{"id":112,"date":"2022-01-09T19:42:24","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T00:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/?page_id=112"},"modified":"2022-08-11T04:00:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T08:00:21","slug":"philip-kan-gotanda","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/philip-kan-gotanda\/","title":{"rendered":"Philip Kan Gotanda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/gotanda_philip.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/gotanda_philip.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/gotanda_philip-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Biography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Philip Kan Gotanda has been a majorly influential voice in bringing Asian stories to American theatre. Mr. Gotanda\u2019s plays include <em>The Wash, Yankee Dawg You Die, The Dream of Kitamura<\/em>, <em>No More Cherry Blossoms <\/em>and<em> Fish Soup and Other Plays<\/em>. His works have been produced most notably at the American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, East West Players, Playwrights Horizons, and the Asian American Theater Company. Mr. Gotanda is an award-winning playwright playwright and filmmaker with awards including the Pew Trust Award, John D Rockefeller 3rd Award, Lila Wallace Award, National Endowment for the Arts Award, East West Players&#8217; Visionary Award, and the Asian American Theater Company Life Time Achievement award. Mr. Gotanda has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Japanese Art from the University of California &#8211; Santa Barbara, and a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. He has also studied pottery in Japan with the late Hiroshi Seto and is an independent filmmaker who has had his films entered into the Sundance Film Festival. In addition, he is a UC Berkeley Arts Center Fellow in Theater, a Sundance Theater Fellow, and a part of the Sundance Film Fellow Program. He currently serves as a professor and Department Vice Chair in the Department of Theater Dance and Performance Studies at the University of California &#8211; Berkeley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Career Highlight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr Gotanda is one of the recent recipients of the inaugural <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americantheatre.org\/2020\/12\/22\/the-legacy-playwrights-initiative-announces-inaugural-winners\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Legacy Playwrights Initiative Award<\/a> in December of 2020. This award aims to honor older playwright voices and provide opportunity for them to be rediscovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>The Wash<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Genre: Drama<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Breakdown:<ul><li>3M Japanese, 5W Japanese<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Synopsis:<ul><li>Set in 1985, Nobu and his wife, Masi, who despite being separated from him, continues to come to his house each week to pick up his dirty laundry and return the previous week\u2019s wash. As Masi attempts to move on from their marriage, Nobu struggles to accept Masi\u2019s decision and move on with his own life. As both characters meet someone new, they must cope with their feelings as they struggle with family matters and continue to see each other every week for the wash.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Development\/Production History:<ul><li>1985 Eureka Theater, World Premiere. San Francisco, CA.<\/li><li>1985 New Plays Festival, Mark Taper, Los Angeles, CA<\/li><li>1987 North West Asian American Theater, Seattle, WA.<\/li><li>1990 ESIPA Theater Company, New York, NY.<\/li><li>1991 Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, CA.<\/li><li>1991 Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, NY.<\/li><li>1994 Studio Theatre, Washington D.C.<\/li><li>2000 Teoriza Theatre, Tokyo, Japan.<\/li><li>2001 East West Players, Los Angeles, CA.<\/li><li>2001 Manoa Valley Theater Company, Honolulu, HI.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Weblink to purchase play from publisher:<ul><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dramatists.com\/cgi-bin\/db\/single.asp?key=936\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.dramatists.com\/cgi-bin\/db\/single.asp?key=936<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Photos from production:<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"690\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-1-1-1024x690.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-1-1-1024x690.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-1-1-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-1-1-768x517.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-1-1.jpg 1188w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><figcaption><em>The Wash<\/em>, 1988, film, Mako as Nobu Matsumoto and Nobu McCarthy as Masi Matsumoto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"779\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-2-1024x779.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-2-1024x779.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-2-300x228.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-2-768x584.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-2.png 1042w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><figcaption><em>The Wash<\/em>, 1988, film, Nobu McCarthy as Masi Matsumoto and Sab Shimono as Sadao<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><em><strong><em>The Ballad of Yachiyo<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Genre: Drama<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Breakdown:<ul><li>3M Japanese, 4W Japanese<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Synopsis:<ul><li>Set in 1919 Hawaii, sixteen-year-old Yachiyo is sent by her field working family to board with a jaded pottery artist, Hiro Takamura, and his wife to learn proper Japanese manners and traditions. As Yachiyo goes through puberty, a sexual awakening occurs in her and her feelings for Takamura blossom. As Yachiyo navigates the world of pottery, womanhood, and love, her story tragically unfolds. The play is based on Gotanda\u2019s ancestor.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Development\/Production History:<ul><li>1990 Commissioned by South Coast Repertory Theatre, Costa Mesa, CA<\/li><li>1994 South Coast Repertory Theatre Workshop, Costa Mesa, CA.<\/li><li>1995 Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Berkeley, CA.<\/li><li>1996 South Coast Repertory Theatre, World Premiere. Costa Mesa, CA.<\/li><li>1997 Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle, WA.<\/li><li>1998 Radio Play version, Writer\/Director. Los Angeles Theater Works, Venice, CA.<\/li><li>1998 New York Shakespeare Festival, The Public Theater, New York, NY.<\/li><li>2000 The Royal National Theater\/ The Gate Theater, London, England.<\/li><li>2003 The Tsunami Theater, Washington D.C.<\/li><li>2004 New York Theater Company, New York, NY.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Weblink to purchase play from publisher:<ul><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dramatists.com\/cgi-bin\/db\/single.asp?key=1933\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.dramatists.com\/cgi-bin\/db\/single.asp?key=1933<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Photos from production:<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"318\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-3-1.jpg 318w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-3-1-191x300.jpg 191w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 318px) 100vw, 318px\" \/><figcaption><em>The Ballad of Yachiyo<\/em>, 1997<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"609\" height=\"408\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-4.png 609w, https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/files\/2022\/01\/Photo-4-300x201.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 609px) 100vw, 609px\" \/><figcaption><em>The Ballad of Yachiyo<\/em>, 1997, The Public Theatre, Emily Kuroda as Okusan and Sala Iwamatsu&nbsp;as Yachiyo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Plays<\/strong><ul><li>1979<em> The Avocado Kid <\/em>or<em> Zen In The Art Of Guacamole<\/em><\/li><li>1980<em> A Song For a Nisei Fisherman<\/em><\/li><li>1981<em> Bullet Headed Birds<\/em><\/li><li>1982<em> American Tattoo<\/em><\/li><li>1982<em> The Dream of Kitamura<\/em><\/li><li>1985 <em>The Wash<\/em><\/li><li>1986<em> Jan Ken Po <\/em>co-written with David Henry Hwang, Rick Shiomi<\/li><li>1988 <em>Yankee Dawg You Die<\/em><\/li><li>1990<em> Yohen<\/em><\/li><li>1991<em> Fish Head Soup<\/em><\/li><li>1991<em> The Quilt Plays: Beans, <\/em>One Act<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/li><li>1993<em> Day Standing on Its Head<\/em><\/li><li>1994<em> in the dominion of night<\/em><\/li><li>1995<em> Ballad of Yachiyo<\/em><\/li><li>1999<em> Sisters Matsumoto<\/em><\/li><li>2002<em> floating weeds<\/em><\/li><li>2002<em> The Square (Collection of Plays): The Old Man<\/em><\/li><li>2003<em> The Wind Cries Mary<\/em><\/li><li>2004<em> A Fist of Roses<\/em><\/li><li>2005<em> Manzanar: an American Story<\/em><\/li><li>2007<em> After the War<\/em><\/li><li>2005<em> Under The Rainbow: 2 One-Act Plays. Natalie Wood is Dead <\/em>and<em> White Manifesto <\/em>or<em> Got Rice<\/em><\/li><li>2010<em> The DNA Trail: Child is Father to Man<\/em><\/li><li>2011<em> Love in American Times<\/em><\/li><li>2011<em> I Dream of Chang and Eng<\/em><\/li><li>2012<em> Shinsai Project. Child is the Father to Man<\/em><\/li><li>2013<em> Hell Scream<\/em><\/li><li>2014<em> After the War Blues&nbsp;<\/em><\/li><li>2014<em> The I-Hotel<\/em><\/li><li>2014<em> The Jamaican Wash Project<\/em><\/li><li>2014<em> Apricots of Andujar<\/em><\/li><li>2010<em> #5 Angry Red Drum<\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Bibliography<\/strong><ul><li>Benson, Sheila. \u201cMOVIE REVIEW : Marital Issues Examined in &#8216;The Wash&#8217;.\u201d <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em>, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 1988, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/archives\/la-xpm-1988-10-07-ca-3331-story.html\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"www.latimes.com\/archives\/la-xpm-1988-10-07-ca-3331-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.latimes.com\/archives\/la-xpm-1988-10-07-ca-3331-story.html<\/a>.<\/li><li>Gussow, Mel. \u201cWife Is Dutiful Though Separated.\u201d <em>The New York Times<\/em>, The New York Times, 8 Nov. 1990, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1990\/11\/08\/arts\/review-theater-wife-is-dutiful-though-separated.html\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"www.nytimes.com\/1990\/11\/08\/arts\/review-theater-wife-is-dutiful-though-separated.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.nytimes.com\/1990\/11\/08\/arts\/review-theater-wife-is-dutiful-though-separated.html<\/a>.<\/li><li>Hwang, David, and Philip Kan Gotanda. \u201cPhilip Kan Gotanda by David Henry Hwang.\u201d <em>Philip Kan Gotanda &#8211; BOMB Magazine<\/em>, BOMB Magazine, 1 Jan. 1997, <a href=\"http:\/\/bombmagazine.org\/articles\/philip-kan-gotanda-1\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"bombmagazine.org\/articles\/philip-kan-gotanda-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bombmagazine.org\/articles\/philip-kan-gotanda-1\/<\/a>.<\/li><li>ITO, ROBERT B., and Philip Kan Gotanda. \u201cPhilip Kan Gotanda.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Words Matter: Conversations with Asian American Writers<\/em>, edited by King-Kok Cheung, University of Hawai&#8217;i Press, 2000, pp. 173\u2013186.&nbsp;<em>JSTOR<\/em>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/j.ctt6wqrqj.13\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"www.jstor.org\/stable\/j.ctt6wqrqj.13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.jstor.org\/stable\/j.ctt6wqrqj.13<\/a>. Accessed 15 May 2021.<\/li><li>Marks, Peter. \u201cOf Puppets and Pottery.\u201d <em>The New York Times<\/em>, The New York Times, 13 Nov. 1997, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1997\/11\/13\/theater\/theater-review-of-puppets-and-pottery.html\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"www.nytimes.com\/1997\/11\/13\/theater\/theater-review-of-puppets-and-pottery.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.nytimes.com\/1997\/11\/13\/theater\/theater-review-of-puppets-and-pottery.html<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Web Resources<\/strong><ul><li>Playwright interviews<ul><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xA3NczXAVHo\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Child is Father to Man<\/em> interview<\/a><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-v6llaw6OnQ\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Public Library interview<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>World Premiere play trailers or revival play trailer<ul><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PRa675TtbrU\" target=\"_blank\"><em>The Wash, <\/em>film<\/a>, first ten minutes<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/tdps.berkeley.edu\/people\/philip-kan-gotanda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UC Berkeley faculty website<\/a><\/li><\/ul><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Philip_Kan_Gotanda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia page<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopedia.densho.org\/Philip_Kan_Gotanda\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Densho Encyclopedia<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Reflection on Contribution to Anti-Racist Theatre<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Philip Kan Gotanda has been majorly influential in bringing Asian stories to American theatre. His works have created many important opportunities for Asian-American theatre artists. His plays deal mostly with Japanese culture in the United States. Gotanda explores intersecting themes of gender, race, culture, and generational divides. Gotanda\u2019s work actively fights stereotypes of Asian-Americans while remaining true to the issues that the community faces regarding racism and balance of cross-cultural identities. His work contributes to the mission of Anti-Racist Theater in its depiction of real-life stories of the Asian-American community\u2019s struggles and the joys that the community maintains. Gotanda\u2019s plays celebrate Asian culture while demonstrating both the conflict and harmony in the Asian-American experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compiled by Claire Glennon, Film, Television, and Theatre, Gender Studies, 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biography Philip Kan Gotanda has been a majorly influential voice in bringing Asian stories to American theatre. Mr. Gotanda\u2019s plays include The Wash, Yankee Dawg You Die, The Dream of Kitamura, No More Cherry Blossoms and Fish Soup and Other Plays. His works have been produced most notably at the American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/philip-kan-gotanda\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Philip Kan Gotanda&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4149,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-112","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4149"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":766,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/112\/revisions\/766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/artnow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}