JANUARY 27th - MARCH 10th

DAVID HENRY HWANG THEATER 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Justin Lin, Director of Fast and the Furious and Star Trek Beyond, held auditions and saw everybody. The Asian American actors did not do well. He took them aside and urged them to do better. One of them said, “I’ve only ever gone out for one or two lines. That is all Asian Americans get called in for.” Those times have changed. Hulu recently launched Charlie Yu’s Interior Chinatown, starring Jimmy Yang, Ronny Chieng, and Chloe Bennet. Everything Everywhere All At Once won an Oscar for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor in 2023. Before that, in 2022, the Asian American movie Minari, Yuh-Jung Youn won best supporting actress. Other titles such as Beef, Quantum Leap, and Killing Eve have caught the public's attention. The entertainment industry is looking for Asian American actors who are prepared. As the longest-running theatre of color in the nation, East West Players continues its mission to produce artistic work and educational programs that advocate inclusion and equitable representation. 

This course serves actors interested in enhancing their skills and is also perfect for those who have always wondered what it would be like to be an actor and those seeking personal discovery. It is a survey of acting fundamentals and will include theatre games, improvisational exercises, and original scene work. As the educational arm of the first and foremost Asian American theatre company in the nation, this course maintains a safe, respectful, and proactive environment to explore the state of Asian American acting today.

Level: Beginner and other levels welcome.

Scholarships are limited and based on availability. For more information, please email classes@eastwestplayers.org  

TESTIMONIALS

"....it's been a couple years that I've formally been in an acting class and I was blown away by how much I learned and how fun the class was."

"Even though the class was made up of students from different experiences with acting, I felt that each of us were given valuable individual attention and that all of us were able to gain a lot from class."

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Dom has been teaching for the East West Players since 1976. He was in such movies as FIFTY FIRST DATES. He was celebrated as the King in THE KING AND I at the PCPA Theatre Festival in Santa Maria. Dom received critical acclaim for his work in the East West Players Production of PROOF, as well as the Lodestone Theatre’s production of AMERICAN MONSTERS 2, and the Center Theatre Group’s production of DOGEATERS. He has guest starred on such TV shows as ER, JAG, KING OF QUEENS, and BECKER. His feature film MUCH ADOBO ABOUT NOTHING was nominated for best independent film by A Magazine in 2000. He has also produced and directed movies for Cine Excel Productions. He has been teaching for Cal State Fullerton since 2011. In 2024, Dom, along with his wife, Sachiko, and composer, Dan Taguchi, presented a concert reading of their holiday musical, One Puka Puka Christmas.