In Our Theater

Family Style Open Mic
 3rd Fridays of the month
Doors open at 6:45pm / Open mic starts at 7:30pm
Admission: $5-10 Sliding Scale
Hosted by spoken word duo Yellow Rage, our monthly open mic series invites the sharing of stories, song, dance, poetry among Asian Americans and extended “family” from all communities and cultures. In Spring 2012, we’re continuing to host a pre-show reception with food and drink generously donated by local restaurants. The pre-show reception is FREE for all open mic guests!

Want to take the stage? Sign up for a 5-minute open mic spot here!

Upcoming Open Mic Dates:

April 20, 2012 - Special Presenation by the students from Penn's Asian American Activism Course
The students will focus on the issue of undocumented minors/students and the DREAM Act movement (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors).
April Food Sponsor: Sampan
May 18, 2012 - Robert Farid Karimi 

Robert Karimi is an interdisciplinary playwright, multimedia humorist, activist, and poet and the artistic director of kaotic good productions. A San Francisco Bay Area native and son of Iranian and Guatemalan parents, Karimi’s work has been featured from Alaska to Australia. A National Poetry Slam Champion, and Def Poetry Jam performer, his works include self (the remix), The Cooking Show con Karimi y Comrades, Shaving time, and the Approximate Value of a Foot Bubbler.

May Food Sponsors: 12th Street Cantina and Famous 4th Street Cookies

GENERAL INQUIRIES

Have questions about performing, as either a feature performer or an open mic performer? Call (215) 557 0455 ext. 221 or send an e-mail to info@asianartsinitiative.org with the subject line "Family Style Open Mic."


Past Featured Performers

SPRING 2012

February 17, 2012 - Larry Hama

In conjunction with MARVELS & MONSTERS, we're kicking off the Spring Family Style season with a feature presentation from Larry Hama, a veteran comic book writer and artist as well as an actor and musician. Hama is best known for his work for Marvel Comics's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series. February Food Sponsor: Erawan Thai Cuisine - Chinatown
March 16, 2012 - Dakshina | Daniel Singh Dance Company
Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company is a leading DC-based company with trademark programming featuring Bharata Natyam (classical Indian dance), and Modern dance side-by-side. The company combines the arts with social justice issues both by incorporating the themes into our work and via partnerships with local community centers and schools. March Food Sponsor: Veggie Lovers of Chinatown


FALL 2011

SNRG

Between video rotation on MTV in Asia and guest appearances on MYX North America, SNRG performs in cities from DC to Toronto to Manila to LA and NY, just to name a few. They're taking their moxie on the road to share their message. SNRG is passion shared through music, graphic design, photography, film and fashion.

* * * * *
ED BOK LEE
ED BOK LEE was raised in South Korea, North Dakota and Minnesota. A former bartender, phys ed instructor, journalist, and translator, he studied in the U.S., South Korea, Kazakhstan, and Russia, earning an MFA from Brown University. Lee has shared his work in journals, anthologies, on public radio and MTV, and teaches part-time at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul. Lee’s first book, Real Karaoke People, was the winner of an Asian American Literary Award (Members’ Choice) and a PEN Open Book Award. Click to go to Ed Bok Lee's official website


HOME, FAR AND NEAR
Home, far and near (also known as the Artists Exchange festival of Asian American performance) will bring together an outstanding group of diverse and multi-disciplinary performing artists from around the country to together explore the theme of “home, far and near.” This year’s group features Krystal Banzon, Traci Kato-Kiriyama, Kennedy Kabasares, Soomi Kim, Katie Hae Leo, Gein Wong, and Philadelphia-based artists Anula Shetty and Makoto Hirano! Don't miss this action-packed and culminating night of the Artists Exchange where they will be presenting what they have learned and created from a weeklong series of ensemble workshops--this is bound to be spectacular! Click to learn more about Home, far and near

JASON MIN

Once the frontman of Philadelphia-based band Miss Vintage, Jason Min has stayed active in the Philadelphia music scene with the release of his debut self-titled EP in November 2010. Influenced by bands such as Radiohead, Sigur Ros, and Explosions in the Sky, Jason continues to mesmerize audiences with his unique sound driven by beautifully-layered guitar lines and melodic, ambient soundscapes. Jason's masterful blend of emotive, introspective lyrics and minimalist, but often epic instrumentals has garnered him enormous critical acclaim as he continues to play at many of the premier venues on the East Coast. Jason has already begun writing music for a full-length album he hopes to release in early 2012. Click to go to Jason Min's official website


SPRING 2011



Clockwise from bottom right: Michelle Myers, Jay Legaspi, iLL-Literacy,
and Saving Thomas

May's Open Mic featured Jay Legaspi, a singer-songwriter from the meanest streets of the suburbs of New Jersey. He wants to do his best to reflect the way he grew up musically - reflecting his love of music from artists ranging from John Mayer to Aesop Rock. He also strives to write music for people to grow up to, hoping that people can listen to his music at a certain time of their life and relate to what he writes. He honestly hopes that you can see the transitions of where he is in his life in his music so that people can ride with him and vice versa, wherever their lives take them.
 
April's Open Mic Featured iLL-Literacy, a group that fuses spoken word, hip-hop, funk, and experimental theater for a unique style. Incorporating sounds from a plethora of artistic influences, ...the iLL-Experience features inventive play with sound and light, while maintaining its wildly entertaining elements. It contains the narrative emotion of a theatrical production, with the intellectual stimulation of a spoken word reading, all with the pace and energy of an arena concert. www.illiteracy.com
            
March's Open Mic Featured Michelle Myers who launched her chap-book She Book,  Volume 1 at Family Style.  All proceeds from She Book, Volume 1 will be dedicated to supporting efforts to stop human trafficking, and an arts empowerment project that Michelle and her friend and fellow artists Kao Kue are planning with orphans who have survived the earthquake in Haiti.

February's Open Mic Featured Saving Thomas and focused on building awareness about immigration and deportation issues and the impact it has on the APIA community here in Philadelphia. Asian Arts Initiative and Yellow Rage stand in solidarity with the Cambodian community who are facing deportation. Saving Thomas is a band that has been birthed in the very heart, character, and charisma of Philadelphia and believe that real music from the soul is a language spoken by few but understood by many. They use hip-hop, jazz, indie rock, etc. as a way to share with their audience their experiences of sorrow, heartbreak, God, faith, love, identity, and other things that are all common to this generation.
 
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