Asian American Pacific Islander Celebration Includes Performances by Theater Mu
May 3, 2023
CDH held their Asian American and Pacific Islander Celebration (AAPI) on May 3 to learn about and pay tribute to the achievements, contributions, and challenges of the AAPI community.
Theatre Mu, the second largest Asian American theatre organization in the country, helped us celebrate with a panel and performance titled "The Importance of Seeing Ourselves." Wesley Mouri, a Theater Mu staff member, discussed how Asian American representation in mainstream media is crucial to stopping our communities from being “othered.”
Pagnia Xiong, Clay Man Soo and Wesley Mouri performed and reflected on what it means to see themselves authentically represented on the Twin Cities stages and discussed their journeys toward embracing their voices and identities as Asian American performers. A Q&A session followed the performance.
Pagnia Xiong is an internationally recognized Hmong-American music artist and creative producer. Using her voice, experiences, and personality, she has championed women’s empowerment, mental health, and dreaming big for nearly two decades. At 16, Pagnia made her acting debut at a local children’s theater in her hometown of Eau Claire, WI. Four years later, her passion for performing led to a record deal. Since 2006, she has performed globally for over 200,000 people and recorded three full-length albums. Her creative work has garnered over 40,000 followers and reached over 1.4 million video views.
Clay Man Soo is an Asian-American actor and teaching artist in Minneapolis, MN. He has acted or taught at The Guthrie Theater, Theater Mu, The Children’s Theatre Company, Ten Thousand Things, Alliance Theatre, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Park Square Theatre, History Theater, Pillsbury House + Theater, Jungle Theater, Pangea World Theater, The Lab Theater, Penumbra Theatre, Playwright’s Center, Upstream Arts, Onstage MN, and the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival.
Wesley Mouri is a Twin Cities-based artist with over a decade of experience performing both locally and internationally. He has appeared with Theater Mu in Flower Drum Song and A Little Night Music. Other work includes the Guthrie Theater, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Park Square Theatre, History Theater, Jungle Theater, Children's Theater Company, and Chanhassen Dinner Theaters. Wesley's passion for Asian representation in the arts extends behind the scenes through his work as Development Director for Theater Mu.
