History

Cast and crew of Intake/Outtake II in front of AATC "Storefront Theater" at 4344 California Street (near 6th Ave), (front, l-r, Rodney Kageyama, Marc Hayashi, Adrienne Fong, Art Lai, Diana Tanaka, George Hoag, Judy Nihei, Erlinda Garcia, Ray Jue), circa 1978
(Photo by Cynthia "Kiki" Wallis)

AATC was founded in 1973 as a playwrights’ workshop by playwright Frank Chin and was sponsored by the American Conservatory Theater.

In 1975, the workshop was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and became a professional theater company dedicated to producing plays by Asian American dramatists and supporting Asian American actors, designers and technicians.

During the late-1970s and early-1980s, AATC was the focal point of an explosion of Asian American talent in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Throughout its history, AATC has served as a home for numerous playwrights, directors, actors, and designers who went on to careers of national prominence, including:

Frank Chin – Playwright (The Chickencoop Chinaman)
Dennis Dun – Actor (The Last Emperor)
Philip Kan Gotanda – Playwright (Yankee Dawg You Die)
David Henry Hwang – Playwright (M. Butterfly)
Amy Hill – Actor (All-American Girl)
R.A. Shiomi – Playwright (Yellow Fever)
Lydia Tanji – Costume Designer (The Joy Luck Club)
Wakako Yamauchi – Playwright (And the Soul Shall Dance)

In the late 1980s, AATC secured a lease on a three-story theater complex, which it named The Asian American Theater Center.  Located near the corner of Arguello and Clement Streets in San Francisco’s ethnically diverse Richmond district, it had a 135-seat Main Stage, a 50-seat Second Stage, a dance and rehearsal studio, and administrative offices.  The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake rendered the building unsafe for use as a theater and rehearsal studio for a year, but after repairs were made, the theater became a hub of activity for a new generation of Asian American writers and actors.

The mid- to late-1990s were marked by exciting work from the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors, a sketch comedy group that formed when they met at the Arguello Theater and discovered a common desire to write and perform new works.  Throughout the 1990s, Eric Hayashi, Lane Nishikawa, and Pamela Wu led AATC through many successful productions.  Unfortunately, AATC had to leave the Arguello Theater in 1996 when the economics of remaining in the venue were no longer viable.  The company moved its administrative offices to Japantown, and produced its plays in various theater venues throughout the city.

Sean Lim and David Henry Hwang, 2004
(Photo by David Huang)

In the early 2000s, Sean Lim took the helm as Managing Artistic Director (after having recently graduated from Stanford, where he led the Asian American Theater Project founded by David Henry Hwang).  Sean injected new ideas and new plays into the company’s repertoire.   Sean moved AATC’s offices to a former dot com office/loft space in the SOMA District and began energetically networking and fundraising with Lona Leigh, AATC’s Development Manager from 2003-2004.  Sean reestablished relationships with David Henry Hwang, Philip Kan Gotanda, Lane Nishikawa, Amy Hill, and other luminaries when Sean orchestrated AATC’s 30th Anniversary Gala at the Herbst Theater, War Memorial Opera House, a huge event attended by many stars, including Danny Glover.

On the artistic side, Sean created the NewWorks Incubator (a collaborative program to nurture new playwrights and to create a community of actors and directors who would help playwrights develop their pieces through staged readings and experimentation).  Through the Incubator, Alex Park, Christopher Chen, Samantha Chanse and many other talented artists arose as  promising new playwrights.  Duy Nguyen directed Alex’s world premiere play, “Rental Car,” in 2004 at the Thick House, and AATC co-produced Sam’s play “Sleeper” in 2005 with Bindlestiff Studio.  Sean also produced Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” (with an Asian American twist), breaking with AATC’s prior tradition of performing mainstage productions written solely by Asian Americans.  Sean world premiered Philip Kan Gotanda’s “Under the Rainbow,” as well as Jeannie Barroga’s “Banyan.”  He also restaged David Henry Hwang’s “F.O.B.” and Jeannie Barroga’s “Walls,” two classics from AATC’s history.  Throughout this period, AATC established strong relationships with each of its theater venues, including New Langton Arts, the Off-Market Theater, and the Thick House, where AATC is currently part of the Thick House Presenting Program.

Sean retired from AATC in early 2007, after which, Jeannie Barroga and Victoria Mejia became the Interim Artistic Director and Interim Managing Director, respectively.  They produced Michael Golamco’s critically-acclaimed “Cowboy vs. Samurai” and held numerous classes and workshops in 2007.

Alan S. Quismorio and Duy Nguyen, 2008
(Photo by Guy Stilson)

In 2008, AATC focused on regaining its financial stability and primarily offered staged readings and workshops.  In October 2008, Alan S. Quismorio and Duy Nguyen took the helm as Co-Artistic Directors and have brought great energy and dynamism to AATC’s artistic program.  In 2009-2010, AATC is presenting a full artistic season and is reaching new artistic heights.

Alan and Duy made a huge debut with the world premiere of Aurorae Khoo’s “Fayette-Nam,” which Duy directed, and which was presented at the Thick House.  The play was a success–Asian Week called it “a rare gem” and Theatre Bay Area praised its inventiveness.  AATC’s audience also responded with unanimously positive Yelp reviews and great word-of-mouth.

On September 28, 2009, AATC will world premiere Philip Kan Gotanda’s “#5 Angry Red Drum,” directed by Matthew Graham Smith.

AATC’s NewWorks Incubator, led by Duy Nguyen, was revamped with an accomplished set of writers, including alumni of the prestigious Playwrights Foundation, and with Eugenie Chan as the Incubator Mentor.  Brad Erickson, Executive Director of Theatre Bay Area, commented after one of AATC’s readings of “Beijing, California” by AATC Playwright Paul Heller: “Few plays in recent years have made me think as much.  It’s obvious to me that AATC is going in a new direction.”

The Acting Department, led by Alan S. Quismorio and Michelle Talgarow; the Directing Department led by Mei Ann Teo and Mina Morita; and the Educational Outreach, lead by Leon Goertzen, have been structured and launched in 2009 as well.

AATC’s Board includes veterans Darryl D. Chiang and Guy Stilson, but has also recruited many new, dynamic members representing a variety of communities.

An Artistic Committee has also been formed to bring together the various leaders of Asian American theater.  More than ever, AATC is the epicenter of Asian American theater in the Bay Area.

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