One day
you will be gone.
The winds will carry the scent of jacaranda blossoms
from far, far away.
Those who knew you,
your smile, your sorrows,
will grieve for a time.
A few will remember those dreams
you brought into their hearts,
and walk to the cliffs in April,
look out upon the brimming ocean
with a vague sense of having lost
something
they dare not speak aloud.
You cannot be privy to these scenes.
You will possess no recollections,
sitting on the porch in summer's blaze,
walking the dogs on the dusty hills.
The disruptions of your time
began long ago,
your wake rippling outward,
far beyond the orbits of the Oort Cloud,
crossing the heliopause
without a backward glance.
Be no longer concerned with our lives.
We'll be close behind you,
marveling at the stars you've already lit,
Repost from @lachinesefilmfestival - Come see this event with our friends at @pasadenaplayhouse! Pasadena Playhouse, in association with @eastwestplayers , presents The Great Leap, NOV 6-DEC 1 at the Pasadena Playhouse. When an American basketball team travels to Beijing for an exhibition game, the coaches find themselves in a conflict that runs deeper than the strain between the countries, and a young player’s actions abroad become the accidental focus of attention. Building tension right up to the buzzer, this sharp-witted new drama directed by Tony Award winner BD Wong is about much more than making the shot, as two men with a past and one teen with a future struggle for their own personal victories. Use promo code FREETHROW for 20% off tickets in select sections (Nov 6-17 only, expires Nov 15). Link: http://bit.ly/SP_TGL #thegreatleap https://www.instagram.com/p/B72ezJ7B24V/?igshid=ozv35s3lize8
On the red carpet at the grand opening premiere live theatrical production of #thegreatleap @thepasadenaplayhouse w/my friend @gtongi. #filamarts #filamartsla #asianarts #livetheatre #joeygalon #joeygalonatelier #fashiondesigner #designer #artist #asianartist #asiancoalition (at Pasadena Playhouse) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4uCcmInI2-/?igshid=xzxkw5t40dvu
saw #TheGreatLeap by Lauren Yee at Steppenwolf last night. going in i already knew that the story would affect me -- the fight for dreams, for identity, conflicting against that history of trauma and cultural values are all things that live at the core of my bones. i definitely didnt expect to be, uh, (quietly) sobbing in my seats (and the bathroom) by the end go see it and absorb some history into your bones @steppenwolfthtr #livetheatre #representation #plays #chicagoplays #chicagotheatre #ChicagoActors https://www.instagram.com/p/B2uo-dlHIVB/?igshid=n3851zh8f84i
“What 40 years in the dark has done to the country...” As an Iranian that sentence really hit home for me! Got the chance to catch #TheGreatLeap @theartsclub last night, and let me tell you, it was one of the most amazing productions ever! The writing, sound, lighting, and of course the acting was all so spot on! If you’re in Vancouver, make sure to give it a go! (at BMO Theatre Centre) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxQbqhYhSx0c2P0hRyJBVTddov_dt_bvj2kO2c0/?igshid=pvbtr2scb29i
I’ve seen three plays in the last week. #photograph51 @southcoastrep #judaskiss @bostoncourtpasadena (with one of my faves @kurtsplaidshirt) and this afternoon #thegreatleap @actsanfrancisco (with @wongbd + @timmycliu). It’s been awesome supporting theatre 🎭. Taking the advice from @kollaboration #empower2019 and supporting other forms of arts and performance. Excited to finally see THE GREAT LEAP and catch a bit of the #audienceexchange. Always nice to see other stories projects that explore US-China relations, inspired by our fathers @mslaurenyee. (at American Conservatory Theater) https://www.instagram.com/p/BviN-UoAwuj/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=htisv9dxrqs4
Anytime sports and theatre are combined in a compelling fashion, I’m game! Lauren Yee’s exciting new play, The Great Leap, is well at home in San Francisco. Taking place between 1971 and 1989, The Great Leap tackles what it’s like for an American college basketball team to take on a Chinese university basketball team. Not just a sports play, the dialogue allows for discovery to give way in providing social commentary on governments, nationalism, pride, and saving face. The four-person ensemble portrays the characters involved with this infamous University of San Francisco vs. Beijing University drama, giving nuance, comedy, and dramatic flair to Ms. Yee’s poignant script. With Lisa Peterson at the helm, her excellent direction is highlighted by her ability to showcase the dramatic tension which comes with racial tension and athletic competition. The Great Leap is, bar none, a slam dunk of a production!
(Tim Liu (Manford); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)
Tim Liu delivers an energetically sound performance as Manford, the star basketball player at the center of the play. Mr. Liu exudes youthful determination and likable cockiness as the all-star high school basketball player at San Francisco’s Galileo High School. Manford’s stakes are at a peak as he is graduating soon and wants the opportunity to make it straight to the pros at any cost, even if it means skipping his prep classes to travel with the USF team to Beijing for the internationally-televised game. The hype of this match-up is motivation enough for Manford to pull all out all the stops, including taking on the USF coach, Saul, outside the front door of his apartment. Playing the bombastic Saul is Arye Gross, who delivers an exceptional performance between his 1971 buffoonery and foul language-laden coach and 1989 defeated divorcee who is circling the drain on his career as a collegiate coach. The scene Mr. Gross and Mr. Liu share outside the apartment is incredibly vulnerable, granting the audience access to Saul’s more genial, ghost-in-the-closet side.
(Arye Gross (Saul) and Tim Liu (Manford); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)
BD Wong is strong in monologue and scene as Wen Chang, the Beijing University coach. Mr. Wong plays the polite Chinese coach with all the comedic enthusiasm the role calls for, while also maintaining a depth that privies the audience to the skeletons in Wen’s closet. With one big reveal that this reviewer shall not ruin, Mr. Wong sets up the pay off with a gravitas that is beyond crafting, but purely instinctual with perfect cadence. Ruibo Qian delivers a wonderfully charming performance as Manford’s “adoptive” cousin, Connie. Though not blood-related, Connie and her family take responsibility for Manford, mistakes and all. Ms. Qian has the privilege of donning Meg Neville’s most 80’s-tastic costumes which, though comedic by today’s fashion context, are perfectly retro for 1989.
(BD Wong (Wen Chang); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)
Ms. Yee infuses the textual slow burn in how her plot points develop, a task which Ms. Peterson’s staging is well-equipped to handle, both in the athletic and dramatic entities. Danyon Davis’s movement coaching is polished and incredibly executed, as the foursome engages in a basketball drill-style dance around Mr. Liu’s Manford when the game of focus is in play. Yi Zhao’s lighting design has the right flare and dynamic variance to propel the more intimate moments forward while giving a pounding excitement to the more fast-paced scenes.
(L, going Clockwise: BD Wong (Wen Chang), Arye Gross (Saul); Ruibo Qian (Connie), Tim Liu (Manford); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)
You have until March 31st to capture a ticket to this gem of Bay Area theatre. Local playwright, local actor, and local professional theatre have come together to entertain and inform in a way that is relatable to audiences of all tastes and interests. Leap over to A.C.T.’s Geary Theatre and catch The Great Leap before the shot clock runs out!
Details:
The Great Leap runs through March 31st
Geary Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco
This week's highlighted season comes from a hallmark company in the Bay Area. They have, season after season, demonstrated what professional quality theatre is. They have taken on classics, new works, plays, musicals, etc. in hopes of entertaining and challenging ideas and habits. Also, this upcoming season brings forth a new artistic director and a new executive director, two fierce females in the theatre industry who know how to continue the legacy American Conservatory Theatre has established. Here is the exciting, adventurous 2018/2019 season!
Shows/Dates: Sweat (September 26th - October 21st); Men on Boats (October 17th - December 16th); Seascape (January 23rd, 2019 - February 17th, 2019); Her Portmanteau (February 13th - April 14th); The Great Leap (March 6th - 31st); Vanity Fair (April 17th - May 12th); TBA
Venues/Addresses: The Geary Theater @ 415 Geary Street, San Francisco 94102
The Strand Theater @ 1127 Market Street, San Francisco 94102
Website: www.act-sf.org
Facebook: "Like" them at- American Conservatory Theatre
Twitter: "Follow" them at- @ACTSanFrancisco
Description: To say I am a fan of ACT's work is an understatement. I have been enthralled with their caliber of theatre ever since I saw my first show there, which was Tales of the City. Since then I have enjoyed their productions of Race, The Scottsboro Boys, A Christmas Carol, Indian Ink, A Little Night Music, The Unfortunates, The Realistic Joneses, The Lion, The Last Five Years, King Charles III, The Hard Problem, A Thousand Splendid Suns, John, A Night With Janis Joplin, and most recently, Vietgone, among others. With Pam McKinnon now at the artistic helm, I can expect only the best of things to continue with ACT's upcoming, and future season. See you at the show!
