With Shine a Light, Theater Mu and the Jungle Showcase Asian Artists and History

Promotional artwork for Shine a Light. Theater Mu

Like the Twin Cities’ other indoor live performance venues, the Jungle Theater has remained closed since March. However, beginning in August, it has repurposed the prominent lobby and large display windows of its building on Lyndale Avenue for a new kind of production. The first Shine a Light festival ran from August 20 to August 30, 2020, and showcased the work of the theater’s artists and designers for audiences to enjoy from the street and parking lot.

For the second iteration, which began on September 25 and continues through October 18, the Jungle has teamed up with Theater Mu to showcase the work of local Asian American artists, performers, and theater workers of all backgrounds. Visitors can appreciate the production’s five artistic installations by reserving times to traverse the Jungle in person—or, for those more comfortable viewing the presentation digitally from the safety of their own homes, requesting a link to a virtual tour instead. Alongside the five main pieces are a number of responses from other artists and informative links to provide background on the pieces.

Prop designer and stage manager Kenji Shoemaker, who worked on two of the pieces, says this production was created in the wake of other canceled collaborations between Mu and the Jungle. “To my knowledge, all of the designers involved in this project either designed for Mu’s previous 2019–2020 season or were prospective designers for the 2020–2021 season,” Shoemaker says. “The Jungle and Mu were planning on producing Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee this fall but unfortunately had to cancel the production due to COVID safety concerns. This collaboration is both a continuation of the Jungle’s previous Shine a Light festival and a continuation of the partnership between the two theaters.”

Senbazuru by artists Kenji Shoemaker and Abbee Warmboe and Hold Please by Kenji Shoemaker. Theater Mu

Shoemaker’s pieces, Hold Please and Senbazuru (a collaboration with Abbe Warmboe), employ masks and origami cranes folded from the unused scripts and production notes meant for the 2020 season; more than 50 theater workers helped to fold the cranes. Singer, actor, voice teacher, and podcaster Anna Hashizume contributed a response to Sebazuru for the production. “I think a good number of Americans are aware of the 1,000 paper crane legend from the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes,” says Hashizume, “but I’m not sure if many Americans are aware it’s actually something practiced by the Japanese people. In my response to Kenji’s piece, I talk about how people in Japan actually make 1,000 paper cranes designs for people in need.”

In that response, Hashizume says, “The practices of senbazuru or senninbari are not about the number 1,000. That’s an arbitrary number. One thousand represents people coming together to help others . . . As for the number of cranes [in Shine a Light], one crane represents 1,000 live events or arts workers who are currently unemployed. It’s a sobering image.”

When I ask Shoemaker about the responsibility of artists in this moment, he suggests a balance between documenting a turbulent time and finding ways to survive. “So much of what we know about historical individuals and events is told through the arts in some form. Whether it’s through more classical arts like sculpture or portraiture, through performance, or through more modern forms of art like photography, a large amount of our cultural awareness is passed down through art created by those present or adjacent to the moment in question,” he says. “In the present moment, I feel there is less of a responsibility—because honestly a lot of artists are focused on survival right now—but more of an opportunity to create snapshots of the current moment that can inform future efforts to remember 2020 as it was for those experiencing it.”

Hashizume sees this time as an opportunity to try new things: “I’ve always had a lot of interests that haven’t been performance based. However, performing has always been number one for me, so I haven’t always been able to explore these other interests. Now, since I’m not performing, I’m able to explore these other interests. They’ll never take the place of being onstage for me, but it’s nice to be able to explore something different.”

Transcendence by artist Khamphibian Vang, Theater Mu

The introductions to all the installations in Shine a Light cite grief over what has been lost during the pandemic as well as a hope for restoration. The notes for Senbazuru elaborate:

In the current moment, this wish of recovery is directed towards many individuals, including, but not limited to: the thousands of currently unemployed theatre/arts workers; Black and Indigenous individuals locally and nationwide facing the current and continued reckoning associated with centuries of mistreatment and racism; individuals facing a renewed resurgence of COVID-related anti-Asian racism; and anyone who is dealing with this pandemic and its mishandling by those who do not acknowledge its dangers.

I ask both Shoemaker and Hashizume how they hope local theater will grow and change as a result of the COVID-19 challenge. Shoemaker notes a number of sources that offer paths forward: “During this time of relative inactivity, and in response to events of high-profile racism, such as the murder of George Floyd here in Minneapolis, documents like the We See You WAT, the Bay Area Living Document, and statements from theater professionals like Montana Levi Blanco have created a new wave of conversations trying to shape a more equitable and inclusive future for the field when we return post-COVID. These conversations had been occurring at an individual level for a long time pre-COVID, but I personally hope that this new reawareness and forced acknowledgment can lead to more meaningful change across the industry that increases access and the viability of theater as a safe career for anyone who aspires to be a part of the field.”

Hashizume adds, “I hope we’re able to really appreciate being in space together. Rather than continually looking forward, I hope we’re able to enjoy who we’re sharing the stage with at that moment.”

Shine a Light continues through October 18, 2020. Tickets for both the in-person and virtual experiences are free and available through Theater Mu’s website. Anna Hashizume can be seen next performing for the Decameron Opera Coalition on October 25. You can also find her on her website, annahashizume.com, and on Instagram. Kenji Shoemaker is at kenjishoemaker.com and on Instagram.