for this very special presentation of Swingposium. Please help us welcome: Alex Hudson, Franco Imperial, Katy Itani, Stewart Kume, Geoff Noone, Braden Wong, and Wisa Uemura.
TAIKOARTS MIDWEST develops, produces, and promotes artistic excellence in taiko performance, using taiko as a way to strengthen and build community in the Midwest. It is also the springboard for several performing groups: Ensō Daiko, Big Gravity, TAM Edo Bayashi Ensemble, and the Mighty Drumming Club (youth). Founded in 2016, they celebrate and recognize the full diversity and depth of taiko arts, embrace Asian arts and artists in our Minnesota landscape, and believe in the physical, emotional, social, and cultural benefits of taiko.
THEATER MU is the largest Asian American theater company in the Midwest. Founded in 1992, Theater Mu’s continuing goal to celebrate and empower the Asian American community through theater is achieved through mainstage productions, emerging artist support, and educational outreach programs. Awarded the Cultural Treasure title by the Ford and McKnight foundations, Theater Mu is also a member of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists as well as a member of the Twin Cities Theatres of Color Coalition, Theatre Communications Group, Americans for the Arts, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and the National New Play Network.
Meet the Artists
KYLE CAMAY (he/him) is a Filipino American actor, singer, hype man, performer, and now writer, based in the Twin Cities. You may have seen Kyle in Theatre Elision’s production of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Some of his other credits include Blended 和 (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters (Mu/History Theatre), Hands on a Hardbody (Minneapolis Musical Theatre), Foshay! (Open Window Theatre), Bare: A Pop Opera (the Wildwood Theater), and Ride the Cyclone (Emerging Professionals Ensemble).
MIKA DYO (she/they) is a Los Angeles based actor. Credits include: Swingposium (Hawaii tour), The Wolves (CalRep), No No Girl (Eight East Productions), and The First Asian Bachlr (Wong Fu Productions). As a descendant of Heart Mountain, this show means so much to them and they are grateful to San Jose Taiko and Theater Mu for this opportunity.
MOSES EKEL (he/him) is an Indonesian American actor, singer, and songwriter based in the Twin Cities. He is thrilled to return to Theater Mu for their collaboration with TaikoArts Midwest on Swingposium. Outside the theater, Moses performs as local alternative indie/R&B artist MUSA. His latest single, “Wasabi,” and debut EP, “Beauty Sinner,” are available on all major streaming platforms. He was most recently seen on stage in Minneapolis’s inaugural MISCAST. Previous theater credits include Theater Latté Da (The NEXT Festival: OKUNI), Theater Mu (Stop Kiss), History Theatre (Secret Warriors), Playwrights Center (Stupid Little Fire, Jar of Fat, A Lobby of Slutteries), and The Art of Reconciliation (Little Shop of Horrors, Jane Eyre). | IG: @mosesekel, music IG: @themusaofficial
ENSŌ DAIKO offers loud, energetic performances that combine music, dance, culture, and pure athleticism. The group regularly premieres new work adding their unique voice to the expanding canon and innovation of North American taiko. Through performances, studio classes and school residencies, Ensō Daiko has taught thousands of students of all ages and abilities. Ensō Daiko was founded as Mu Daiko in 1997 by Rick Shiomi. New Artistic Director, Jennifer Weir, renamed it Ensō Daiko in 2017, when TaikoArts Midwest took over the taiko program formerly supported by Theater Mu. Here’s who you’ll see in Swingposium: Vanessa East, Jeff Ellsworth, Craig Johnson, Liz Kane, Junko Kumamoto, Chiaki O’Brien, Susan Tanabe, Jennifer Weir, Hiroshi Yoshino; interns: Rose Chu, Kimi Romportl; TaikoArts Midwest: Emily Harada.
MORGAN KEMPTON (she/her) is excited to be back with Theater Mu! Select acting credits: Theater Mu/History Theatre (Blended 和 (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters), Lyric Arts (Something Rotten!, A Chorus Line, Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, Mamma Mia!), Straw Hat Players (Guys and Dolls, The Last Five Years (u/s), Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Disaster); Minnesota State University Moorhead (The Who’s Tommy, Reefer Madness, Noises Off, Women of Troy); Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre (Hairspray). Education: BFA musical theater, Minnesota State University Moorhead. Morgan would be remiss if she did not thank Merritt, her pops, mom, Chris & family, precious delightful friends, team EDU/WFD for all their love and support. "A fun fact about me is my family won me in an estate sale!"
EMILY KURODA (she/her) has worked at Theatreworks (Language Archives, Calligraphy), New York Theatre Workshop (Endlings), Pan Asian (Brothers Paranormal), American Repertory Theater (Endlings), Page 73 (Today is My Birthday), Actors Theater of Louisville (we, the invisibles), Huntington Theater (Tiger Style, Woman Warrior), Artists at Play (Two Mile Hollow), South Coast Rep (Fast Company, Ballad of Yachiyo, and Our Town), Alliance (Tiger Style), East West Players, Kirk Douglas, Mark Taper Forum, Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Singapore Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, the Doolittle, LATC, Zephyr, LA Women’s Shakespeare Company, and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. TV includes: All Rise, The Good Doctor, The Resident, Drop Dead Diva, Gilmore Girls, The Power. Films include: Porcupine, Take the 10, Party Boat, Red, Sensei, and KIMI.
GLORIA KUMAGAI, PhD, (she/her) is a Sansei (third-generation Japanese American) whose life and work are deeply rooted in Minnesota. Her parents’ journeys—from incarceration in Minidoka and Tule Lake to new beginnings in Minnesota—shaped a family story of resilience that continues to inform her commitments today. A retired educator, she spent her career in public education and administrator preparation, helping to develop leaders grounded in equity and community. Gloria continues her social justice advocacy as a long-time board member of the Twin Cities Japanese American Citizens League and as a board member of TaikoArts Midwest. Since 2023, she has been part of Nikkei Write Now, writing to preserve and share her family’s history as found in the anthology, Windows of Light.
RUBY SURO (she/her) is a singer, dancer, actor, and teaching artist based in the Twin Cities. She is in her final year of training at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities pursuing a BFA in acting and a minor in psychology. Her educational credits include LouAnn in Book of Days, Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, and Gloria in Brand New Ancients. She was previously Arista in the production of The Little Mermaid with Frosted Glass Creative. She hopes you enjoy Swingposium!
RYAN TAKEMIYA is a professional theater and film actor based in Berkeley, CA. A former member of the Ragged Wing Theater Ensemble of Oakland, he has also played Joe Yamaguchi in the world premiere of El Teatro Campesino's Valley of the Heart, written and directed by Luis Valdez, and was most recently the star of the acclaimed independent feature Kintsukuroi, which tells the story of Jimmy Obata, a soldier in the 442nd segregated Japanese American army unit of WWII. Ryan has been a Swingposium main cast member in Humboldt, Stanford, and the most recent Hawai’i Tour. He is honored to be able to portray characters that tell the story of the Japanese American experience, and sees it as a way to honor his own family history.
MOMOKO TANNO is a singer/actor/educator and has been actively performing in the Twin Cities, nationally, and abroad. Recent performances include soprano soloist with Heinrich Schütz Chor and Mendelssohn Chor in Tokyo, Messiah with Dakota Valley Symphony, and Cio-cio-san in Madama Butterfly with Tacoma Opera. Credits: Susanna in Figaro; Donna Anna in Don Juan Giovanni; Frasquita in Carmen in the Tony Award-Winning Theater de la Jeune Lune, American Repertory Theater, and Berkeley Repertory Theater; M. Butterfly at the Guthrie, Camelot at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. Momoko has taught voice for over 25 years and has been a faculty member at UWRF, SPCPA, and K&S Conservatory for Music. Momoko is a frequent recitalist of art songs and Japanese songs with Duo Mythos, Duo Umemomo, and with guitarist Joseph Hagedorn.
The SWINGPOSIUM JAZZ ENSEMBLE is made up of student musicians from metro area high schools. Students are top performers in their high school jazz ensembles and many are musicians with Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands and the MMEA All-State ensembles. Directed by Nora Tycast and Brian Lukkasson. Nora Tycast is a band director at Hopkins High School and Brian Lukkasson teaches music at The Blake School and directs a MN Youth Jazz Band.