IAMA Theatre Company’s Pass the Mic festival amplifies Asian American and Pacific Islander voices with five 10-minute short plays, each written and directed by AAPI artists. Company member Parvesh Cheena (Outsourced, My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and queer/transgender Tamil-Sri Lankan-American actor/writer/comic D’Lo co-host a hybrid live/pre-recorded online festival that features live monologues, musical guests and video montages streaming live on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET, then remain available to view on demand through Sunday, Oct. 24.
Five 10-minute short plays, each written and directed by AAPI artists, make up the heart of the event. The plays include: …I’ve No Regrets, written by Nicholas Pilapil and directed by IAMA associate artistic director Rodney To; Long by Charlie Oh, directed by Jully Lee; Hindi by Nandita Shenoy, directed by Nelson T. Eusebio III; Broken English by Nina Ki, directed by Gaven Trinidad; and For Us All by Jeanne Sakata, directed by Jennifer Chang.
The hybrid live/pre-recorded festival will also feature monologues, musical guests and video montages. A sampling of interludes includes Calm, a song written by Adam Gwon and performed by IAMA ensemble member Deborah S. Craig; Dishwasher Dreams, a monologue written and performed by Allaudin Ullah and directed by Chay Yew; Transfusion, a monologue written by Kit Yan, performed by Futaba Shioda and directed by Kat Yen; a song performed by Po’ai Lincoln; and a series of poems written and performed by Noa Gardner.