Black Alaskan History Matters – Lecture with M.C. MoHagani Magnetek

Lewis ChapmanFeatured, Live Stream

March 12
Live-streamed at 7:00 p.m. AKDT

Black Alaskan History Matters (BAHM!) Lecture, Storytelling, and Poetry

With M.C. MoHagani Magnetek

Who was ACTUALLY the first person to travel to the North Pole? Did you know that one of the largest landowners in the state of Alaska in the 1950s was an African American woman sex worker? Have you heard the story of the countless Black men who worked on the Alcan?

Join us for a live-streamed evening of Alaskan history that you likely were never taught in school and may never have heard at all. Writer, poet, activist, and one of the leaders and curators of the Black Alaskan Art Matters exhibit, M.C. MoHagani Magnetek, will be sharing her vast knowledge of Black Alaskan events and individuals. This history may surprise you. MoHagani will share this information with her unique flare for the art of storytelling.

Black history is Alaskan history. Every month is Black History Month. And Black Alaskan history matters.

Live-streaming Friday, March 12 at 7 p.m. to our Facebook and YouTube. There will also be a link on our website. This event is FREE and open to the public. Donations are always welcome and appreciated at ptalaska.org/donate-now.

In Love And Warcraft Announcement

joshuaCurrent Projects, Featured, News

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Perseverance Theatre Artistic Director, Leslie Ishii, and Associate Conservatory Director at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), Peter J. Kuo, announced on Wednesday, July 29, via live-stream that the first show of the Fall 2020 Season will be In Love and Warcraft by Madhuri Shekar. The show will be a co-production shared by the two theatres and will be live-streamed via Zoom. This is a limited engagement running September 4–12. Tickets will be available starting on August 14 at ptalaska.org.

Peter J. Kuo will be directing the production. He has been teaching Live Video Theatre workshops with Perseverance since early June. Of the collaboration Peter says, “I’m honored and thrilled to be bringing this production of Madhuri Shekar’s In Love and Warcraft to Perseverance Theatre. It truly embraces this form I’ve been calling Live Video Theatre which takes the adrenaline of a live performance, the imagination of theatre, and merges it with the accessibility of streaming it from home.”

Live Video Theatre is a new performance medium that has emerged in the wake of COVID-19, a pandemic which makes large gatherings in spaces like theatres unsafe. In this new medium, the audience can watch live productions from the comfort and safety of their homes. The actors are socially distanced as well, often not even performing in the same state or region. Through design, lighting, and camera angles, the actors appear to be interacting with each other in the same space.

“Alaska has a long history of innovation in the face of obstacles. In these challenging times, I am excited at the prospect of being able to continue that history as we explore a new way of engaging with our communities,” says Frank Delaney, Managing Director of Perseverance Theatre. Since COVID-19 hit earlier this year, Perseverance has stayed active despite having to close their final show of the 2019/20 season, Fun Home, just before it opened. The theatre was able to record several scenes from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and subsequently released a series of behind-the-scenes videos. Perseverance has also been working with The City and Borough of Juneau, as well as Bartlett Regional Hospital to produce several health and safety PSAs in response to this global health crisis. Now they are looking forward to persevering and creating an unprecedented season.

“I am so thrilled to be working with Peter J. Kuo, a true innovator in our theatre field. Peter is providing us the opportunity to reimagine our relationship to storytelling. Stories performed live and witnessed together help us to process life. Providing the opportunity to continue to connect to live storytelling is so needed during this pandemic.” says Perseverance Artistic Director, Leslie Ishii. As an alumnus of the American Conservatory Theatre, Ishii adds, “This co-production is wholly inspiring, and I am excited to bravely venture into this new realm together. I invite our audiences to join us on this virtual journey!”

In Love and Warcraft tells the story of College senior Evie Malone, who prefers the online role-playing game World of Warcraft to real life. In the game, she’s a fearless warrior with a boyfriend. In real life, she ghostwrites love letters for people, even though she’s never been in love. When Evie becomes attracted to her client Raul, she must decide whether to let her powerful and sexy warrior character out in the real world. Playwright Madhuri Shekar (House of Joy, HBO’s upcoming The Nevers) conjures a cosplay-loving romantic comedy about intimacy and love in the digital age. Because so much of the play takes place in a virtual forum – an online video game, the format lends itself perfectly to a streamed production.

Perseverance Theatre will be announcing the rest of their Fall 2020 Season in August.
 
“Our exciting collaboration with Peter J. Kuo is supporting Perseverance Theatre to offer inspired and safely created offerings during these challenging times,” says Ishii.

Live Video Theatre Workshop with Peter J. Kuo 5.0

Lewis ChapmanEducation

July 27, 29, & 31 4p.m. -6p.m. AKST
It’s live. It’s theatre. It’s video.
Develop new skills to thrive in our new normal.

REGISTER NOW

The first four rounds of Peter J. Kuo’s Live Video Theatre Workshop SOLD OUT, so Perseverance is offering a fifth round of this immersive class designed to help you thrive in our new world of Zoom, streamed performances, and digital content. Sign up soon, before this round sells out too! This is the last time we will be offering this class for a while, as we will shortly be offering a follow-up workshop led by Peter J. Kuo. This techniques and aesthetics workshop will be a deeper dive into the methods that can help you to craft beautiful and compelling streaming content, and will build on the skills developed in the fundamentals workshop.

Peter J. Kuo is already producing rich, compelling material that is both theatre and video. We may not be able to gather in large groups for the near future, but we can continue telling stories and producing theatre in a whole new format. Learn the tricks to make this new art form captivating, and continue to engage your audiences.

Peter J. Kuo is a bi-coastal LA native, currently serving as the Associate Conservatory Director at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), where he serves as the Chair of the Staff EDI Committee. He recently earned his MFA in Directing at The New School for Drama in New York City. He is a theatre director, producer, writer, and educator focusing on raising the visibility of marginalized communities. He was recently named one of TCG’s Rising Leaders of Color in the Round 3 cohort. He is a co-founder of Artists at Play, an Asian American theatre collective that produces Los Angeles premieres of works for Asian Americans.

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn from the best!
Only 13 spots available for purchase. Registration is $200.

REGISTER

TWO FREE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE! Submit an application here.

Live Video Theatre Workshop with Peter J. Kuo 4.0

Lewis ChapmanEducation

July 13, 15, & 17 4p.m. -6p.m. AKST
It’s live. It’s theatre. It’s video.
Develop new skills to thrive in our new normal.

REGISTER NOW

The first three rounds of Peter J. Kuo’s Live Video Theatre Workshop SOLD OUT, so Perseverance is offering a fourth round of this immersive class designed to help you thrive in our new world of Zoom, streamed performances, and digital content. Sign up soon, before this round sells out too!
Peter J. Kuo is already producing rich, compelling material that is both theatre and video. We may not be able to gather in large groups for the near future, but we can continue telling stories and producing theatre in a whole new format. Learn the tricks to make this new art form captivating, and continue to engage your audiences.

Peter J. Kuo is a bi-coastal LA native, currently serving as the Associate Conservatory Director at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), where he serves as the Chair of the Staff EDI Committee. He recently earned his MFA in Directing at The New School for Drama in New York City. He is a theatre director, producer, writer, and educator focusing on raising the visibility of marginalized communities. He was recently named one of TCG’s Rising Leaders of Color in the Round 3 cohort. He is a co-founder of Artists at Play, an Asian American theatre collective that produces Los Angeles premieres of works for Asian Americans.

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn from the best!
Only 13 spots available for purchase. Registration is $200. 

REGISTER

TWO FREE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE! Submit an application here.

Live Video Theatre Workshop with Peter J. Kuo 3.0

Lewis ChapmanEducation

July 6, 8, & 10 4p.m. -6p.m. AKST
It’s live. It’s theatre. It’s video.
Develop new skills to thrive in our new normal.

Join Peter J. Kuo for a third round of his live video theatre workshop!

Mark your calendars and be sure to register for this workshop designed to help you thrive in our new world of Zoom, streamed performances, and digital content! Peter J. Kuo is already producing rich, compelling material that is both theatre and video. We may not be able to gather in large groups for the near future, but we can continue telling stories and producing theatre in a whole new format. Learn the tricks to make this new art form captivating, and continue to engage your audiences.

Peter J. Kuo is a bi-coastal LA native, currently serving as the Associate Conservatory Director at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), where he serves as the Chair of the Staff EDI Committee. He recently earned his MFA in Directing at The New School for Drama in New York City. He is a theatre director, producer, writer, and educator focusing on raising the visibility of marginalized communities. He was recently named one of TCG’s Rising Leaders of Color in the Round 3 cohort. He is a co-founder of Artists at Play, an Asian American theatre collective that produces Los Angeles premieres of works for Asian Americans.

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn from the best!
Only 13 spots available for purchase. Registration is $200. 

REGISTER

TWO FREE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE! Submit an application here.