A series exploring the Black and Asian Pacific Islander (API) diaspora in Oakland, California
Led by Ryan Takemiya and Julius Rea, the interviews invite culinary and community health professionals to share and explore personal histories around a uniquely crafted table of food. During each episode, everyone prepares a dish that is personal to their identity or background for dinner. These mutli-racial meals serve as the jumping off point to explore culture on a plate.
Partnering with Xochi the Dog Cafe in Oakland, these discussions act as a cross-cultural bridge between Black and API relations using food as a universal link. The pilot episode will be released in Summer 2022.
artists
Interviewer Ryan Takemiya (he/him) is a native Bay Area actor, writer, public speaker, and community organizer. A former member of the Ragged Wing Ensemble of Oakland, he has also appeared in numerous productions around the Bay Area, including the world premier of Valley of the Heart by Luis Valdez at the San Jose Stage. As a member of The Forum Collective, he seeks to use theater to center POC and other historically marginalized narratives. For more background on him, visit www.ryantakemiya.com.
Interviewer Julius Rea (he/him) is a Bay Area playwright, curator and performer. In addition to writing for publications such as the East Bay Express and EBONY magazine, he obtained a degree in Philosophy at San Francisco State University. In 2018, he co-founded The Forum Collective, an arts organization that focuses on journalism theatre and gallery curation. Rea was part of Crowded Fire Theatre’s 2020-21 Resilience and Development Lab and has been a finalist in the 2020 and 2021 Bay Area Playwrights Festivals. Also an actor, Rea has performed with Ragged Wing, Left Edge Theatre, and Benicia Old Town Theatre Group; he received a 2019 Arty award for his portrayal of Chris in Lynn Nottage’s Sweat. He has worked and produced with the Playwrights Foundation, Greenhouse Theatre Festival, Nomadic Press, Firehouse Art Collective, Golden Thread Productions, Adelines Lab, and Playground. www.juliusernestorea.com
Director & Editor Marisa Ramos (she/her) is a director, producer, filmmaker and editor with a creative focus on stories from marginalized communities. She is currently the Development and Media Director at The Forum Collective where she aided in producing Ether, a web series that depicts people of color as they navigate a changed world during the pandemic. Marisa directed a staged reading of La Paloma as part of the Bay Area Women Theatre Festival, and Quantum Dragon Theatre’s staged reading of Ageless. She is a co-founder of LFK Media, a video production company based in Oakland, CA. Some of the theatre companies she has worked with in creating videos include CalShakes, Crowded Fire, Shotgun Players, Oakland Theatre Project, FaultLine Theatre and Z Space. She is also currently the Audience Engagement Director at Mexican American Conservatory Theatre.
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