Good Night Miss Saigon: Asian and Asian American Representation in the Arts

Please join us after the matinee performance of Maybe Happy Ending on February 9th for a community conversation with the Asian American Journalist Association.

Good Night Miss Saigon: Asian and Asian American Representation in the Arts

From the musicals The Mikado and Miss Saigon to Soft Power, the portrayal and depiction of Asian-ness on stage has been a site of desire, controversy and protest. This community conversation focuses on the significance of Maybe Happy Ending within the history of Asian and Asian American representation in the arts. Hosted in partnership with the Asian American Journalist Association, speakers include journalists, community members, artists and advocates all working to foster diverse perspectives and inclusive practices in their spheres of influence.

Speakers:

	Anjali Enjeti is an award-winning journalist and critic whose work appears in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Newsday, Washington Post, and elsewhere. She teaches creative writing in the MFA program at Reinhardt University, and her nonfiction book that blends personal essays and criticism is forthcoming from the University of Georgia Press.
	Diana Huey is an award-wining Film/TV and theater actress currently making her Alliance debut as JiYeon/Ensemble member in Maybe Happy Ending (and U/S for Claire). She most notably played Ariel in the National Tour of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, where she made international headlines for facing racism over her casting as an Asian American actor and her activism for diversity in the arts.
	Helen Kim Ho is the Founding Partner of HKH Law LLC, a law firm specializing in civil rights, business and employment law. Helen began her legal career at an international law firm in New York, and later dedicated nearly 12 years of her career to the nonprofit sector culminating in her founding and building Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta (formerly AALAC), the first civil rights organization dedicated to Asian immigrants and refugees in the Southeast.
	Judy Oh is a Co-Founder of Kollaboration Atlanta, a chapter of a global nonprofit and movement dedicated to supporting Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi Americans (APIDA) who aspire to pursue a career in the arts. For seven years, she served as an Associate Director, building the organization and community of artists from the ground up and promoting diverse representation in mainstream media. She currently works as a Director of Strategy at BrightHouse, a BCG company and global creative consultancy.
	Willoughby Mariano (Moderator) is an investigative reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She previously worked at the Orlando Sentinel and the Los Angeles Time's METPRO diversity program. Past recognition includes the National Headliner Award in investigative journalism, the Atlanta Press Club’s award for civil and human rights reporting and the Asian American Journalists Association’s Al Neuharth Award, and other honors. She is currently president of the AAJA Atlanta chapter.

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The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational and professional organization with more than 1,500 members across the United States and Asia. AAJA was founded in 1981 by a small group of AAPI journalists who felt a need to support one another and to encourage more Asian American and Pacific Islanders to pursue journalism at a time when there were few AAPI faces in the media. 

This conversation is free with a ticket purchase to the matinee performance on February 9th of Maybe Happy Ending.