PHILIP KAN GOTANDA

BIO - March, 2004

PHILIP KAN GOTANDA

Over the last two and a half decades, playwright Philip Kan Gotanda has been a major influence in the broadening of our definition of theater in America. In particular, Mr. Gotanda has been a leader in bringing the stories of Asian Americans to the nation's stages.

Mr. Gotanda has made it a point to collaborate with the most diverse spectrum of American theaters. From large mainstream venues to experimental black boxes to Asian American-African American ethnically specific theaters, Mr. Gotanda has consciously worked to bring his works' themes to the widest range of audiences. Theaters Mr. Gotanda has worked with include: Asian American Theater Co., American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Campo Santo+Intersection, East West Players, Manhattan Theatre Club, Mark Taper Forum, Missouri Rep, New York Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Horizons, Robey Theater, San Jose Rep, Seattle Rep, South Coast Rep among others.

Mr. Gotanda's works are also presented internationally. His play BALLAD OF YACHIYO was produced at London's Gate Theatre in co-production with the Royal National Theatre. A Japanese language version of his play, SISTERS MATSUMOTO, is scheduled to open in Tokyo later this year with the Mingei Theatre. The play will be directed by Mr. Seisuke Takahashi, translation by Mr. Toyoshi Yoshihara.

Mr. Gotanda is presently working with the American Conservatory Theatre on a new play, AFTER THE WAR, about the post-war period in San Francisco's Japantown when Japanese Americans shared the neighborhood with a vibrant African American jazz scene. Mr. Gotanda is also developing a work with Campo Santo+Intersection, A FIST OF ROSES, exploring male violence. UNDER THE RAINBOW will receive its world premiere early next year at the San Francisco-based Asian American Theater Company. A new collection of his plays, NO MORE CHERRY BLOSSOMS, is being published by the University of Washington Press. Among his honors and awards are included: the Guggenheim, TCG-NEA, Rockefeller, PEW Charitable Trust, Civil Liberties Public Education Fund, and the Lila Wallace Readers Digest Award.

Mr. Gotanda is also a respected independent filmmaker, his works seen in film festivals around the world. His three films: THE KISS, DRINKING TEA and LIFE TASTES GOOD, have all been screened at the Sundance Film Festival. LIFE TASTES GOOD, which Mr. Gotanda wrote, directed and co-executive produced with his business partner, attorney Dale Minami, will soon be seen on the Independent Film Channel.

In addition to working in theater and film, Mr. Gotanda is collaborating with Maestro Kent Nagano of the Berkeley Symphony & Berlin Philharmonic and composers Jean-Pascal Beintus, David Benoit and Naomi Sekiya on an orchestral work with spoken text, MANZANAR: AN AMERICAN STORY, about the Japanese American Internment during World War II.

In his career Mr. Gotanda has embodied the heart and spirit of an artist dedicated to the telling of his own particular world's stories, in his own particular way. In the process, he has created one of the largest and most varied bodies of work about Asians living in America. Mr. Gotanda has shown to us that an unwavering commitment to one's own unique voice only allows for the vision to deepen and its impact on the world to broaden.

Mr. Gotanda continues his personal project of mentoring younger artists. He holds a law degree from Hastings College of Law, studied pottery in Japan with the late Hiroshi Seto and resides in San Francisco with his actress-producer wife, Diane Takei, and their dog Mochi. He is presently building a pottery studio in the Berkeley Hills.