It's Our Time: Final Blog Post

Hello Everyone. First I would like to say thank you for joining me on this crazy journey! I appreciate all the support and positivity that's come my way over the past few months. I am posting my powerpoint presentation as well and I know it may seem very fragmented, but if you come to my presentation (shameless self plug) I promise it will all make sense. Again thank you everyone!


https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HSfcBBtAVBcuPodXufeQgTcv_6UR_sXpqeBMOWW2c2g/edit#slide=id.p4

Crazier Than You: Damaging Asian Stereotypes

Hello world! This week I finished up my internship and it was amazing! I knew that I wouldn't miss it at all because that is where I will be spending the next four years of my life. I'm so grateful to have found my home through this internship. So this week has been about doing the social analysis and formulating possible solutions for my research questions. Stereotypes permeate every aspect of our lives and especially in casting Asian Americans. But the stereotype that is causing the most harm is the "model minority" stereotype. Many Asians do come to America to find a better life and many of those people are highly educated and push their children to also be highly educated. But many Asians who come to America live near or below the poverty line. They do not fit into the "model minority" stereotype even thought they want their children to be successful. Even the people who do fit into the "model minority" mold do not want to characterized as one dimensional, academically driven robots who care about nothing else. I love the arts and so do many other Asians but we are not afforded that opportunity because of this stereotype and because we were never exposed to it. 

Pictures from my New York trip!

Along with my previous post, I just wanted to include some of these fun pictures from my trip!

Wonder Of Wonders: New York Adventures

Hello everyone! I took my spring break last week to travel to New York and see Fiddler On The Roof, Disaster, and most importantly for my project HAMILTON! It was quite a whirlwind of a trip and I spent the majority of my time walking around the theatre district and Times Square as I marveled at the light up marquees and munched on wonderful New York goodies (seriously I will never forget the pizza as long as I live). The day after I touched down in New York, my mother and I went to see Fiddler On The Roof and Hamilton, both in the same day. What is special about Fiddler is that it is musical theatre mother's milk. The music and lyrics touch such an emotional core it's impossible to get it out of your head for at least a week. It was my mother's first time seeing the show live so it was incredibly moving to see her react to the musical that spurred my love for musical theatre. Fiddler is as relevant today as it was 50+ years ago. People are still being expelled from their homes because of who they are, what they practice, or what their circumstances maybe. With so many people becoming refugees in our world and being turned away by the countries that should be protecting them, it is important to be telling their story in a way that reaches audiences who otherwise would pay no attention to this issue.

Next up was Hamilton. Simply seeing those doors and that marquee proudly displaying the Hamilton poster filled me with immense joy and excitement. When I stepped into the theatre and saw that stage for the first time, I started crying. I couldn't even believe that I was actually just moments away from seeing the show that defines all of my research. From the opening beat to the gentle final chord that fizzled out like a candle being gently snuffed, I was completely hooked. Once I left the show and finally recovered from the emotional rollercoaster I had just completed, it began to dawn on me why this show defined my research. I identified with every single person on that stage: Black, White, Asian, Hispanic. Race did not define anyone on that stage. They were actual people with hopes and dreams and fears and regrets and that could not have made me happier.

Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me: Asians in non-Asian roles

Hello everyone! As I progress with my research, I have delved deeper into the world of casting and casting Asian actors in non-Asian roles. Of course after some pretty extensive and in depth research, I came up with very little. First of all, the only roles that Asians have been cast in are written specifically for Asians and stories they are telling don't reflect the Asian-American experience. Some key musicals are trying to break that mold and show that ethnicity shouldn't be a problem in casting. Let's start with the musical that is highlighting strong women of all ethnicities and backgrounds, Hamilton. 

Philippa Soo plays Elizabeth Hamilton nee Schuyler, Alexander Hamilton's wife. Of course Elizabeth Schuyler was a white woman of high standing in her community but she is portrayed on stage by Ms. Soo, who is of Asian descent. She bucks the trope of the Asian woman being shy and meek and instead plays a strong female character who has to go through so much loss in her life. Elizabeth's eldest son Phillip died in a duel when he was very young and soon after that Hamilton also dies in a duel. Many of her children also died before her and she outlived her sister, Angelica, as well. Seeing an Asian woman portray such a strong, complex, and dynamic woman on stage really shows that stereotypes do not define women of color and if we can continue on this trajectory in theatre, the results can be truly beautiful.

Next up we have Alice Lee who portrays Heather Duke in Heathers the Musical. What is unique about Ms. Lee's performance is that she portrays a mean girl. A truly horrendous and absolutely ruthless mean girl. That trope is another that is never explored or given to Asians. Alice Lee brings a lot of bravado and sass to her performance as Heather Duke and explodes on the stage from every move she makes to every note she sings. She is truly unapologetic and flaunts her Asianness on stage proudly.

A truly unique performance is Ann Sanders in The King and I. Ann Sanders is the understudy for Kelli O'Hara who plays Anna Leonowens and she made her Broadway debut back in February. She is the first ASIAN Anna in Broadway history and her performance means a lot to the Asian theatre community. This bold casting choice proves that casting can be ethnically non-specific and still convey an important and relevant story. By casting an Asian actress as Anna, the focus is taken off of the racial aspect of the story and is placed onto the cultural conflict, which is the true emotional center of the show. The conflict is not about Anna being white and her whiteness clashing with the Asians. The true conflict is between Western and Eastern values and how those values can be reconciled.

- Fun Fact: The King and I is based on the true story of an English governess named Anna who goes the court of the King of Siam to teach them English values. Interestingly, Anna was not completely white. She was born in India to a British father and an Indian mother. She actually took the job in Siam after her husband's death because she no longer had his status to protect from pariah status in British society because she was mixed-race.

P.S. This week's musical reference is the song "Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me" from the new musical Waitress 

I'm Willing to Wait For It: A Statistical Disadvantage

Hello all. This week was my week off from my internship because ASU was on spring break. So I delved into the research side of my project and came up with some fairly interesting results. First, I looked up the US census data from 1950-2010 to see what percentage of the population identified as Asian, Asian-American, or Pacific Islander. Now we must take census data from 1950 with a grain of salt because so many Asian-Americans had been displaced from their homes due to the Internment Act during World War II. The data is shows below.

• 1950
• Population of US- 152.3 million 
• Asian population- 321,033
• Percentage- 0.2%

• 1960
• Population of US- 180.7 million 
• Asian population- 980,337
• Percentage- 0.5%
• 1970
• Population of US- 205.1 million 
• Asian population- 1,526,401
• Percentage- 0.8%
• 1980
• Population of US- 226.5 million 
• Asian population- 3,500,439
• Percentage- 1.5%
• 1990
• Population of US- 249.6 million 
• Asian population- 7,273,662
• Percentage- 2.9%
• 2000
• Population of US- 282.2 million 
• Asian population- 15,359,073
• Percentage- 3.8%
• 2010
• Population of US- 309.3 million 
• Asian population- 19,107,368
• Percentage- 4.9%

In the 2010, 4.9% of the US population identified as Asian and the census bureau goes further to provide a racial breakdown of the Asian community in America. Of the 19,107,368 Asians in America, the largest reporting ethnic groups were Chinese (3.79 million), Filipino (3.41 million), Indian (3.18 million), Vietnamese (1.73 million), Korean (1.7 million), and Japanese (1.3 million).

If we look at the break down of musicals that tell Asian stories since 1950, the trend seems to be that every decade less new musicals about Asians are being made. In 1950, the five "Asian" musicals produced were The King and I, Flower Drum Song, Kismet, Shangri-la, and South Pacific. Of those musicals, only Kismet focused on a non East Asian story. Until 1980, not a single new musical was produced that focused on an Asian story. In 1980, Miss Saigon hit the Broadway stage and took the Great White Way by storm. It also earned the leading lady, Lea Salonga, her first Tony award and made her the first Asian woman to win a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. 

So, what needs to change so that more Asian stories are produced and successful? And why can't the Asian story evolve into something modern and more relatable? More to explore and contemplate next week!

P.S. This week's musical reference is from the song "Wait For It" from Hamilton 

Wedding Bells Will Ring: Stepping into the Production side.

Hello all. This week has been so amazing and rewarding. I have started working with the wonderful people at ASU Lyric Opera on their production of The Drowsy Chaperone. The rehearsals just started and everything is already going swimmingly. Sitting in on the first music rehearsal made my heart fill with joy and I never wanted to leave. The cast comprised on undergraduate and graduate students from the theatre program and they can't be more than 24 years old. But the level of professionalism astounded me. Every single person came into that first rehearsal completely ready with their music, a smile on their face, and an open mind.

Over the next few weeks, I will be spending the majority of my time at Drowsy Chaperone rehearsals and learning more about the production process and learning about the rehearsal process through a backstage perspective as opposed to the actor's perspective. So far I have met the stage manager, set designer, costume designer, and musical director and they are all amazing people and incredible artists. ASU is going on spring break this week so I will not be working but I will continue my independent research and keep you all updated on that.

P.S. This post's title is a reference to the song Wedding Bells in The Drowsy Chaperone. 

Quick Update for the World

Today is the first day of my internship at Lyric Opera Theatre at ASU. I am the intern for Drowsy Chaperone, one of my favorite shows in the entire world, and I am so excited. Tonight is a music rehearsal and just being in this room right now with a bunch of professional actors and feeling their positive energy makes my little heart sing! This is going to be amazing and I've only been here for a hot second. More updates to come! 

Our Love Is God: A Quick Recap Before the Real Work Begins

Hi Guys! Sorry for the late post but I just opened a show last night which was crazy and will begin work with Professor Brian DeMaris at ASU next week which I am super excited about! I will be working on ASU's production of The Drowsy Chaperone and through this experience I hope to gain greater insight into the production and casting aspects of theatre and why casting directors make certain decisions. The one limitation I will have in this is that my sample size will be extremely small because only the ASU theatre students are cast in productions. Other than that I think this experience will be extremely rewarding and super fun!

The show I opened last night is called Heathers. It is a musical adaptation of the movie from the 1980s which became a beloved cult classic. I am extremely fortunate and blessed to be in the first youth cast to perform this show EVER. We're making history here and of course ruffling a few feathers along the way. In the original off-Broadway production, the casting directors made a very important decision: let's make one of the Heathers non-white. The first Heather Duke to be cast was Alice Lee, an actress of Korean descent. This role is not written for an Asian or from an Asian perspective but it created a unique character that is often not scene in popular media: the Asian mean girl.

We have all had our share of mean girls whether it be through the media or through our own experiences. But the most low key and often overlooked trope is the Asian mean girl. She's smart, tough, ruthless, and can cut you into pieces with just one look. In Heathers, Alice Lee creates a beautiful dichotomy in her portrayal of Heathers Duke: she is eager to please the leader Heather Chandler by any means necessary but she is also torn between her American culture and her Asian culture. She is no just a one dimensional mean girl who is evil for the sake of being evil. For Heather Duke, being a mean girl is a survival technique so that no one questions her differences (ie her Asian heritage).    

The World Turned Upside Down: The Hamitonian Change

Hi Friends! Let's talk about Hamilton shall we? So if you've never spoken to me or have been living under a rock, Hamilton is a hip hop musical based on the life on Alexander Hamilton (yeah the dude on the $10 dollar bill). It has already won multiple awards off-Broadway and most recently won the Grammy award for Best Musical Theatre Album. After their performance at the Grammy's, many people took to social media and wrote about how diverse the cast is and how wonderful it was to see such an eclectic cast on stage. Race is only the first layer to Hamilton.

American history is inherently whitewashed. The people who have written down our history were white and told it from their point of view. What Hamilton is doing is so revolutionary because they are retelling our nation's story through the lens of modern American society. We are no longer a predominantly white society and Hamilton beautifully illustrates that. But the characters themselves are not classified as black or Hispanic or Asian. The cool thing is that all of these characters are racially ambiguous and can be played by anyone, regardless of color.

Most of the main characters in Hamilton are black or Hispanic except for one: Elizabeth Schuyler played Philippa Soo. Philippa Soo is of Asian descent and she plays Alexander Hamilton's wife. She is the sole Asian representative in this show and adds a whole other depth to the show. She's not playing an ASIAN character and more often than not those are the types of roles Asian people can find in theatre. Philippa Soo plays a woman with depth, emotions, fears, hopes, dreams, and regrets. She's playing a woman we can all relate to on some level and look up to as a role model. For young Asian-American women like me, she embodies what can be if theatre keeps progressing the way that it is.

I will be posting installments about Hamilton all throughout my project since that is the contemporary musical I am using as my main example. So stay tuned next week for more breakdowns! In the mean time, go listen to Hamilton and experience the phenomenon first time. It is truly legendary.  

Getting To Know You: Asian-American Representation in "The King and I"

In my first week of research, I got a hold of the script and score of the King and I. A wonderful Rodgers and Hammerstein classic that has been produced in every decade since its premiere in the 1950s, The King and I is one of the shows that many people who are not versed in theatre associate with musical theatre. I loved the musical when I was a child and revisiting it as a young adult has completely changed my perspective on the musical. The first time I watched the musical, I was around nine years old and was instantly swept away by the score and the costumes and the sets that I didn't really notice any of the other aspects of the musical. Mainly, none of the Asian characters were played by Asian actors.

Now it must be taken into consideration that the film was made in 1956, soon after the premiere of the musical in 1951. The concept of Asian roles being played by Asian actors was completely foreign in the industry and Hollywood sidestepped this by having Asian roles be played by white actors in yellowface. Yellowface is a form of theatrical makeup in which the performer changes their face to look more East Asian. Much like blackface or brownface, yellowface is just as demeaning and derogatory to the race in question.

The cast of the film version of The King and I featured one Asian-American actress: Judy Dan who as uncredited in the film. Everyone else in the film was either white or Hispanic (Rita Moreno played Tuptim one of the king's wives) and the king was famously played by Yul Brynner. He then went on to portray the king in a revival on Broadway.

Until 1991, every production of The King and I was never properly cast. For the half  century after the premiere of the show, every subsequent production cast non-Asian actors or, as one casting director put in 1972, "looked Asian enough" and never respected Thai culture. Even though the script has the Asian characters speaking in broken english- which is appropriate for the time period- the characters are portrayed as oriental and uncultured, particularly the King's treatment of one of his wives Tuptim. But even after the casting decisions were finally rectified, many critics still believed that many of the laughs in the show came at the expense of the Thai people not understanding the British culture.

P.S. This week's musical reference is from The King and I (if you haven't guessed yet)    

SONG OF THE DAY 15: 2/12/2016

Good Afternoon you beauties! My first week off from school has been equal amounts amazing and saddening. I'm thrilled to be doing my research and opening a show in a few weeks but I find myself missing the hallowed hallways of BASIS Scottsdale. Today's song is "Satisfied" from Hamilton because it is the ultimate power ballad and shows that every decision in life comes with ups and downs.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrbCFR1FsZk 

SONG OF THE DAY 14: 2/10/2016

Good evening Internet. I just got back from rehearsal and I'm pooped. I'm usually someone who listens to a lot of upbeat, rhythmic music that I can move to but on days like this when I'm absolutely burned out I like listening to more mellow Broadway ballads. Tonight's song is "Breathe" from In the Heights. It's a beautiful ballad that still has percussion and rhythm to it so it's the perfect song to cool down. Enjoy and have a good night! 

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSQFjtszBYg 

SONG OF THE DAY 13: 2/9/2016

Good Afternoon World! Sorry for the radio silence but it has been a crazy few days. I'm in the process of finishing up my college auditions and am also in the middle of Heathers rehearsals. But school is out and I have begun doing the background research for my SRP. One of the shows I've been researching is The King and I so today's song is "Hello Young Lovers". Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQxcI7uL4o8

SONG OF THE DAY 12: 2/3/2016

It's my last day of high school tomorrow!! I'm so incredibly excited to start work on my senior research project but this moment is a little bittersweet. As I reflect back on my high school days, the song that comes tom mind is "What I Did For Love" from A Chorus Line. This song just makes me smile and cry at the same time because it's about being able to let go and move on but never forgetting the past.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HudT60L9MrU 

SONG OF THE DAY 11: 2/2/2016

Good Morning Beautiful People! We're taking a little trip to Anatevka today to the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof. Today's song is "To Life" from Fiddler on the Roof. L'chaim! 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NscuEBEXCo

SONG OF THE DAY 10: 2/1/2016

Good Morning Everyone! Sorry for the radio silence but I was in Tucson all weekend. So to make up for that today's song of the day is "Those Magic Changes" from Grease: Live. Yesterday was the broadcast of Grease: Live on Fox and it was absolutely amazing. A network finally got it right! Listen to nothing but this for the rest of the day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r25EFaif6w

SONG OF THE DAY 9: 1/29/2016

Hi friends! I'm off to my first college audition today. So to commemorate it, today's song is one of my audition selections: "Funny" by Alexander Sage Oyen. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTKHE7c-e5w 

SONG OF THE DAY 8: 1/28/2016

So a lot of the songs I've been posting have been very contemporary and I decided to post something I like to call "contemporary/classical". Today's song is "What Do I Need With Love?" from Thoroughly Modern Millie. This musical is from the early 2000s but is set in the 1920s and has that classic Broadway feel to it that got me hooked on musical theatre in the first place. So enjoy this song and swoon to Gavin Creel's velveteen voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xdYlC54IWU

SONG OF THE DAY 7: 1/27/2016

Good Morning Everyone! Been listening to a lot of 90s music lately and letting my inner teen angst out. So today's song is "Jesus of Suburbia" from American Idiot: The Musical. It's a musical based on Green Day's albums American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. American Idiot: The Musical is a beautiful piece of contemporary musical theatre and the perfect outlet for all that inner angst. So get your grunge flannel and eyeliner out and rock out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRQ1UE6uMUM 

SONG OF THE DAY 6: 1/26/2016

Good Morning Everyone! We're going off-Broadway today and listening to Pasek and Paul's amazing musical Dogfight. This musical is very special because it combines all the best elements of musicals of yesteryears with contemporary musical theatre. Today's song of the day is "First Date/Last Night". Warning: You might start crying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLJggd7aTyA

SONG OF THE DAY 5: 1/25/2016

Good Morning Beautiful People! I'm headed back to rehearsal for Heathers: The Musical today so in honor of that, today's song is "Big Fun"! Hope your day is filled with Big Fun, Big Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q1p89oUQUM

SONG OF THE DAY 4: 1/24/2016

Hello all! So I just went and saw Spring Awakening at Spotlight Youth Theatre and it's one of the most amazing, honest, and powerful shows I've ever seen. Today's song of the day is "Song of Purple Summer". It is the anthem for adolescence and the hope that comes after our confusing teenage years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl4ZsWVUCro

SONG OF THE DAY 3: 1/23/2016

Hey guys! Sorry for the late post but I've been at rehearsal all day. Anyway today's song of the day is "One Second and a Million Miles" from Bridges of Madison County by Jason Robert Brown. Go fall in love with these star crossed lovers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz7KyvxuVTg

SONG OF THE DAY 2: 1/22/2016

Good Morning beautiful people! It's Song of the Day time!! Today's song is "Blackout" from In The Heights. In The Heights is another brilliant Lin Manuel Miranda musical that premiered in 2008 and is about the lives of a group of Hispanic people living in Washington Heights, New York. "Blackout" comes at the end of act one when there is a power outage and everyone is scrambling to go home, find their loved ones, and protect their belongings and property. It's a beautiful and powerful testament to how truly powerless we all are in the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J25kgrm1Py0 

SONG OF THE DAY 1: 1/21/2016

FIRST SONG OF THE DAY POST!!!

Today's song of the day is "My Shot" from Hamilton. You will begin to notice very soon that many of my song choices come from Hamilton because it is a brilliant piece of theatre that everyone needs to hear and if you have the chance to see as well. I've included a link to the song so go check it out!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vHMSq7K2ds

Welcome to my Candy Store

Hello World! Welcome to the wonderful world of musical theatre. My name is Vaibu Mohan and I will be your guide for the next three months. For those of who are new to the musical theatre scene, we welcome you and give you a warning. Entry into this world will result in addiction. But no matter because we are about to embark on a roller coaster or music, dance, and awesomeness.

Quick preview of what you'll see on my blog: I'll be doing big updates every Friday and the title of each blog update will include a musical reference because I'm a nerd. Today's reference is from Heathers the Musical! I will also be posting a daily song suggestion from a musical for you all to listen to. I hope that I can get more people involved in musical theatre and help them become supporters of live theatre.

Before we begin, let me give you a brief overview of my project. The main question I hope to answer how are new musicals are changing the scene for young actors of color who are just entering the business. As one of the actors of color in question, this project is extremely personal and I hope to gain some insight into the musical theatre business. Theatre is a very special place for any performer because nothing compares to adrenalin of live performance. But, theatre has been very slow to diversify. For the entire history of the industry, parts that were written for people of color were often played by white actors. One of the most famous examples is Yul Brynner, a Russian-born American actor, playing the King of Siam in The King and I. But that was over 70 years ago! Things have change right?

Yes and No. We have made massive strides toward making theatre a more diverse and accepting place but, according to 2014 statistics from the Broadway League, over 70% of performers on Broadway were white and only 3% were Asian. But many of the shows on Broadway sent out casting calls that were racially and ethnically non-specific. So where is the problem and how can we fix it?

Enter Hamilton. Hamilton is a hip-hop musical based on the life of our Founding Father and first Secretary of Treasury. Yeah THAT Alexander Hamilton. It is making waves and uprooting the traditional musical theatre standards. The mastermind behind the entire production, Lin Manuel Miranda, also plays Alexander Hamilton in the production. He made his interpretation of American history look like and feel like the America we live in today which makes the whole experience engaging and transcendent. Hamilton will be the basis of my research into how new musical are changing the game and making theatre more accessible to young actors of color.

So step into my candy store folks. Let's have some fun