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The Steering Committee of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition is so proud to announce we are the recipient of the Obie Awards' 2020 Special Citation for Advocacy in the Field of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. We are humbled, encouraged, and grateful that the Obie Award Committee has acknowledged the need for organizations working towards creating racial justice and equality within the theatre industry. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd and far too many others, this work has become more vital than ever.
When we formed almost 10 years ago, we didn’t realize we were signing up for the long haul. We’d hoped we could spark a revolutionary change, not remembering how long it can be before true change actually takes hold. We are actors, after all - we did not come to New York to be activists. But we are also citizens of the world, and the more we work, the more we realize that activism is inextricably linked with the art we came here to create. We are proud of our contributions to the industry and of how our work contributes to that change, especially during this historic moment.
AAPAC formed when one of us used social media to pose the question: “Why aren’t there more Asian American actors onstage in New York?” We were - and still are - dismayed to realize that race often came before talent in determining who gets access to opportunities and who does not, and that our stories were not valued or understood by the industry in the same measure as others’. We quickly realized this feeling of erasure was shared by most in the Asian American theatre community, if not all. So, we tackled our exhaustion head on, organizing public forums, holding private meetings with heads of theaters, presenting in schools, and making many appearances on panels addressing racial dynamics, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
All of this has helped further the broader conversation about racial equality in the theatre, but perhaps our advocacy has had its greatest impact with our yearly statistics report - one of which is on its way to publication as we speak. In gathering the numbers of actors onstage according to race, we shine a light on that erasure, and contribute to the culture of change that we hope will lift up not just our community, but that of all BIPOC artists.
Up until 2011, Asian Americans represented less than 3% of who was onstage overall, and less than 1% of who was on Broadway. The numbers are slightly better now, but are not nearly representative of our population size nor, more importantly, representative of the wealth and breadth of talent that we know exists within the Asian American Theatre community. “Statistics report” is an image that may seem to lack teeth, but do not be fooled by its reasonable exterior. We are not impassive, and we are out of patience.
So, we keep up the fight. We are still beyond exhausted, but we have new wind in our sails now that so many movements have since formed to help stoke the fires of change into a full-blown inferno. A global pandemic may have induced the Theatre’s long sleep, but this is the perfect time for It to figure out how to walk the talk of all the statements that were issued on Its behalf in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. So that when we rouse from the nightmares of 2020, we will have awoken to that revolutionary change to which AAPAC aspires, one in which we AAPAC members get to return to focusing on what we came here to do - which is to pave the way for more Asians to give Obie acceptance speeches for their acting.
In solidarity,
AAPAC Steering Committee
When we formed almost 10 years ago, we didn’t realize we were signing up for the long haul. We’d hoped we could spark a revolutionary change, not remembering how long it can be before true change actually takes hold. We are actors, after all - we did not come to New York to be activists. But we are also citizens of the world, and the more we work, the more we realize that activism is inextricably linked with the art we came here to create. We are proud of our contributions to the industry and of how our work contributes to that change, especially during this historic moment.
AAPAC formed when one of us used social media to pose the question: “Why aren’t there more Asian American actors onstage in New York?” We were - and still are - dismayed to realize that race often came before talent in determining who gets access to opportunities and who does not, and that our stories were not valued or understood by the industry in the same measure as others’. We quickly realized this feeling of erasure was shared by most in the Asian American theatre community, if not all. So, we tackled our exhaustion head on, organizing public forums, holding private meetings with heads of theaters, presenting in schools, and making many appearances on panels addressing racial dynamics, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
All of this has helped further the broader conversation about racial equality in the theatre, but perhaps our advocacy has had its greatest impact with our yearly statistics report - one of which is on its way to publication as we speak. In gathering the numbers of actors onstage according to race, we shine a light on that erasure, and contribute to the culture of change that we hope will lift up not just our community, but that of all BIPOC artists.
Up until 2011, Asian Americans represented less than 3% of who was onstage overall, and less than 1% of who was on Broadway. The numbers are slightly better now, but are not nearly representative of our population size nor, more importantly, representative of the wealth and breadth of talent that we know exists within the Asian American Theatre community. “Statistics report” is an image that may seem to lack teeth, but do not be fooled by its reasonable exterior. We are not impassive, and we are out of patience.
So, we keep up the fight. We are still beyond exhausted, but we have new wind in our sails now that so many movements have since formed to help stoke the fires of change into a full-blown inferno. A global pandemic may have induced the Theatre’s long sleep, but this is the perfect time for It to figure out how to walk the talk of all the statements that were issued on Its behalf in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. So that when we rouse from the nightmares of 2020, we will have awoken to that revolutionary change to which AAPAC aspires, one in which we AAPAC members get to return to focusing on what we came here to do - which is to pave the way for more Asians to give Obie acceptance speeches for their acting.
In solidarity,
AAPAC Steering Committee