Asian American actors are cast in only two percent of the roles in Broadway and major Off Broadway productions according to new data released by the advocacy group, the Asian American Performers Action Coalition.

The two percent number is dismal. The data disclosed that of the 6,639 total roles cast in the past five theater seasons, only 54 Broadway parts went to Asian American actors, and 100 Asian American actors got work at nonprofit companies.

Asian American Performers Action Coalition advocates point to these statistics as proof that there is negligible representation of Asian Americans on stage, and a serious lack of true diversity.

Asian Americans are New York City's fastest growing ethnic group, currently comprising 12.9 percent of the population. 

More than 400 people, mostly performers attended the RepresentAsian conference at Fordham University on Monday February 13, 2012 to listen to a roundtable discussion about the topic moderated by Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (Chinglish, M.Butterfly) and 17 other members of the theatrical community. 

Theatre industry veterans at the round table discussion included Broadway director Bartlett Sher, Vineyard Theatre's Doug Aibel, playwright Douglas Carter Beane, producers Nelle Nugent and Stephen Byrd, and Actors' Equity boss Mary McColl.

Related: 

NPR's Randy Gener covers the RepresentAsian conference

New York Times writer Patrick Healy reports 

On Friday, March 8, 2013, the Halcyon Theatre Company honored actor Christine Lin; Henry Godinez, resident artistic associate at Goodman Theatre and the curator of the Latino Theatre Festival; and Liz Griffiths, immediate past Director of North River Commission’s (NRC) two economic development affiliates, the Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation (LADCOR) and the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce, with The Iris Award for connecting Chicago’s communities and arts, at Night of Flight, Halcyon Theatre’s first major fundraiser at Architectural Artifacts in Chicago, Il.

Christine Lin was presented with The Iris Award for connecting Chicago’s communities and arts by Halcyon Theatre co-founders Jenn and Tony Adams, who is also the Artistic Director, at Night of Flight, Halcyon Theatre’s first major fundraiser at Architectural Artifacts in Chicago, Il, on March 8, 2013. Photo by Kan Chou

Christine Lin, an actor, improvisor and engineering consultant, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and began her affiliation with Halcyon in 2008 as an Artistic Associate, appearing in the Company’s productions of Caridad Svich’sIphigenia…(a rave fable), Tony Adam’s Trickster, and Salman Rushdie’sHaroun and the Sea of Stories. She also directed Astrid Saalbach’s The Blessed Child in 2009′s Alcyone Festival. She has been a company and board member since 2011.

Eric Lin and his daughter Christine Lin, who was presented with The Iris Award for connecting...

On Tuesday, May 9, 2006, Kayo Hatta's Fishbowl, a decidedly off-kilter look at contemporary American life in Hawaii, premieres on PBS.

(San Francisco)--On Tuesday, May 9, 2006 at 10 PM (check local listings), PBS series Independent Lens co-presents with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) Kayo Hatta's Fishbowl , a short film that offers a decidedly off-kilter look at contemporary American life.

This final film from the late acclaimed Hawaiian filmmaker Kayo Hatta (Picture Bride) was adapted from Lois-Ann Yamanaka's Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers , and set in the sleepy plantation town of Hilo, Hawaii. Fishbowl is about a brooding 11-year-old named Lovey who is trying to be anything but herself. Ridiculed by the popular girls and picked on by her teacher for speaking pidgin English, Lovey escapes into a world of pop fantasy daydreams. Add to the mix an obsession with the Captain and Tennille, her effeminate best friend Jerry, and an eventful Halloween party and one soon realizes that this is anything but a Disney Channel view of modern youth.

Visit the program companion websites:
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/fishbowl/

The Center for Asian American Media (formerly known as the National Asian American Telecommunications Association) has a new director. A fond farewell to Eddie Wong and a hearty welcome to Stephen Gong. Gong, 53, joins the Center after working for 18 years at the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, most...

The OBIE Award-winning National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) — now in its 23rd season of presenting classics and new works performed by Asian American actors — will present August Strindberg’s A DREAM PLAY in a new adaptation by Sung Rno and Andrew Pang, directed by Mr. Pang, with previews set to begin March 22 prior to an official opening night of March 27 at HERE, 145 Sixth Avenue (entrance on Dominick, 1 Block South of Spring) in New York.
A DREAM PLAY runs through April 13. Tickets are priced from $15 (for preview performances, March 22nd- 26th) – $25 (for performances March 27th – April 13th). For Tickets & Information, please visit www.here.org or call 212-352-3101. This production of A DREAM PLAY is a part of SubletSeries@HERE, HERE’s curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support.

Sung Rno’s plays — which include GRAVITY FALLS FROM TREES, wAve, THE TRAJECTORY OF A HEART, FRACTURE and KONISHIKI, MON AMOUR — have been produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company, East West Players, Dance Theatre Workshop, Immigrants Theater Project and NY International Fringe Festival. Andrew Pang is an actor/director who has performed with NAATCO, Ma-Yi and Pan Asian Rep and with the Steppenwolf Theatre in productions directed by Frank Galati.

Jojo Gonzalez, Siho Ellsmore, Tina Chilip and Dave Shih in NAATCO’s A Dream Play...

Balancing Acts Tells the Remarkable Story of Chinese Acrobat Man Tan Fong

Balancing Acts . a new documentary by director Donna Schatz, chronicles the astonishing life of Man Tan Fong who left his home in 1929 as a teenager in China to train in Hong Kong as an acrobat. After a year of grueling training, he began performing with a Chinese acrobat troupe throughout Europe and eventually formed his own group, the Oriental Brothers. While performing in Copenhagen, Fong met Magda Schweitzer, a Hungarian Orthodox Jewish acrobat, who was performing on the same bill. They fell in love and were married at the start of World War II.

Through archival footage, photos, and interviews, Balancing Acts showcases Man Tan Fongs career and the story of how his wife and two sons were able to survive Nazi-occupied Hungary during WWII. His Chinese citizenship protected them because it gave Magda a Chinese passport, which hid her Jewish identity. Balancing Acts by director Donna Schatz is a story about the sacrifice, love, and perseverance of Man Tan Fong, now in his 90s, and Magda Schweizter, who passed away in 2003.

Balancing Acts premieres on PBS this May as part of the Center for Asian American Media's lineup of films for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. (Check local listings.)

The Center for Asian American Media (formerly known as the National Asian American Telecommunications Association) has a new director. A fond farewell to Eddie Wong and a hearty welcome to Stephen Gong. Gong,...