9 Years of Lola By the Bay and 2022 Year in Review

It all comes down to this. The fanfare of the holiday season is winding down as champagne is slowly but surely being stalked up for the stroke of midnight tonight. Resolutions are being jotted down and vision boards are being crafted together, with the hopes of some of them actually manifesting by this time in a year. 2023 is now less so of a concept and now hours away from becoming our reality.

But before 2022 bows out altogether, I wanted to make sure I had my retrospective for this ninth(?!?!?) year of my website written down and ready to ponder for those who  may have missed any of what happened, or to read and go, “That happened this year?”

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Check out Mixed Asian Media Fest 2022!

Hey everyone! So clearly, I am posting this a few days earlier than I normally would on my blog, but the reason why is aside from this weekend being busy, the subject in which I’m addressing officially kicks off today.

Hype Up for AAPINH Heritage Month

Not going to lie, this Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian Heritage Month has been off to a really rough start. From our faith in humanity continuously being shattered by people who want to take some of our rights away, to some sad news happening in my personal life, it’s harder than usual for me to multi-task as of late.

What Did I Miss?: March 2022

Published Works

Depths of Unexpected Emotions Unravel in Kogonada’s ‘After Yang’– For The Nerds of Color, I break down my observations and thoughts about this director’s second feature film.

“Turning Red” Animators on Anime Influences and Working with Domee Shi – For the Center for Asian American Media, I spoke with two Pixar animators on what it was like to work on the studio’s 25th feature film.

Review of Hollywood Heroine by Sarah Kuhn – For Goodreads, I go over my general thoughts about the fifth entry into the Heroine Complex series.

Plays

Rainy Day Artistic Collective 2022 | Not in Kansas by Lauren Lola – Following the performances of the Halfway Historical Festival, the director of this very personal play gave it a home on her YouTube channel for audiences to continue to discover and, hopefully, learn from. Inspired by true events, two PhD students from the Philippines are on a road trip to New Orleans, when they experience the opposite of Southern hospitality at a rest stop in Mississippi.

Comics

My Journey with Journals – In collaboration with This Asian American Life, I look back on 20 years of journaling and how much it has shaped my life. (The companion personal essay can be read on the TAAL website.)

Playwright’s Commentary: “Not in Kansas”

I’m thrilled to take part in my third production with Rainy Day Artistic Collective with my new one-act play, “Not in Kansas.” Based on real life experiences of my great aunt, Justita, the story follows two PhD students from the Philippines who’re studying in the United States in the early 1950’s. While on a trip to New Orleans, the two experience the opposite of Southern hospitality at a rest stop in Mississippi.

Coming Next Week: Halfway Historical Festival feat. “Not in Kansas”

I’m excited to reveal that after the past few months of working on this, we are now one week away from my third production with Rainy Day Artistic Collective. This time, I’ve written one of ten plays that will be featured in their Halfway Historical Festival; where all the stories revolve around real-life occurrences.

5 Years of Playwriting

There is a series from PBS called “The First Twenty,” where it explores significant, altering events within the first two decades of the 21st century. One of the episodes, “20 Years of Asian American Playwriting,” interviews playwrights – from David Henry Hwang to Lauren Yee – about how Asian American playwriting has evolved.