Photo by Michael Palma
“There’s a great pipeline that USC is providing not only to theatre, but to the entire entertainment industry … We’re proud to be part of that process and success.”
SPRING 2014
— Tim Dang
Along with celebrating his 20th year at East West Players, Producing Artistic Director Tim Dang was recently honored by the USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association with the 2014 Leadership Award.
Celebrating 20 Years of Success By Lynne Heffley
Photo by Craig Schwartz
East West Players, the nation’s leading professional Asian American theatre company, turns 49 this year. At its helm, Producing Artistic Director Tim Dang (BFA ’80), who led the company’s growth from a small black box space on Santa Monica Boulevard to an operation encompassing an actors conservatory, educational and community outreach programs, a prominent, nationally recognized writers institute and a fully equipped, 240-seat Equity theatre in downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district. “When I look back upon it, it’s like, wow, I can’t believe that we were actually able to move up,” Dang said. “We’ve been at this level now since 1998. It’s been an incredible journey.” And an unexpected one. As a teenager attending physics and calculus classes at the University of Hawaii while still in high school, Dang had his future pretty much mapped out. But there was that acting thing…. “I had been in a couple of plays in high school at the time,” Dang said, “one of them being The Bald Soprano by Ionesco. I really enjoyed performing.” After some soul-searching, Dang changed course. “I had heard that USC had a really strong theatre program,” he said. A “very strong financial package” cinched the deal. He couldn’t have made a better choice, Dang said. “I had the time of my life there. The theatre department was this wonderful place and the faculty members were totally supportive. In fact, my senior advisor at USC, Jack Rowe, was the one who told me to pursue East West Players.” A few months after graduation, Dang joined East West, then headed by esteemed film and stage actor Mako. “And lo and behold, I’ve been there ever since,” Dang said. Founded in 1965, East West Players was created to afford Asian American actors, writers and others opportunities beyond the stereotypes common in mainstream theatre, film and CONTINUED ON PAGE 6