Curiosities is a play in two centuries: the nineteenth and twenty-first. The main character’s lines are composed of the actual words that Mangwudaws, an Ojibwe man, wrote about his visit to Europe in the 1840′s. Young Native American artists and dancers trying to start a troupe to tour Europe are the other characters–they interchange with characters in the 1840′s. The American painter George Catlin has role as does a contemporary American Indian woman artist who is reversing his images by painting the non-Indians she sees. The play uses dance, painting, Ojibwe Hymn singing, contemporary and traditional American Indian music and multi-media images to show how much the images of 200 years ago haunt us today. Finally, the play is about the search to honor the Ojibwe men and women who died in Europe while traveling as “curiosities” on display.

-Heid E. Erdrich, Alternate Visions Artist

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Curiosities
Written by Heid E. Erdrich
Directed by Dipankar Mukherjee
June 10, 12
7:30 PM
$5 General Admission
Pangea Studio

The Nguyens is my attempt to explore and celebrate an alternative vision of Vietnamese and Asian American life through the art of spoken word. A lot of it is persona poetry. As much as I strive to create believable, sympathetic characters, I’m actually not striving for authenticity or accuracy. I’m an artist, not a journalist. The challenge then is, how and who defines the communities of which I am a part of? How do I include characters whose stories and experiences differ from mine? How do I create and present all of my characters, as close and as far as they may be from my own personal experience, in a way that’s fresh, respectful, and sexy, all at the same time?

-Bao Phi, Alternate Visions Artist

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The Nguyens
Written by Bao Phi
June 11, 13
7:30 PM
$5 General Admission
Pangea Studio

Dipankar Mukherjee directs a hilarious bilingual farce Chandu Ki Chachi in Hindi and English with the South Asian community.

Chandu and Jaggu desperate to see their girlfriends have their actor friend impersonate Chandu’s millionaire aunt. A hysterical case of mistaken identity ensues in this non-stop physical comedy with witty dialogue, and loads of laughter.

Friday May 14, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Saturday May 15, 2010 at 7:30 PM

At the Nath Auditorium

Tickets are $20 and $50 and $12 for children