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University of California, Santa Barbara
GUIDE TO THE ASIAN AMERICAN THEATER COMPANY ARCHIVES, 1971-2001
The Asian American Theater Company (AATC) is one of only three Asian American theaters in the United States. Founded in 1973 by the Chinese American writer and playwright Frank Chin and others, it is a professionally-oriented theater dedicated to producing plays that are by and about Asian Americans, and is the oldest, full-season production, ethnic theater in northern California. Its high-quality productions promote inter-ethnic understanding and provide positive role models for the Asian American community as well as the community-at-large.
The AATC began life as a playwright workshop initiated by Frank Chin and sponsored by the American Conservatory Theatre. In 1975, the workshop became a professional theater company dedicated to the production of plays by Asian Pacific Islander American dramatists and the development and support of Asian Pacific Islander American actors, designers and technicians. During the late seventies and early eighties, AATC was the focal point of an explosion of Asian Pacific Islander American talent in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over the years, the AATC has served as a home for numerous playwrights, directors, actors and designers who went on to careers of national prominence, including: playwrights Frank Chin, Philip Kan Gotanda, David Henry Hwang, Momoko Iko, R.A. Shiomi and Wakako Yamauchi; actors Margaret Cho, Dennis Dun and Amy Hill; designer Lydia Tanji; and dramaturg and director Judi Nihei.
The AATC seeks to challenge its audiences artistically and politically, producing work that is visionary, breaks traditions, crosses boundaries, and leads the audience to question their aesthetic as well as their cultural assumptions. Through its productions, a training program and young artists’ workshops, the AATC continues to serve as a focal point for the talents of established and emerging Asian Pacific Islander American playwrights, actors, directors, designers and technicians.
The goal of the AATC continues to be “to develop theater which nourishes the community, encourages dialogue and understanding, and inspires new generations of Asian Pacific Islander Americans to tell their stories.” (Adapted from the AATC website at: http://www.wenet.net/~aatc/) The Asian American Theater Company Archives consists of eleven series distributed among 70 archival boxes that occupy approximately 30 linear feet of space. The archival materials include administrative/ personnel records, grant applications, production files, correspondence, flyers, audio and videotapes, photographs, and a few theater artifacts. The AATC Archives cover the period between 1971-2001. Series and folder titles within them are generally arranged in alphabetic order. Folders with the same subject are usually arranged alphabetically or chronologically.
As an active theatre company the AATC continues to add to its archives in CEMA and recent augmentations are included in this guide within the container list. These boxes have been assigned higher numbers and have been inserted into each appropriate series.
Series I: Administrative Records, 1973-1996. Series I includes three subseries housed in six archival boxes. The first subseries, Administrative and Acting Staff, consists of biographical information on the administrative staff, producers, and actors associated with the theater, and other related administrative files. Of particular interest are the folders on Frank Chin and his relationship with the AATC. Board of Directors, 1974-1992, includes correspondence and meeting minutes of the board. It is a rich source of information on the history of AATC and Asian American theater in general. So is the third subseries, By-Laws and Other Historical Documents, 1973-1992. It contains the earliest documents from the AATC, including the by-laws.
Series II. Business and Financial Records, 1974-2000. This series includes budgets, aggregate box office records, annual tax returns, and funding from local government sources.
Series III. Correspondence, 1974-2000. Series III contains general correspondence to and from the AATC. Included are letters to and from the City of San Francisco, various media organizations, board members and various others. Of special interest in the General Correspondence folder (box 11, folder 7) is an “Artistic Director’s Statement” written by Lane Nishikawa (n.d.). Most other AATC correspondence records are integrated with files on the same subjects in other series in the collection, such as Production Files.
Series IV. Grants, 1975-1998. This series includes grant applications, related reports, and evaluations. It is also a valuable source for information on the history of the AATC. Many of the included grant applications require the AATC to describe its successes and failures, which gives the researcher snapshots of the development of the organization at various points when it sought funding. Particularly valuable in this regard are the NEA files which contain several summaries of the history and development of the AATC.
Series V. Production Files, 1974-2001. This series is divided into two subseries. The first subseries, General Production Files, 1979-2001, contains records related to several productions or to production seasons. The second subseries, Individual Productions 1974-2000, is the largest and perhaps most useful group of files in the collection. It contains documents related to the production of almost all the AATC plays over the years. These documents include playbills, flyers, press releases, reviews, box office records, newspaper and magazine clippings, and occasionally director's prompt books (marked-up scripts). Most of the photographs related to the productions are found in Series X. Visual and Audio Materials, 1971-1994. See the related Annotated Catalog to Productions and Scripts for additional information regarding particular productions. The catalog is available online at:http://cemaweb.library.ucsb.edu/aatc_app_a.html
Series VI: Publicity, Fundraising, and Special Events, 1976-2000. Series VI includes AATC brochures, general press releases, clippings, documents related to various fundraisers and special events such as receptions, movies, and fairs at, or hosted by, the AATC.
Series VII: Scripts, 1971-2000. Series VII contains almost a full run of the scripts of AATC plays over the years. Most of these scripts correspond to the individual production files in Series V, but there are a few cases where we may have scripts but not production files or vice versa. See the related Annotated Catalog to Productions and Scripts for additional information regarding particular productions. The catalog is available online at:http://cemaweb.library.ucsb.edu/aatc_app_a.html
Series VIII. Subject Files, 1976-2000. Series VIII contains mostly files that AATC kept as sources for information or reference.
Series IX. Training Programs and Workshops, 1975-2001. Series IX contains files on the various training programs and workshops on acting, directing, and script-writing sponsored by the AATC, usually during the summer.
Series X. Visual and Audio Materials, 1971-2000. Series X contains six subseries. The Audio Recordings, 1971-1994, consists of three boxes of cassettes of audio recordings. These are primarily sound clips used in AATC productions. They are loosely arranged according to the production in which they were used. Film Strips, 1971 contains Prejudice in America: The Japanese Americans, Part 1-4 on microfilm. Photographs - negatives, 1974-1997 contain negatives of scenes from the various AATC productions or activities at AATC. Photographs – prints, 1974-2000, contains photographs of scenes from various AATC productions of activities. Slides, 1980-2000, contain slides of scenes from various AATC productions and activities. Video recordings, 1971-1994, contain mostly productions at AATC, not always complete. Video recordings are currently in original format. Copies in other formats for research use are available upon request at a set fee.
Series XI. Oversize. Series XI contains five sub series: Small Oversize Posters, 1981-1997, Oversized Promotional Material, 1978-1997, Oversized Photographs, n.d., Artifacts, 1987, n.d. and Large Oversize Posters, 1988-1992. The series is divided across five boxes to accommodate the various sizes of these materials.
SERIES I. ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, 1973-1996 Box Folder Contents Administrative and Acting Staff, 1975-1996 1 1 Abe, Mitzie, n.d. 1 2 Actors' Biographies, n.d. 1 3 Actors and Volunteers, 1986 1 4 Actors' Call Sheets, 1986-1987 1 5 Actors' Resumes, 1980-1985 1 6-16 Actors' Resumes with Head Shots, n.d. 1 17 Advisory Board, 1976-1977 1 18-20 Applications and Appointments for the Position of Executive Director, 1981-1984 1 21 Applications for the Position of Artistic Director, 1985-1986 2 1-5 Applications and Resumes, 1976-1991 2 6-12 Artistic Committee, 1979-1984 2 13 Artistic Committee list, n.d. 2 14 Cha, Bernadette, 1984 2 15-18 Chin, Frank, Letters, Articles, and Interviews, 1975-1972 2 19-21 Chin, Frank, Resignation, 1978 2 22 Dun, Dennis, 1984 2 23 Escueta, Melvyn D., 1976 2 13 Fong, David, 1984 3 1 Garcia, Erlinda, 1979 3 2 Gotanda, Philip, 1984-1994 3 3 Gotanda, Philip Kan, et al, in Asia Week article "Ones to Watch in 1996," 1996 3 4 Hayashi, Eric, 1977-1987 3 5-6 Hayashi, Eric, as Consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts, 1991-1993 3 7 Hayashi, Eric, Lawsuit Against AATC, 1981 3 8 Interim Managing Director Position, 1981 3 9-10 Job Descriptions, 1976-1990 3 11 Ju, Raymond, 1977 3 12 Kanegawa, Linda, n.d. 3 13 Leung, Cynthia F. "Smokey," 1981-1982 3 14 List of Volunteers, n.d. 3 15 Membership, 1981-1982 3 16 Myers, Dennis A., 1976 3 17 Nishikawa, Lane, 1976-1992 (See also Oversize) 3 18-19 Producers Committee, 1983-1984 3 20 Resumes and Applications for Administrative Positions, 1986 3 21 Seriguchi, Karen, 1976 3 22 Staff Meeting Minutes, 1990-1991 3 23 Wong, John B., 1984
Board of Directors, 1974-1992 50 1 Agenda, Minutes and Notes, 1990-1991 50 2 Board of Directors Files, 1991 50 3 Board of Directors Files, rcvd from Jim Harabayashi, 1985-1986 3 24-25 Correspondence, 1976-1986 3 26 Correspondence with Executive Director, 1984-1985 3 27 Election, 1981 50 4 Financial Statements, 1990-1991 3 28 General Information, 1983 3 29 List of Board of Directors and Advisory Board Members, n.d.; Meeting Minutes 3 30-36 1974-1978 4 1-7 1979-1985 5 1-9 1986-1992 50 5 Notes, 1991 50 6 Roster, n.d.
By-Laws and Other Historical Documents, 1973-1992 5 10 By-Laws (Asian American Theater Workshop), 1976-1977 5 11-13 By-Laws, 1980-1983 5 14 Certificate of Recognition, 1983 5 15-23 Early Documents, 1973-1980 6 1 Earthquake, 1989 50 7 Earthquake, Dennis Lowry’s Notes, 1989 6 2-4 History, 1973-1981 6 5 History and Accomplishments, 1973-1994 6 6-8 List of Productions, 1973-1995 6 9 Membership, 1977-1992 6 10 Memoranda and Notes on Management, 1990 6 11 Miss Saigon Controversy, 1990 6 12 Newsletter, 1979-1986 6 13 Organizational Structure, 1976-1983 6 14 Planning Documents, 1986-1987 6 15 Programs, 1973-1974 6 16 Report for the Year, 1977 6 17 Staff Reports (including Frank Chin Resignation Files), 1976
SERIES II. BUSINESS AND
FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1974-2000 6 18-20 Acting Company, 1981-1982 6 21 Actors Equity, 1982-1991 50 8 Actors Equity Association, 1997 50 9 Actors Equity Association Contracts, 2000 6 22 Advertising, 1986 6 23 American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Contract, 1986 7 1 Arts Loan Fund, 1987 50 10 Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center Agreement, 1998 7 2 Assistant Development Director Report, 1984 7 3 Audience Development, 1984 7 4-7 Audience Survey, n.d. 7 8 Audition Forms, n.d. 7 9 Balance Sheets, 1981-1982 50 11 Bay Area Multicultural Arts Initiative Wrap-Up Meeting, 1992 7 10 Bills, 1986 7 11 Box Office Records, 1991-1992 50 12 Business Report, 1989 7 12-23 Budgets, 1974-1991 8 1 Calendar Notes, 1990 50 13 Calendars, 2nd Studio Rentals, 1995-1996 8 2 Cash Flow, 1990 8 3 CES (Community Educational Services), San Francisco, Interns, 1985 8 4-17 CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) funding, 1975-1982 8 18 Chart of Account, 1980-1987 8 19 Claim for Welfare Exemption, 1975 8 20 Consolidated Ledger, 1981-1982 8 21 Contracts, 1982-1990 50 14 Contractual Agreements, 1998 8 22 Correspondence with Landlady, n.d. 8 23-26 CT-2 (Periodic Report to the Attorney General of California), 1974-1984 9 1 Designs and Building Plans, 1983 9 2 Development Director (Bernedette Cha) File, 1984 9 3 Documents of Business and Warranties, 1976-1984 9 4 Federal Tax Exempt Status Letters, 1975-1977 9 5-6 Federal Tax Returns (Annual), 1974-1983 9 7-8 Federal Tax Returns (Quarterly), 1976-1985 9 9-11 Financial Records, 1978-1986 9 12-13 Financial Reports, 1977 Financial Statements 9 14-20 1976-1988 10 1-2 1990-1991 10 3 Fort Mason Leasing, 1985 10 4 Furniture and Equipment (including production equipment), 1984-1985 10 5 Grants Workshop, 1979 10 6-8 Income Statements, 1981-1983 10 9 Lawsuits and Requests for Payments, 1978-1989 10 10 Los Angeles Theater Center Contract, 1990 10 11 Mailing List Manager (a company; includes a list of media contacts), 1984 10 12 Marketing Plan, 1982-1983 10 13 Penalties and Interest from the State of California, 1978-1980 50 15 Performing Arts Facilities Agreements, 1997-1998 10 14 Permit Information, 1991 10 15 Potential Audience and Income Evaluation, 1986-1989 50 16 Promissory Notes, 1995-1996 50 17 Public Programs & Activities, 1994-1995 10 16-18 Receipts, 1974-1977 10 19-21 Redevelopment Agency with Letters of Support for AATC, 1986-1987 50 18 Rent, Arthur Chan, 1995-1996 10 22 Rental Agreements, 1981-1990 10 23 San Francisco Assessor's Office, 1979-1981 10 24 Schedule of Events, 1991 10 25 State of California Tax Returns, 1974-1984 50 19 Statement of Sources and Uses of Income, 1985-1986 50 20 Theatre Bay Area, 1996 10 26 Theater Operations, 1982
SERIES III. CORRESPONDENCE, 1974-2000 11 1-3 Actors' Equity Association, 1986-1989 11 4 Bay Area Theater Workers Association, 1983 11 5 Business Correspondence, 1975-1989 11 6 California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, 1983 11 7 Congratulation Letters, 1986-1990 11 8-9 Fan Mail and "Thank You" Notes, 1979-1987 50 21 Fort Mason, 1993-1995 11 10-12 General Correspondence, 1981-1990 11 13 The Grantsmanship Center, 1979 11 14-15 Greeting Cards, 1981-1989 11 16-17 Hayashi, Eric, 1988-1989 Incoming Correspondence, 50 22 1987 50 23 1988 51 1 1989 51 2 1990 51 3 1991 51 4 1992 51 5 1993 51 6 1999 51 7 International Cultural Management, 1997 51 8 Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, 1996-1997 11 18 Letters from Playwrights, 1986-1988 51 9 Office Memorandums, 2000 11 19-21 Outgoing Correspondence, 1974-1981 51 10 Outgoing Correspondence, 1988-1996 11 22 Playworks, 1986-1987 11 23 Public Relations Correspondence, 1975-1980 11 24 Recommendation Letters, 1979 11 25 Resignation Letters, 1978 11 26 "Showtime" (Cable Network) Competition, 1985 51 11 San Francisco Arts Commission, 1995
SERIES IV. GRANTS, 1975-1998 Box Folder Contents
51 12-13 Audience Development Initiative Grant, 1989 51 14 Audience Development Initiative Grant, 1990 51 15 Audience Development Initiative Grant, Final Report, 1990-1991 12 1 Arts Loan Fund, 1986 12 2-6 Bay Area Multicultural Arts Initiative, 1988-1991 51 16 Bay Area Playwrights Festival XII, 1989 12 7 Bothin Helping Fund, 1983 12 8-20 California Arts Council, 1980-1991 51 17 California Arts Council, 1988-1993 51 18 California Arts Council Grant, 1992-1993 51 19 California Arts Council, California Challenge Program, 1990 51 20 California Arts Council, Multi-Cultural Advancement Program, 1991 52 1 California Arts Council Organization Grant: Theatre, 1986 52 2 California Arts Council Organizational Support Program, 1990-1991 52 3 California Arts Council Press Releases, 1990 13 1 California First Bank, 1984 13 2 Chevron Corporation, 1983 13 3 Clorox Company Foundation, 1984 13 4 Columbia Foundation, 1979 13 5 Corporate Funding, n.d. 13 6 Gerbode Foundation, 1991 13 7 Grants Correspondence, 1985-1992 Grants for the Arts 52 4 1986-1987 52 5 1987-1988 52 6 1988-1989 52 7 1989-1990 52 8 1990 52 9 1991-1992 52 10-11 1992-1993 52 12-13 1993-1994 52 14-15 1994-1995 52 16 Grants for the Arts Acceptance Pack, 1996-1997 52 17 Grants for the Arts Acceptance Pack, 1997-1998 Grants for the Arts Application 52 18 1994-1995 52 19 1996-1997 52 20 1997-1998 53 1 Grants for the Arts Application and Correspondence, 1995-1996 Grants for the Arts Correspondence, 53 2 1994-1995 53 3 1996 53 4 1997-1998 53 5 Grants for the Arts Final Report, 1997-1998 53 6 Grants for the Arts Lighting, 1993 53 7 Grants for the Arts, Older, Smaller, Asian, Cultural Arts Organizations, 1997-1998 53 8 Grants for the Arts, OASCAO Agreement, 1997-1998 53 9 Grants for the Arts Reimbursements, 1994-1995 53 10 Grants for the Arts Survey, 1996 53 11 Grants for the Arts Voluntary Arts Contribution Fund, 1995-1996 Grants for the Arts Year End Report 53 12 1988-1989 53 13 1991-1992 53 14 1993-1994 53 15 1994-1995 53 16 1995-1996 53 17 Grants for the Arts Year End Report and Correspondence, 1996-1997 13 8 Hass, Walter and Elise, Fund, 1985 53 18 Hotel Tax Fund, 1989-1990 13 9 International Business Machines (IBM), 1984 13 10 Irwin, William G., Charity Foundation, 1985 13 11 Koret Foundation, 1989 13 12 List of Grants, n.d. 13 13 Mervyns and the Dayton Hudson Foundation, 1990-1991 13 14 Miscellaneous Grants Information (primarily California Arts Council), 1988-1991 13 15 Mortimer Fleishhacker Foundation, 1979, 1985 13 16 National Committee on the Self-Development of People, 1979 National Endowments for the Arts 13 17-21 1980-1984 14 1-5 1985-1991 53 19 1989-1990 53 20 1990-1991 53 21 1992-1993 53 22 National Endowment for the Arts Expansion Arts, 1991 53 23 National Endowment for the Arts Expansion Arts Program Proposal, 1990 14 6 Natomas Company, 1984 14 7 Northern California Grantsmakers, 1990 14 8 Pacific Telesis, 1985 14 9 Private Industry Council, 1985 14 10 Rockefeller Foundation, 1981-1985 San Francisco Arts Commission 54 1 Cultural Equity, 1995-1996 54 2 Cultural Equity II, 1995 54 3 Cultural Equity Endowment, 1994 54 4 Cultural Equity Endowment Fund, 1993 54 5-6 Cultural Equity Endowment Grant Application, 1994 54 7 Cultural Equity Grants Program Application, 1995 54 8 Cultural Equity Initiative, 1995-1996 54 9 Cultural Equity Report, 1994 54 10 Final/Interim Report, 1993-1994 54 11 Literary Arts Community Pilot Grant, 1994-1995 54 12 Organizational Grant, 1994 14 11-15 San Francisco Foundation, 1975-1992 15 1-9 San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, 1978-1993 15 10-11 Skaggs, L. J. and Mary C., Foundation, 1979-1986 15 12 Starr Foundation, 1992 15 13 Voluntary Arts Contribution Fund, 1989 15 14-21 Zellerbach Family Fund, 1980-1990
SERIES V. PRODUCTION
FILES, 1974-2001 General Production Files, 1979-2001 54 13 28th Anniversary Season, 2000-2001 16 1 Box Office Receipts, 1979-1997 16 2 Contracts for Production Staff, 1982-1985 16 3 Contracts with Playwrights, 1982-1985 16 4 General Production Correspondence, 1985-1986 16 5-8 Miscellaneous Draft Scripts, n.d. 16 9 Performance for New America, n.d. 16 10 Production Budgets, 1983-1990 16 11 Production Calendars, 1990-1992 16 12 Production Staff and Volunteer Lists, 1983-1985 16 13 Season Listings, 1981- 16 14 Survey of Audience, 1983 16 15 Theater House Procedure, 1985
Individual Productions, 1974-2000. Documents related to the production of AATC plays, including playbills, flyers, press releases, reviews, box office records, newspaper and magazine clippings, and occasionally director’s prompt books (marked up scripts). Scripts for individual productions are located in Series VII: Scripts, 1971-1993.
17 1 The Age of Wonders, 1989 17 2 All I Asking for is My Body, 1989 17 3 Ambidexterity, 1991 17 4 American Seoul, 1994 17 5 An American Story, 1984 17 6 Anatomy of a Springroll, 1992 17 7 And All Through the House, 1985 17 8 And the Soul Shall Dance, 1979-1980 17 9 The Avocado Kid or Zen in the Art of Guacamole, 1980 17 10 "Beam Me Up, Anton" (by Morning Sun Productions), 1992 17 11 Bowl of Being (by Culture Clash), 1990 17 12 Boy in the Air, 1992 17 13 Bullet Headed Birds, 1982-1983 Butcher’s Burden 54 14 1999 54 15 Actor’s Equity Agreements, 1999 54 16 Bios, 1999 54 17 Press, 1999 54 18 Stage Manager’s Notes, 1999 55 1 Capacity To Enter, 1998 17 14 The Case of the Missing Messiah (by Adelante/Teatro Nuestro), 1989 17 15 Chickencoop Chinaman, 1975 Chickencoop Chinaman 55 2 1998 55 3 Program, 1998 55 4 Publicity, 1998 55 5 Stagemanager’s Reports, 1998 17 16 Cleveland Raining (with Thick Description), 1995 Close Encounters of the 3rd World 55 6-7 2000 55 8 Contracts, 2000 17 17 Coda and Points of Departure, a Two Play Production, 1979 | ||||||||
