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MU’S “BOOK CLUB” IS BACK!

Our most popular Mu Training Institute class is back this fall, courtesy of University of Minnesota professor Dr. Josephine Lee. In this five-week, virtual Mu Training Institute class, we'll read some of our favorite plays from Mu's 30-year history and then meet to share scene readings and a discussion with the playwrights themselves. Buckle up as we explore how Asian Americans fit into different genres of American theater, from modernized classics (Cowboy vs. Samurai), to film noir (Yellow Fever), to sci-fi (Kung Fu Zombies vs. Cannibals), to musicals (Flower Drum Song), to ghost stories (The Brothers Paranormal).

This class is open to anyone interested in learning more about Asian American theater, and those who took it last time will experience new works!

Enrollment is first come, first serve. Registration deadline is Oct 5.

GENERAL INFORMATION

DATES

This play reading book club will take place virtually over five Wednesdays from 7-8:30 p.m. CT.

Wed., Oct 12, ft. Prince Gomolvilas

Wed., Oct 19, ft. Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongasy

Wed., Oct 26, ft. Rick Shiomi

Wed., Nov 2, ft. David Henry Hwang

Wed., Nov 9, ft. Michael Golamco

LOCATION

This MTI will take place over Zoom conference calls. We will send you the link to access the Zoom call after you have registered.

TUITION

$150—this covers the cost of scripts and materials. There is no need for participants to seek out or purchase their own scripts.

Payment is made when you register for the class. In the past, Theater Mu has accommodated certain installment payment agreements when it made sense to do so. Send payment inquiries to info@theatermu.org.

MTI endeavors to make training accessible regardless of financial capability. Two students in the class can be awarded a partial scholarship to cover half the cost of tuition. Please send a detailed paragraph to info@theatermu.org describing the reason you are seeking a scholarship.

Jo Answers YouR Questions

Is it sad that we have to read plays rather than watch them onstage?

Not worse, just different. You can read a play at any time of day. You can compare them from one week to the next. You can talk about what’s happening onstage without the person sitting next to you shushing you. It’s like having a party with characters and actors all in the same room.

I haven’t been in a book club or in the classroom for years. What will we do?

This is the class you’ve always dreamed of. No droning professor. Interesting people and scintillating conversation. A chance to talk about Asian American plays and culture.

I won’t have time to read the play. Can I still come?

Please come anyway! I will not call on you. 

ABOUT DR. JOSEPHINE LEE

JO (she/her) is a professor of English and Asian American studies at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities as well as the editor in chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Asian American Literature and Culture. Her books include Oriental, Black, and White: The Formation of Racial Habits in American Theater, and she has co-edited Asian American Plays for a New Generation as well as edited the upcoming book Milestones in Asian American Theatre.