Culture and Language in David Henry Hwang's 'Chinglish'

I’m no avid theatergoer, but I do love entertainment! Watching David Henry Hwang’s new comedic play, Chinglish, with a few TaiwaneseAmerican.org staff was definitely one of the most enjoyable evenings I’ve had all summer. We follow an American man on his business trip to China, where he is faced with language barrier, cultural differences, and conflicting values, all of which made signing a contract for his family’s sign-making firm way more complex than he thought. I truly enjoyed the play’s…

Culture and Language in David Henry Hwang’s ‘Chinglish’

I’m no avid theatergoer, but I do love entertainment! Watching David Henry Hwang’s new comedic play, Chinglish, with a few TaiwaneseAmerican.org staff was definitely one of the most enjoyable evenings I’ve had all summer. We follow an American man on his business trip to China, where he is faced with language barrier, cultural differences, and conflicting values, all of which made signing a contract for his family’s sign-making firm way more complex than he thought. I truly enjoyed the…

Singer-songwriter Nate Tao Shares his Language of Love

TaiwaneseAmerican.org's Ho Chie Tsai chats with talented singer-songwriter Nate Tao about his career and passion creating music. Nate is an LA-based artist known for his smooth but powerful voice. He is of Taiwanese descent, born to deaf parents, but managed to discover his love for the most universal language, music. Nate was a guest performer for the Taiwanese American Professionals (TAP-LA) Annual Banquet & Casino Night and was kind enough to take some time out to share his story with us. Nate…

Introducing Singer-songwriter Priska

Meet Priscilla Liang, aka Priska, a Taiwanese American singer-songwriter based in LA. She has been singing since the age of 4, and in 2010, competed in a Taiwanese music competition where she placed 2nd among US competitors. Priska is one of newest additions to the Akufuncture family. We had the opportunity to meet with her during one of the Akufuncture OSMOSIS showcase series hosted at the Factory Tea Bar in Alhambra, CA. She sat down to talk with us about her life and career in music. She's…

Filmmaker Timothy Tau Pays Tribute to Pioneer Actor Keye Luke

By Eric Kao Have you ever heard of Keye Luke? If you haven’t, check out Taiwanese American filmmaker Timothy Tau’s new short film, KEYE LUKE, about one of the pioneer Asian Americans actors in Hollywood. As an American actor of Chinese descent, Keye Luke was best known for playing Lee Chan, the "Number One Son" in the Charlie Chan films and Master Po in the television series, Kung Fu. Many will also remember him as the masked-sidekick Kato in the 1939-1941 Green Hornet series. Timothy…

Susan and Emily Present “Island X” – a Collection of Taiwanese Folk Songs

TaiwaneseAmerican.org has been proud to follow and support musicians Emily and Susan Hsu of the indie band Exit Clov for years, and in turn, they've been kind to us as well. Remember them from our Taiwan Typhoon Morakot fundraising campaign a few years back when their video went viral? Ever since then, we (and many of you) have hoped that they would put out a Taiwanese/Mandarin album. So now, we're pleased to announce that they have. Island X. And dare we say that this may be the most amazing Taiwanese…

Interview with Marilyn Fu, Screenwriter of The Sisterhood of Night

by Hanna Huang A graduate of Columbia University’s Film program, Marilyn Fu won the Tribeca Film Fest’s Creative Promise Award for a script entitled The Sisterhood of Night. She is also the inaugural recipient of the William Goldman Screenwriting Fellowship. The Sisterhood of Night is a modern re-telling of the Salem witch trials, based on a short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Steven Millhauser. It encourages teen girls and their parents to embrace what makes each of us unique. Catherine…

All Eyes on NBA Sensation Jeremy Lin

To be honest, this post is long overdue. After all, our website is now the go-to place for all things Taiwanese American, and since young point-guard Jeremy Lin, an undrafted Harvard graduate, came off the New York Knick's bench to lead a victory against the New Jersey Nets on February 4, 2012, he has continued to amaze audiences worldwide by achieving career highs with subsequent games and taking a struggling team through a series of wins. His has been a Cinderella story, indeed -- a "Linspirational…

Through the Eyes of Illustrator Julia Kuo

TaiwaneseAmerican.org's Ho Chie Tsai takes a look at the work of Julia Kuo, an illustrator who works out of Cleveland for most of the year and Taipei during the winter. She recently gained greater attention for her project "100 Days in Cleveland," which showcases 100 of her favorite things about the city. Many of the sketches are now part of a travel guidebook to Cleveland. Listen to an NPR ideastream interview with Julia about the project here: http://www.ideastream.org/an/entry/40673 Read…

The Big Picture: A Snapshot of Photographer Anna Wu

Meet Anna Wu. She is an amazing photographer, and she has been my friend for over 15 years. She also serves as TaiwaneseAmerican.org's Creative Director and Website Manager, and too often, she works behind-the-scenes while I, as the Founder, get more credit and attention than I deserve for the projects that our team takes on. However, in reality, I know that my big ideas don't happen unless key staffers like Anna take part and bring them to fruition. See this website? In February of 2010,…