Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra
Promoting Cultural Diversity through Multicultural Theater, Events, and Workshops in Western Nevada County
CATS Past Productions
CATS 2008 Production of
"Golden Child"
Written by David Henry Hwang
and Directed by Sandra Rockman
January 17 (preview)
to February 9, 2008
Nevada Theatre
401 Broad Street
Nevada City, CA
GOLDEN CHILD is the winner of the 1996-1997 Obie Award for Playwriting and the 1998 Tony Award nominee for Best Play. This story, based on the playwright's own family saga, is about his traditional Chinese family at the turn of the 20th century and its journey into change and modernization.
David Henry Hwang is best noted for M. BUTTERFLY, the 1988 Tony Award for Best Play, which established him as a major modern American playwright.
CATS 2007 Production of
TEA
January 18 - February 10, 2007
at the Nevada Theatre
Written by Velina Hasu Houston
Directed by Sandra Rockman
"TEA" tells the plight of Japanese war brides married to American servicemen in post World War II America. It explores their tales of adjustment and survival in a world devastated by war. Their courtship and marriages brought them new beginnings in a foreign land, America. With humor and sadness, they share their stories of the struggles to create new lives in a new country.
IMMORTAL HEART
January 26, 2006 to February 4, 2006, Nevada Theatre
Immortal Heart
Based on the short story
by Amy Tan
Directed by Delia MacDougall
Produced by the Word-for-Word Theatre Company, a program of the Z Space Studio Theatre Development Center in San Francisco
CATS was proud to make its inaugural effort at presenting by bringing to Nevada County this award-winning play performed by a professional all-Asian touring group. "Immortal Heart" is the "The New Yorker" short story that became the inspiration for Amy Tan's 2001 bestseller, The Bonesetter’s Daughter. "Immortal Heart" is a heartwarming tale of exploration into a secretive and hidden world, governed by the powers of family and destiny, and the strict doctrine of women’s roles in rural China in the 1900’s. It is a complex and riveting piece, which tells two dovetailing histories - of Precious Auntie and Lu Ling - of a child blossoming into a headstrong young woman - and of her mute care giver, whose silence belies a strong and colorful past.
Jan. 21, 2005 to Feb. 12, 2004 Nevada Theatre
Tibet Through The Red Box
"Tibet Through The Red Box"
Based on the Caldecott Honor Book by Peter Sis
Adapted by David Henry Hwang
Directed by Diane Fetterly
True story is set in the 1950’s in Czechoslovakia. A recollection and fantasies of young Peter Sis on the adventures of his father in Tibet, a land of enchantment with its culture, music and rituals. 
Shades of a fairy tale, with serious moments in which the long separation between father and son is explored. Originally commissioned and performed at Seattle Children’s Theatre.
One of the highlights of Opening Night on January 21, 2005, was the presence of the Venerable Geshe Phelgye and the Gaden Shartse Monastic Tour who blessed the show. They are Tibetan monks, living in exile in India, who were on tour in the United States.
Jan. 16, 2004 to Feb. 7, 2004 Nevada Theatre
Turandot
Turandot (The Play)
"Anyone seeking my hand in marriage must solve 3 riddles or die!"
Written by Carlo Gozzi
Translated by Albert Bermel and Ted Emery
Directed by Amber Jo Manuel; Commedia Dell'Arte is Directed by John Deaderick
Turandot incorporates Chinese acting styles, Italian comedy & elements from Puccini's opera. The story of Turandot takes place in 18th century Peking, China, and centers on the suitors of the beautiful Chinese Princess Turandot who must part with their heads unless they find the answers to three impossible riddles. All the suitors fail and many heads decorate the wall surrounding the palace, until one day a handsome, indomitable young prince comes along to challenge the princess. It is a story of love, hate, and intrigues: romantic heroes, conniving servants and commedia dell'arte characters, such as Arlechino, Pantalone, and Brighella.
Jan. 17, 2003 to Feb. 8, 2003 Nevada Theatre
The Love Suicides At Sonezaki
THE LOVE SUICIDES AT SONEZAKI
“no one is there to tell the tale, but the wind that blows through Sonezaki” - a Japanese story of eternal love
- Written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon
- Translated by Donald Keene
- Directed by Amber Jo Manuel
Holli Hiroaka (left) Daniel Douros (right) Art Lai (center)
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki is a masterpiece written in 1703. Classic tragedy of eternal love, incorporating the essence of traditional Japanese theatre, including Kabuki and Butoh.
Jan. - Feb. 2002 Nevada Theatre
The Woman Warrior
Written by Deborah Rogin
Based on Books by Maxine Hong Kingston
Directed by Diane Fetterly
THE WOMAN WARRIOR is a tale of Maxine Hong Kingston's teen years in 1953 in Stockton, California, with flashbacks to China and New York. Journey into the life of one Chinese family -- incorporating myth and reality and the story of the fabled Fa Mu Lan, the Woman Warrior. Actors play animals, warriors, swing dancers, railway workers, and more - in this sprawling, poetic work.
Photo by Mike Maginot © 2001
featuring Kim Wood (above) and Tony Mark (below)
Nevada Theatre, 401 Broad Street, Nevada City, California
Jan. - Feb. 2001 Nevada Theatre
The Joy Luck Club
"The Joy Luck Club"
by Susan Kim
from the novel by Amy Tan
Directed by Diane Fetterly
Fascinating vignettes alternate back and forth between the lives of four Chinese women in pre-1949 China and the lives of their American-born daughters in California. Amy Tan's novel was on the New York Times Bestseller List for 9 months.
Jan. - Feb. 2000 Nevada Theatre
Rashomon
CATS produced Rashomon, written by Fay and Michael Kanin, and directed by John Deaderick, at the Nevada Theatre in Jan.-Feb. 2000. Rashomon is the classic tale of greed, passion, suspense, and mystery. Set in medieval Japan, conflicting versions of a crime committed are examined in flashbacks. The Nevada County Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Council was the benefit nonprofit organization who received proceeds from opening night.
Elly nominations:
- Chris Goetzke - lighting designer
- Catherine Ione - costume designer
- Marci Wolfe - scenic designer
Jan. - Feb. 1999 Nevada Theatre
A Thousand Cranes
CATS produced "A Thousand Cranes", written by Kathryn Schultz Miller, and directed by John Deaderick, performed at the Nevada Theatre. This is the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a 12-year old girl who became stricken with leukemia 10 years after the bombing of her city, Hiroshima, Japan. It is a story about her will to live and her desire for peace in the world. Thomas Angell and Elise Talbot were each nominated for an Elly award (Best Male and Best Female Lead in the Young People's category).
Jan. - Feb. 1998
Wooden Fish Songs
CATS produced "Wooden Fish Songs" in 1997, a concert reading, by Ruthanne Lum McCunn and directed by Don McCunn, at the Off Broad Street Theatre in Nevada City and at The Studio Theatre in Grass Valley. The performance was a benefit for the Nevada City Chinese Quarter Society. The production also toured Yuba College in Marsyville, Yuba Theatre in Downieville, and the American River College in Sacramento.
"Wooden Fish Songs" tells the true story of Lue Gim Gong, the Chinese man recognized for developing a strain of Florida oranges that produced millions of dollars for the Florida citrus industry.
October 1998
3rd Annual Wordslingers Festival
CATS participated in the third annual Wordslingers Festival (a literary festival featuring authors, playwrights, poets, writers, etc.) at the Miners Foundry in Nevada City.
CATS performed a scene from "Dragonwings". Jeannie Wood, Executive Director of CATS, was a panelist with noted authors -- including Maxine Hong Kingston -- on the subject of Asians and the Gold Rush Experience.
Jan. - Feb. 1997 Nevada Theatre
Dragonwings
"Dragonwings" written by Laurence Yep, and directed by Stuart E. W. Smith, at the Nevada Theatre in 1997. Benefit performances for Friends of the Nevada County Libraries and Mount Saint Mary's School.
Dragonwings told the true story of the life of Fung Joe Guey, the Chinese man who built an airplane in the early 1900's which was patterned after the Wright brothers'. He was airborne for 20 minutes over the San Francisco Bay. Beijing opera techniques were incorporated in this production. Dragonwings, the novel, is on the recommended reading list for many elementary and middle schools. CATS commissioned the Nevada City School of the Arts sixth graders to create 20 kites as props for this show.
Dragonwings was nominated for two Elly awards: (1) Best Overall Production in Young People's Theater; and (2) Costume Design: Nancy Pollak.
Jan. - Feb. 1996 Nevada Theatre
Tea
"Tea", written by Velina Hasu Houston, and directed by Stuart E. W. Smith. Benefit performance was for the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition. Tea was historical fiction based on facts experienced by the playwright who is of Japanese, African-American, and Native-American ancestry. The story is about the lives and struggle of five Japanese war brides, the women married to American servicemen during World War II, the years beyond. A story about how they all found eventual peace in a world of adversity.