"Real life... it always demands an original response."
From Velina Hasu Houston's The Peculiar and Sudden Nearness of the Moon
CREATIVE CONTENT
Tea (the play)
Tea, With Music (musical)
Tea (the opera), Commissioned by Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre, Libretto by Houston, Music by Carla Lucero.
Kokoro (True Heart)
Asa Ga Kimashita (Morning Has Broken)
American Dreams
Calligraphy
The Peculiar and Sudden Nearness of the Moon
Hum the Bee
Setting the Table
Oh, I Remember the Black Birch
Flower Bird Wind Moon
Ikigai (Commissioned by HERO Theatre, Inc., 2023-Present)
The Everywhere of Her (musical theatre/opera, Book and Lyrics by Houston, Music by Carla Lucero; commissioned by The Ebell of Los Angeles) (Produced 2023, 2024)
An Elephant Never Forgets (musical theatre/opera, Book and Lyrics by Houston, Music by Brooke deRosa; commissioned by Los Angeles Opera)
We Can Do It(musical theatre/opera, Book and Lyrics by Houston, Music by Brooke deRosa; commissioned by The Ebell of Los Angeles, 2024-Present)
The Weight of Dreams (musical, Book and Lyrics by Houston, Music by T.J. Keanu Tario; Crossing Borders III, commissioned by The Crossing Borders Project, Canada)
Calling Aphrodite
Ikebana (Living Flowers)
The House of Chaos
Turbulence
A Spot of Bother
Bliss
Peace
Kensington
Kapi‘olani’s Faith
Little Women (A Multicultural Transposition)
The Hotel Play
Mother Road as part of The DNA Trail
Civilization
Where Shadow Chases Light (Crossing Borders I, with Alex McSweeney and his Fragments; commissioned by The Crossing Borders Project, Canada)
So Speaks the Land (Crossing Borders II; commissioned by The Crossing Borders Project, Canada)
Empress Lily
The Eyes of Bones
The Ideal and the Life
The Intuition of Iphigenia (musical opera)
Cymru Am Byth (Wales Forever)
The Matsuyama Mirror (Theatre for Young Audiences)
Hula Heart (Theatre for Young Audiences)
Dream (Theatre for Young Audiences)
It’s Crazy to Stay Chinese in Minnesota (An adaption of the novel It’s Crazy to Stay Chinese in Minnesota by Eleanor Wong Telemaque)
Cinnamon Girl (musical, book and lyrics by Houston, music by Nathan Wang)
Sally (musical, book and lyrics by Houston, music by Carla Lucero)
Another Perfect Day (opera, libretto by Houston, music by Double G/Geoff Gallegos)
Jonah and the Whale (opera, libretto by Houston, music by Jack Perla)
Thirst
Shedding the Tiger
Waiting for Tadashi
Tea, With Music (musical, book and lyrics by Houston, music by Nathan Wang)
Here Comes Santa Claus (musical, book and lyrics by Houston, music by Nathan Wang)
Vote
Epistles
Switchboard
Hero Theatre, "Tea," from L to R, top to bottom: Elaine Ackles, Olivia Cordell, Hiroko Imai, Tomoko Karina, Hua Lee, Yukari Black, Alix Yumi Cho, Ariel Kayoko Labasan, Sayaka Miyatani, Bolor Saruul. Producing Artistic Director: Elisa Bocanegra. The production was dedicated to Olympia Dukakis, mentor to both Elisa and Velina. Image by Hero Theatre.
The two casts of ten Asian and Asian American women in Hero Theatre's production of "Tea," 2022. The production was directed by Rebecca Wear. Photo by Jenny Graham, for the Los Angeles Times.
Two "Tea" Setsuko actresses: (L) Hiroko Imai, Hero Theatre's "Tea," 2022; (R) Takayo Fischer, Manhattan Theatre Club's "Tea," 1987, the first Setsuko on the professional stage (and she performed Setsuko in multiple other productions)
George Takei with the cast of "Tea," Hero Theatre production, 2022.
Hero Theatre, "Tea," 2022; the director, designers, and crew.
"Tea" at A Contemporary Theatre, 1995, Directed by Dr. Peggy Shannon, Cast: Marilyn Tokuda, Ako Dachs, Sherryl Ray, Diana Tanaka, & Cyndy Fujikawa. Photograph by Chris Bennion.
"Tea" at A Contemporary Theatre, 1995. Photograph by Chris Bennion.
"Ikebana," The Pasadena Playhouse, Directed by Shirley Jo Finney. 2000. June Angela and Lina Patel.
"Ikebana," The Pasadena Playhouse, Directed by Shirley Jo Finney. 2000. Francisco Viana, Dana Lee, & June Angela.
"The Matsuyama Mirror," Experimental Theatre, San Diego State University. 2016. Directed by Peter Cirino.
"The Matsuyama Mirror," Experimental Theatre, San Diego State University. 2016. Directed by Peter Cirino.
"The Matsuyama Mirror," Experimental Theatre, San Diego State University. 2016. Directed by Peter Cirino.
"Calligraphy." TheatreWorks. Directed by Leslie Martinson. 2017.
"Calligraphy," Playwrights' Arena/Latino Theatre Company. Directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera. 2010.
"Calligraphy," TheatreWorks. Directed by Leslie Martinson. 2017.
"Calligraphy," TheatreWorks. Directed by Leslie Martinson. 2017.
"Calligraphy," TheatreWorks. Directed by Leslie Martinson. 2017. Photos by Kevin Berne.
"Peace." Ryerson Theatre, Toronto; Ryerson School of Performance. Directed by Cynthia Ashperger.
"Peace," Toronto. Directed by Dr. Peggy Shannon. 2017.
"Calling Aphrodite." International City Theatre. Directed by Shashin Desai.
"Jonah and the Whale," Los Angeles Opera. Photo by Taso Papadakis.
"Jonah and the Whale," Los Angeles Opera, Libretto by Velina Hasu Houston, Composed by Jack Perla, Directed by Eli Villanueva, 2014, 2018.
"Jonah and the Whale," Los Angeles Opera, Libretto by Velina Hasu Houston, Composed by Jack Perla, Directed by Eli Villanueva, 2014, 2018. Photos by Taso Papadakis.
"Cinnamon Girl" in Beijing, China, 2014
"Little Women" - A Multicultural Transposition. Playwrights' Arena. Directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera.
"Kokoro (True Heart)." Scene Dock Theatre. Directed by Tamara Ruppart.
B O O K S
B L O G
Matchabook - www.matchabook.wordpress.com
F I L M & T E L E V I S I O N
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Produced by Eleven Arts, Inc., & True Heart Films in association with Minx Pictures. Directed by Tamara Ruppart. New York Winter Film Festival, Best Short; Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival, Directors' Choice. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQmiDBlgydg.
Created by: Ellis Weiner, David Yazbek, Rob Stork, Suzanne Singer, Cecily Truett. D/L 04-22-2019, https://www.amassociatesllc.com/project/the-puzzle-place/
