Ken Choy
Encyclopedia
Ken Choy is an American
writer of Chinese
-Hawaiian
descent. He also is a performance artist and actor and owns and operates a shopping business in Southern California
.
Choy received a Jerome Fellowship from the Playwright's Center in Minnesota
in 1992. Upon arriving in the Twin Cities
, Choy immediately involved himself in the Asian American Renaissance, an Asian American arts organization. He taught classes and hosted AARGH!!, the Asian American Cabaret with poet and performance artist David Mura
.
In 1993, Choy, along with Juliana Pegues
, staged a protest at the Minnesota Opera
performance of Madama Butterfly
. Choy and Pegues protested inside the theater during the performance and were arrested for disorderly conduct. Although Choy was dressed in women's clothing, erroneous press accounts stated that he was naked. The two were ordered to pay a $25 fine.
Choy founded and was co-chair of PAVE (Pan Asian Voices for Equality) and the Miss Saigon Protest Committee with Rita Nakashima Brock.
In 1992, Choy toured his one man show Buzz Off Butterfly around the country. Under the auspices of the performance group he founded, Asian Pacific American Renegades, he also directed and organized the large scale Asian American performance presentation at the Walker Art Center
, "Miss Appropriated." He is discussed in Dorinne K. Kondo
's "About Face," and Linda Frye Burnham's "High Performance" as well as David A Schlossman's "Actors and Activists," and Deborah Wong's "Speak it Louder."
Choy was the subject of a two-part series on KCBS-TV
Los Angeles that featured his book, "Make Money Shopping," his web site, Makemoneyshopping.org, and his shopping and mystery shopping
business.
Choy is the author of the novel "My Loveable Combustible Asian American Nuclear Family." and his popular video blog, "From Chaos to Love: "My Loveable Combustible Asian American Nuclear Family" journey.
He is the creator of the journalistic dialectic, "Living with Bill and Rob," an ongoing research project which explores the link between racism and mental illness and how those both are unflinchingly harnessed as a viable excuse for lack of human and community involvement and participation. Choy traversed those manifestations in a roommate situation with the titular subjects.
Choy is the producer and founder of Breaking the Bow: The Independent Asian Pacific Islander Performing Artists and Writers Festival. The 1st festival was held October 22–25, 2009. The festival was produced by Mavericks of Asian Pacific Islander Descent (MAPID). Choy founded MAPID.
Choy co-organized ID Film Fest and the Asian American Independent Features Conference with Quentin Lee
and Koji Steven Sakai in October 2010 at the Japanese American National Museum
, continuing with his Battle of the Pitches competition along with the API TV Pilot Shootout and a Filmmaker's Crash Course.
Choy hosted the red carpet for the CAPE
Soiree in 2010.
His screenplay Lazy Susan won first place in the Boulder Asian Film Festival in 2005.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer of Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
-Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
descent. He also is a performance artist and actor and owns and operates a shopping business in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
Choy received a Jerome Fellowship from the Playwright's Center in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
in 1992. Upon arriving in the Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
, Choy immediately involved himself in the Asian American Renaissance, an Asian American arts organization. He taught classes and hosted AARGH!!, the Asian American Cabaret with poet and performance artist David Mura
David Mura
David Mura is a Japanese American author, poet, novelist, playwright, critic and performance artist. His most recent book is his novel, Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire...
.
In 1993, Choy, along with Juliana Pegues
Juliana Pegues
Juliana Pegues is an American writer, performer and community activist living in Minnesota.Born in Taiwan and raised in Alaska, Pegues, has been a member of both the women of color theater group Mama Mosaic and Mango Tribe, a national Asian Pacific Islander American women's performance...
, staged a protest at the Minnesota Opera
Minnesota Opera
The Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and Frankenstein by Libby Larsen...
performance of Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
. Choy and Pegues protested inside the theater during the performance and were arrested for disorderly conduct. Although Choy was dressed in women's clothing, erroneous press accounts stated that he was naked. The two were ordered to pay a $25 fine.
Choy founded and was co-chair of PAVE (Pan Asian Voices for Equality) and the Miss Saigon Protest Committee with Rita Nakashima Brock.
In 1992, Choy toured his one man show Buzz Off Butterfly around the country. Under the auspices of the performance group he founded, Asian Pacific American Renegades, he also directed and organized the large scale Asian American performance presentation at the Walker Art Center
Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is considered one of the nation's "big five" museums for modern art along with the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Hirshhorn...
, "Miss Appropriated." He is discussed in Dorinne K. Kondo
Dorinne K. Kondo
Dorinne K. Kondo is a Professor of Anthropology and American Studies at the University of Southern California. Kondo is author of Crafting Selves: Power, Gender, and Discourses of Identity in a Japanese Workplace and About Face: Performing Race in Fashion and Theater...
's "About Face," and Linda Frye Burnham's "High Performance" as well as David A Schlossman's "Actors and Activists," and Deborah Wong's "Speak it Louder."
Choy was the subject of a two-part series on KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV, channel 2, is an owned-and-operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter...
Los Angeles that featured his book, "Make Money Shopping," his web site, Makemoneyshopping.org, and his shopping and mystery shopping
Mystery shopping
Mystery shopping or a mystery consumer is a tool used externally by market research companies or watchdog organizations or internally by companies themselves to measure quality of service or compliance to regulation, or to gather specific information about products and services...
business.
Choy is the author of the novel "My Loveable Combustible Asian American Nuclear Family." and his popular video blog, "From Chaos to Love: "My Loveable Combustible Asian American Nuclear Family" journey.
He is the creator of the journalistic dialectic, "Living with Bill and Rob," an ongoing research project which explores the link between racism and mental illness and how those both are unflinchingly harnessed as a viable excuse for lack of human and community involvement and participation. Choy traversed those manifestations in a roommate situation with the titular subjects.
Choy is the producer and founder of Breaking the Bow: The Independent Asian Pacific Islander Performing Artists and Writers Festival. The 1st festival was held October 22–25, 2009. The festival was produced by Mavericks of Asian Pacific Islander Descent (MAPID). Choy founded MAPID.
Choy co-organized ID Film Fest and the Asian American Independent Features Conference with Quentin Lee
Quentin Lee
Quentin Lee 李孟熙 is a film writer and director. He is most notable for Ethan Mao , Drift , Flow , and the film short To Ride a Cow . Lee also co-directed Shopping For Fangs with Justin Lin, known for his controversial film Better Luck Tomorrow...
and Koji Steven Sakai in October 2010 at the Japanese American National Museum
Japanese American National Museum
The opened its doors in 1992. The idea for the museum was originally thought up by Bruce Kaji with help from other notable Japanese American people at the time. The museum is located in the Little Tokyo an area near downtown Los Angeles, California. It is devoted to preserving the history and...
, continuing with his Battle of the Pitches competition along with the API TV Pilot Shootout and a Filmmaker's Crash Course.
Choy hosted the red carpet for the CAPE
Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment
The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization, founded in 1991, to promote Asian Pacific Americans in the media arts and entertainment. It is the longest-running, largest, and most influential meeting place for APAs in the entertainment industry...
Soiree in 2010.
His screenplay Lazy Susan won first place in the Boulder Asian Film Festival in 2005.
Notable Theater Works
- Charlene Chan in "Me?"
- Sticky Substances
- Buzz off Butterfly
- Miss Appropriated
- Ken Choy's Theatrical Extravaganza Lazy Susan
External links
- Ken Choy at The Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- MAPID home page