Asian-Pacific-American identities: An historical perspective through the theatre productions of the East West Players, 1965 to 2000

My purpose is to investigate how various aspects of Asian Pacific American identities have been expressed over time through Asian Pacific American theatre productions. While the diversity of individual and group identities is acknowledged, attention is particularly directed toward community identity with the goal of contributing to the clarification of who the Asian Pacific American people are. This is an historical study of Asian Pacific American identities through the mainstage seasonal theatre productions of the East West Players of Los Angeles from 1965 to 2000, an Asian Pacific American theatre company which has actively continued to the present time.; The method used is the analysis of mainstage production scripts, not as literary or theatrical critique, but for the sole purpose of investigating how particular aspects of Asian Pacific American identities have been expressed in the Asian Pacific American theatre over time, with the hope that the study provides important insights into how Asian Pacific Americans have forged a sense of self and community. Secondary sources are used to provide a context of identity theory and Asian Pacific American history needed for this work. Primary source material regarding the East West Players, housed at the University of California at Los Angeles Arts Special Collections Library for the years from 1965 to 1990, include scripts, audiotapes, and videotapes which are the bases for this discussion. For the years 1991 to 2000, scripts of productions held by the East West Players inform the study. Interviews of past and present theatre company directors of the East West Players, as well as interviews of playwrights of Asian Pacific American scripts enlighten the study.; The findings of the dissertation focus on several common characteristics within the Asian Pacific American community that establishes a collective identity despite an acknowledged diversity. The sites for these commonalities are found in Contexts, Origins, Adaptations, Obstacles, and Interactions. The relationship of Asian Pacific American identity to agency and activism in a global community are also addressed.