“Moving Through and Beyond”: Asian American Theatre and Performance Studies

To date, there has not been a special issue of Theatre Journal dedicated to Asian American theatre and performance. However, a survey of Theatre Journal essays reveals a long and profound engagement with central questions in this area of study. Here I will mark out some of the ways in which Theatre Journal has scrutinized foundational concepts and key examples of Asian American theatre and performance. Some Theatre Journal contributors use the racial designation “Asian American” over more specific identifiers of ethnicity, nation, and culture, emphasizing the ways that racial perception has long affected the legal, economic, and social standing of people of Asian descent in the United States and shaped the country’s cultural expression and representation. Their essays grapple with concerns about visibility and representation, the legacy of orientalist typecasting, and the heterogenous and transnational nature of Asian American identity. Other articles do not highlight Asian American affiliation; however, these also help us frame Asian American theatre and performance as a dynamic and vital body of work that is distinguished by—to use Lisa Lowe’s memorable terms—heterogeneity, hybridity, and multiplicity¹,.