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East West Players records
PASC.0115  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
  • Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
  • Preferred Citation
  • Provenance/Source of Acquisition
  • Processing Information
  • UCLA Catalog Record ID
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content
  • Organization and Arrangement

  • Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
    Title: East West Players, Inc. records
    Creator: East West Players (Los Angeles, Calif.)
    Identifier/Call Number: PASC.0115
    Physical Description: 60.9 Linear Feet (113 boxes and 11 flat boxes)
    Date (inclusive): 1965-1992
    Abstract: As the first Asian American theater founded in 1965, East West Players and its history provide valuable account of Asian Pacific American experience. The collection spans 1965 to 1992 and includes administrative files, financial records, and production related files consisting of scripts, photographic material, programs, publicity, sound recordings and videos.
    Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
    Language of Material: Materials are in English.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

    Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

    CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains both processed and unprocessed audiovisual materials. Audiovisual materials are not currently available for access, unless otherwise noted in a Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note at the series and file levels. All requests to access processed digital materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

    Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

    Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], East West Players, Inc. records (Collection Number PASC 115). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

    Provenance/Source of Acquisition

    Gift of East West Players, 1992.

    Processing Information

    Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

    UCLA Catalog Record ID

    UCLA Catalog Record ID: 4232969 

    Biography

    The East West Players theater company (EWP), located in Los Angeles, CA, was founded in 1965. EWP provides Asian Pacific actors, writers, directors, and producers a forum for presenting their unique works from an Asian-Pacific-American perspective, with productions ranging from traditional Asian theater forms to the Asian American experience to mainstream drama and musical theater. The founders of EWP include artistic directors Mako, Rae Creevey, James Hong, June K. Lu, Guy Lee, Pat Li, Yet Lock, Soon-Tek Oh, and Beulah Quo. EWP's second artistic director, Nobu McCarthy, who served from 1989 to 1993, encourged the participation and inclusion of non-Asian actors in the theater group. The third and current artistic director, Tim Dang, started his appointment in 1993.
    As the first Asian American theater company in the United States, the foundation of EWP was a response to the lack of roles, especially authentic ones, for Asian American actors. Its original purpose statement indicated that "The East West Players departed somewhat from all the traditional Hollywood formulas, for the company shaped new and compelling images of its own and addressed a variety of problems connected with the Asian/Pacific American community and the art of theater."
    Rashomon, the first production of EWP premiered on April 3, 1965 at the University of Southern California. During it's early years, the company staged Asian and European classics, and rehearsed and held workshops at Bethany Presbyterian Church while searching for potential Asian American playwrights. In 1972, EWP moved to 4424 Santa Monica Boulevard, where it began its children's theatre tours and provided a base to stage original works by artistic talents such as Wakako Yamauchi, Momoko Iko, Dom Magwili, Jon Shirota, and Perry Miyake Jr.
    EWP expanded its outreach to immigrant communities with bilingual tours and musical theatre following the success of the production Pacific Overtures. EWP relocated in 1998 to the former site of Union Church in the Los Angeles neighborhood known as Little Tokyo where it still resides.

    Scope and Content

    The collection consists of production material, administrative files, and business and financial records, related to the East West Players theater company (EWP). The production material includes scripts, photographs, reviews, publicity material, sound recordings, videos, and a small amount of correspondence, financial records, and box office reports pertaining to EWP productions. The administrative records contains administrative files, board of director minutes, and newsletters. The business and financial records include files documenting grant applications with multiple foundations and/or organizations as well as general information about season budgets, donations, insurance, and ledgers.

    Organization and Arrangement

    Arranged in the following series:
    • Series 1. Administrative Records
    • Series 2. Business and Financial Records
    • Series 3. Correspondence and Research Materials
    • Series 4. Publicity, Development and Special Events
    • Series 5. Productions
    • Series 6. Tours
    • Series 7. (Summer) Workshops
    • Series 8. Script Submissions
    • Series 9. Photographs, Slides, Video Tapes

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Theatrical companies -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives.
    Theatrical producers and directors -- Archives.
    Audiotapes.
    Photographs.
    Business records.
    Videotapes.
    East West Players (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Archives