University of Wisconsin La Crosse theater arts chair Joe Anderson is frank when he says that the demographics of the university are very White. But, he says, that’s part of the reason the students were so eager to learn from Theater Mu during the university’s annual arts festival, Creative Imperatives.

“They’re hungry for healing and understanding, and they’re ripe for this kind of conversation,” Anderson says, reflecting on the workshop and performance Mu held around identity and theater. “I think we’ll be having conversations for a while about this. I think that’s the best possible outcome, for roughly an hour and a half, a two-hour presentation—to be able to have talking points afterwards.” 

Anderson had known about Theater Mu tangentially, and the timing finally worked out to ask Mu to be one of the festival’s featured guests. 

"I thought of Theater Mu for our theme of 'Adaptation, Transformation, Resilience, and Impact' because after looking at your work, it was clear that like all theaters—particularly in the past two years—you've had to adapt to conditions beyond your control, your work is clearly transformative to those who see it and work with your artists, [and] the fact that you'll be celebrating 30 years is a testament to your resilience," Anderson says. "And you may never know but rest assured that your work, message and compassion ripple out in terms of their profound impact."

FROM BODY TO STAGE

In the first workshop, “Actor, Audience, Agency: An Interactive Workshop,” Programs Manager Morgen Chang and Mu artists Clay Man Soo (The Korean Drama Addict’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity) and Hope Nordquist (Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s…) worked with La Crosse students to explore how actors bring their full lives into physical theater. One of the topics they delved into was the idea of “actor neutral,” a stance and mindset that some actors use to become a blank slate from which to develop a scene or character. However, as Mu discussed with the workshop participants, does “actor neutral” really exist? And who gets to achieve it?

For instance, Nordquist doesn’t believe in it. “What is that? It’s this idea of White, cis, heteronormative bodies and people, and so for those of us who are not those things, it becomes really complicated. … I’m not a chameleon, because I have this face and this body, and I don’t keep my mouth shut, and so it’s a lot harder for people to be, like, ‘Oh, she can do anything.’”

Chang, who devised the workshop, didn’t let the students get too into their heads, though. Between the discussions, she and the artists led the group through exercises such as Image Theatre that encouraged them to work with each other and explore their own perceptions in new ways. The point was, Nordquist says, “to get on our feet and not sit in it. [The philosophies of acting] can get brain heavy, but what I think is helpful is bringing the body into the space and using it as a tool.”

REPRESENTATION IS JUST THE BEGINNING

The second workshop, “The Importance of ‘Seeing Ourselves’: Performances and Reflections from Theater Mu,” had Development Director Wesley Mouri giving an overview of Asian American representation in the performing arts, filling in the gaps between the racism of films like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the blockbuster breakthroughs of Crazy Rich Asians. Then he, Man Soo, and Nordquist reflected on their journeys, ending with individual theatrical performances.

Man Soo had chosen a monologue from Leah Nanako Winkler’s Two Mile Hollow, the first play he saw by Theater Mu and, inadvertently, the play that led him to further embrace his Korean heritage. 

Seeing Mu’s all Asian American cast made Man Soo want to honor himself better by changing his name to reflect his Korean birth certificate as opposed to his adopted name. When he told one of his professors the idea, though, the professor said that this would cause him to only get Asian roles. And that was that for a while.

But then, as he was going into a callback for Theater Mu’s The Korean Drama Addict’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity—Man Soo’s first chance to work with Mu—he was hit by not only resolve but contentment. 

“Right when I walked into Theater Mu, a voice inside my head filled my whole body and said, ‘You are enough. You are enough.’ And in that moment, I just had this flashback of my childhood, growing up in my adolescence and into college, always trying to please someone outside of myself—usually a White person,” Man Soo says. “I went to the call back, I got the role, and that role changed my life—it changed my molecules. I literally can walk into any room, any space, any audition, and feel I am enough in my Asian American body and in my identity.”

For the students, Anderson says the takeaway from the workshop was two-fold: They got to see four working artists and learn more about their career path, and they got to see just how powerful and important theater could be.

Overall, Anderson adds, “I felt this overwhelming sense of kindness and encouragement, and not… no shame, no guilt.” He continues, “I thought that was a really nice gentle message that Mu made [in its workshops]: ‘It’s not our responsibility to teach you how to respond to Asian Americans, but by telling you about our experience, and maybe by knowing that experience and what we face everyday, that you have some understanding.’”

For more information about Theater Mu’s outreach workshops, trainings, and panels, check out our Corporate Workshops page.