OUR STORIES, OURSELVES Third Thursday · June 17, 2021
ABOUT Play on Words, San José’s literary performance series, returns to the San José Museum of Art for an evening of stories and poems by local writers, performed by actors in dramatic readings. Drawing on heritages from Mexico to Korea, Southeast Asia to 19th century Europe, fifteen authors reflect on community, immigration and identity. Nine local performers will bring the stories to life. Highlights include “Not a Gardener” by award-winning journalist Melissa Flores Anderson. The story follows Teresa, who is sure she didn’t inherit her grandfather’s green thumb until she moved into a new house and discovers a connection to her heritage through a new found affinity for gardening. In a powerful TED Talk, nine-year-old Kai Katayama explores his Korean and Japanese ancestry. Other featured works will include an excerpt from Chaney Kwak’s forthcoming memoir, The Passenger; a modern-day interpretation of Macbeth by Muse Lee; meditations on Robert Burns during the Chinese New Year by Lulu Shen; and a moving tribute to Sean Monterrosa, a Vallejo victim of police violence, by Colombian American writer Camilo Garzón. Additional original works by Tania Odesho, Selma Tufail, Lyra Halprin, Benjamin Duarte, Julian Parayno-Stoll, Sebastian Gomez Biggeri, Patty Somlo, April Halprin Wayland, and Keiko O’Leary will round out the evening. Pieces will be performed by Melinda Marks, Ivette Deltoro, Evelyn Huynh, Tania Odesho, Christina Shon, Jada Roper, Francheska Loy, Muse Lee, and Gaz Jemeel.
PROGRAM TABLE OF CONTENTS WELCOME MESSAGE ACT ONE
1. Seventy-some years ago Chaney Kwak, Writer Muse Lee, Actor 2. A Carpenter with a Hammer Camilo Garzon, Writer Ivette Deltoro, Actor 3. Recipe for Hamburgers, 1985 Keiko O’Leary, Writer Francheska Loy, Actor 4. Not a Gardener Melissa Flores Anderson, Writer Melinda Marks, Actor 5. The Jar Julian Parayno-Stoll, Writer Francheska Loy, Actor 6. Self-Portrait Selma Tufail, Writer Gaz Jemeel, Actor 7. Immigrant April Halprin Wayland, Writer Jada Roper, Actor
INTERMISSION
ACT TWO 1. Eggs Tania Odesho, Writer and Actor 2. How He Made it Across Patty Somlo, Writer Ivette Deltoro, Actor 3. Rescuing Esther Lyra Halprin, Writer Julia Halprin Jackson, Actor 4. To Immigrate, or not to Immigrate: That is the Question Benjamin Duarte, Writer Melinda Marks , Actor 5. Immigrant Dreams Marian Shon, Writer Muse Lee, Actor 6. Untitled Sebastian Gomez Biggeri, Writer Ivette Deltoro, Actor 7. To a Chinese Mouse Yunlu Shen, Writer Evelyn Huynh, Actor 8. Minutes Muse Lee, Writer Christina Shon, Actor 9. My Story of Being Uniquely American Kai Katayama, Writer and Actor
CLOSING
WRITERS April Halprin Wayland
Selma Tufail
Benjamin Duarte
Tania Odesho
Camilo Garzón Chaney Kwak Julian Parayno-Stoll Kai Katayama Keiko O’Leary Lulu Shen Lyra Halprin Melissa Flores Anderson Muse Lee Marian Shon Patty Somlo Sebastian Gomez Biggeri Sean Monterrosa
April Halprin Wayland April Halprin Wayland, named UCLA Extension Writer’s Program Outstanding Instructor of the Year, is the author of an award-winning YA novel in poems, children’s poetry, and picture books, which have been praised by The New York Times, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly. Her novel in poems for young teens, Girl Coming in for a Landing (Knopf) won the Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Best Poetry Book, Penn State’s Lee Bennett Hopkins Honor Award for Poetry, was Nominated by the American Library Association both as a Best Book for Young Adults, and as a Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. It was selected for the California Collections by California Readers, and is a Junior Library Guild selection. Her poetry has been published on the Poetry Foundation website and in over 50 anthologies for children, including over 50 poems in Cricket Magazine, which invited her to write a poem for their anniversary issue. She’s one of six children’s authors on the blog, TeachingAuthors.com, through which she connects to the vibrant universe of children’s poets in the Kidlitosphere, and Poetry Friday. For over ten years, she has written a poem a day. Find her on AprilWayland.com. Her tagline? 1/2 author, 1/2 poet, 1/2 not good at fractions.
Benjamin Duarte Benjamin Duarte was born in Mexico, immigrated to the U.S. as a child, and came to San Jose at age fifteen. A graduate of James Lick High and San Jose State, he worked as a criminal defense attorney for 30 years before retiring with his wife to the Arizona desert in 2004. An avid runner, Benjamin ran marathons until the age of 73, and stays active with gardening and construction projects on his acre of land.
Camilo Garzón Camilo Garzón is a Colombian American author that writes prose that aspires to be poetry and poetry that has the flow of prose. His writing explores those paths that delve deeper into what are dense levels of language, comparative literature, always infused with references, and with a focus on a primacy of meaning. Some of the topics that he is interested in often appear in his pieces, such as semiotics, philosophies, and religions. He is currently an associate poetry editor at Poets Reading the News. His poetry has been featured in Rollins College’s The Independent, read at LITEROCALYPSE, and has been published in two self-published works – “Entombed: A proem in five stages” and “Ontologies: Ten Proems.” More about Camilo can be found on his website: camilogarzon.me.
Photo by Ben Reyes.
Chaney Kwak Chaney Kwak’s work appears regularly in newspapers such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, as well as magazines such as Afar, Condé Nast Traveler, and Travel + Leisure. A recipient of scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Emerging Writer Award from the Key Wester Literary Seminar, Chaney teaches nonfiction writing with the Stanford Continuing Studies program and lives in San Francisco. His memoir, The Passenger, is forthcoming from Godine Press.
Julian Parayno-Stoll Julian Parayno-Stoll (he/him) lives in San José, California. He writes from his viewpoint as a queer Pilipinx American to express the complexities of identity and the lingering distortions of memory.
Kai Katayama Kai Katayama is 9 years old and lives in Northern Colorado with his mom, dad, and aunt. This year, he is attending third grade at a virtual academy and looking forward to playing with his friends in person someday. Kai enjoys playing MineCraft, Roblox, skateboarding, and creating science videos.
Keiko O’Leary Keiko O’Leary first tried non-teriyaki hamburgers in fourth grade. She writes short pieces, including poetry, fiction, and marketing copy.
LuLu Shen Lulu Shen is a Chinese Canadian structural engineer working in New York City. In her free time she likes to read and go on long bike adventures in beautiful places.
Lyra Halprin Lyra Halprin is a Northern California writer whose stories have aired on NPR, Capital Public Radio-Sacramento, and KQED-San Francisco, and appeared in newspapers, magazines and online venues. A former reporter, she worked for 20+ years as a public information person for the University of California sustainable agriculture programs. She is working on stories about growing up in an activist family in the 1950s and ‘60s and believes the secret to living in this crazy world is having a big humor gene, a loving family and a soft dog.
Melissa Flores Anderson Melissa Flores Anderson is a native Californian, an award-winning journalist, a former speechwriter and a current communications professional in Silicon Valley. She has had news articles and features published in the Gilroy Dispatch, the Hollister Free Lance, BenitoLink, and the California Health Report, and was the city editor of the Weekend Pinnacle for seven years. She has a bachelor’s in psychology and media studies from Pitzer College, and a master’s in print journalism from the University of Southern California. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming at The Ice Colony and Vois Stories.
Muse Lee Muse Lee (he/him) is the writer and co-executive producer of ARISTOS: the Musical, a pop/rock Iliad adaptation featuring an international cast and crew collaborating remotely during the pandemic. An artist and educator, he taught writing and performance behind bars as a member of the Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women/HIV Circle, and taught a novel writing course at a court school to youth involved in the juvenile justice system. At Los Angeles Opera, he founded and led the Opera 90012 Ambassador Program, a training program for teens interested in arts administration. In 2019, Muse graduated with a B.A. in English from Stanford University, where he served for three years as a teaching assistant in the Theatre and Performance Studies Department. He is currently writing the textbook Acting for Non-Majors with noted Stanford theatre lecturer Kay Kostopoulos.
Marian Shon Marian Shon is a supermom to a nine-year-old genius and entertainer extraordinaire. She currently lives in Northern Colorado with her family and works as a technology services manager for Colorado State University. Marian was inspired by the prompt and recent events to put her thoughts down on paper and write this piece. This is Marian’s first attempt at submitting a piece to be published.
Patty Somlo Patty Somlo was a journalist for ten years, before focusing on fiction and memoir. Her most recent book, Hairway to Heaven Stories, was published by Cherry Castle Publishing, a Black-owned press committed to literary activism. Hairway was a Finalist in the American Fiction Awards and Best Book Awards. Two of Somlo’s previous books, The First to Disappear (Spuyten Duyvil) and Even When Trapped Behind Clouds: A Memoir of Quiet Grace (WiDo Publishing), were Finalists in several book contests. She received Honorable Mention for Fiction in the Women’s National Book Association Contest, was a Finalist in the Parks and Points Essay Contest, and had an essay selected as Notable for Best American Essays.
Sebastian Gomez Biggeri Sebastian Gomez Biggeri is a Latino visual artist living and working in San José. He is currently exploring a series of vignettes comprised of short writings, drawings and digital art.
Selma Tufail Selma Tufail, an artist, has always navigated through the worlds of literature, art, and education. Life’s journeys have taken her around the world where she has taught, written, and created art—in Spain, Qatar, the U.A.E. the U.S, and Pakistan. Throughout, she has continued her pursuit of creativity in all its forms. She was awarded the Order of Civil Merit, the highest civilian award of Spain. She is the author and illustrator of Con Yanci: When Chickens Fly and Other Tales, a children’s storybook. Her writings on gender, art and mysticism have appeared in, The Dollhouse, Pakistan Daily Times, Article in Shards of Silence – An Anthology, The Arabia Review: TESOL Arabia, UAE among others. Selma is currently co-managing a blog, Tillism.com, with her sister Anniqua Rana. Tillism means magic, and this is where they both share their fascination with creativity in all its forms.
Tania Odesho Tania Odesho is an acting student focusing on improvisational comedy. She won second place in Dramatic Interpretation at the National Forensics tournament in 2007 representing Leland High School. She has worked in education combining improv and learning for K-12th grade students. She is working towards her goal of being an actor. Her hobbies include playing video games, watching documentaries, and playing with her poodle Tink.
ACTORS
Christina Shon
Evelyn Huynh
Francheska Loy
Gaz Jemeel
Ivette Deltoro
Jada Roper
Julia Halprin Jackson
Kai Katayama*
Melinda Marks
Muse Lee*
Tania Odesho* *Also Submitted Written Piece
Play on Words Play On Words is a collaborative literary arts series that unites emerging and established interdisciplinary artists, fiction/theater enthusiasts, and curious community members eager to learn more about the processes of creative writing and creating performances. Learn more about Play on Words at playonwordsanjose.com.
San José Museum of Art The San José Museum of Art celebrates new ideas, stimulates creativity, and inspires connection with every visit. Welcoming and thought provoking, the Museum delights visitors with it’s surprising and playful perspective on the art and artists of our time. Learn more about San José Museum of Art at sjmusart.org.
Acknowledgements Many thanks to Ric Bretschneider for technical production and Frederick Liang for technical and pre-production support. We also thank SVCreates, Intersection for the Arts, and CreaTV for additional support.
Credits Directed by Julia Halprin Jackson, Play on Words co-founder and publicity director; and Melinda Marks, Play on Words co-founder and casting director. Coordinated by Robin Treen, San José Museum of Art Community Partnerships Coordinator.