Happy Wednesday everyone! Now that the Superbowl is done, what's there to do? J/K! Hope your favorite team won, and if they weren't in the big dance, there's always next year. If you don't follow football, hopefully the commercials entertained you instead. A huge congrats to my buddy Aaron Takahashi for his Superbowl commercial, you know the one, the asian dude in the bath tub full of gold coins? Yeah, that's him. You may have seen him before ;p

Happy Tuesday (or Wednesday) everyone! Sadly, I caught a pretty bad cough bug that had me out of commission for the past few days, but I'm happy to report that I'm on my way to a full recovery (is there any other alternative? I think NOT!). I think what pushed me over the edge into the land of cough syrups and advil was this great set of performance gigs I did this past Saturday, one was a children's show showcasing Japanese fairy tales, and the other was for the JACCC Autumn Festival. Back-to-back gigs complete with choreography and singing kinda did me in, hence the bad cough. :( 

Hopefully you're reading this entry in a cool, air conditioned area, free from this heat and humidity we've been facing that last few days. No worries though, as according to the weather channel, it's cooling off a little by mid week - whew!

With that said, you're probably wondering what the entry title means. This past weekend, I had the great honor and opportunity to photograph, take part and perform in the Artists At Play fundraiser at club Fais Do-Do. Artists at Play is a newly formed theater group that will be mounting its first production later this fall in November, entitled "Ching Chong Chinaman". Led by producers Marie-Reine Velez, Stefanie Wong Lau, Julia Cho, and Peter Kuo (the same Peter who directed us in "SFANW" in 2009).

      This awesome group of producers and actors put on a heck of an event filled with great talents, food, camaraderie, and entertainment! Great times indeed! One of the more unique and cool things at the event was a Rock, Paper, Scissors tourney - yup! How awesome is that?! Low and behold, somehow or another, yours truly, moi, made it all the way to the finals! (What the?!) Losing after a 1-1 tie to my friend Scott for a set of tickets to Universal Studios, tickets to AAP's upcoming production, and get this, a "Wrestling World Championship" belt! Man! I've always wanted one of those! Nevertheless, kudos goes out to everyone who participated, supported, and attended the event. AAP is a great group, and I really wish them much success in all their endeavors. Go check them out! Now, on with the visuals, shall we?!



 

Happy Tuesday everyone! Can you believe summer is almost over? Where does the time go?!

First off, a huge thanks to my friends Paul, Dave, Vic, Kevin, Ian, David, Laura, Kaia, Pete, and CJ. Great times at the NEW "W" Hotel in Toluca Lake - always a pleasure! Hope you guys got home alright, and are busy settling into normal life! See you next time!

Second, why did I entitle this post, "The Great White Way"? Well, on Saturday, I was asked to photograph East West Player's One Night Only fundraiser, and the theme was BROADWAY. Showcasing the many Asian American actors/actresses that have graced that "great white way" in some of the most popular musicals ever written. Everything from "Wicked", to "Flower Drum Song", to "Miss Saigon", "Ragtime", etc. In some way or another, there has been an asian brother or sister on those casts, and Saturday night, some of them came back to their "roots" here in L.A. to share with the audience their immense talents. What a night! For a solid 90 minutes, the audience was captivated with stories about Broadway productions, how each actor got their start, their trials and tribulations, etc. Not only was it entertaining, but there was a bit of "schooling" being done as well with the stories being told. Wish you could have been there! If you were unable to attend, here are a few photos from that awesome evening. Enjoy!

Spectacular night! And for a great cause like East West Players! If you love theater and the arts, then definitely support the terrific work being done there.


Lastly, yesterday, Helen and I went to the Grammy Museum here at L.A. Live, by the Staples Center. We've been wanting to go for some time now, and we finally made some time to do it. Amongst their collections of Grammys and the artists who have won them, they had memorabilia, history lessons, music set ups, and much more for a really cool time! You could play drums to Bob Marley, or even "strum" a guitar to some rock music! Everything to unleash your inner rock star!

My favorite, (here it comes) was the Michael Jackson exhibit, highlighting some of his most memorable costumes and outfits over the years, as well as handwritten lyrics and music. Although photography wasn't allowed, somehow or another, these photos ended up on my iPhone (Hmmm, wonder how those got there?!)...

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but as most of you know, I've been a huge Michael Jackson fan my entire life (Heck, even my FB profile photo is of him, albeit his mugshot taken years ago). I have all his albums, and most notably, his autograph that my mom got for me years ago, framed and ready for display (it's hidden behind other artworks to make sure it doesn't fade, despite the UV glass I have it under!). When he tragically passed away, I too was saddened that such a legendary artist was gone. Although the King was dead, he did leave behind so many legacies in people that I've come to know and work with. This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be stage managing the annual Nisei Week Coronation at the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, and low and behold, his most recent "legacy" person was Judith Hill, who, was made famous for her work in the "This is it" movie/documentary about Michael's last tour. Judith was invited to perform for the coronation, and I got a front row seat (well, off to stage left actually) to see her perform her own songs, and one of my all time MJ favorites, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", again, made famous from the movie footage of the two of them singing it together. It was super cool to be around someone (again!) who worked hand in hand with the King of Pop, and realize that I was (kinda) one degree away from one of my all time favorite artists! (Kinda). Needless to say, Judith was spectacular with her performance, backed up by no other than our good friends that we've worked with on past gigs (you rocked guys!), as well as her own dad playing bass for her! How cool is that?! Plus, Helen was asked to sing back-up for her as well! (Some people have all the luck.) Long live the King. His legacy lives on in the people he worked with, that continues to inspire and touch our lives :)