Theater | Offkendrik
Description: First South Asian-American Theater Festival in New England / Boston area. Plays, Storytelling, Solo Acts by South-Asian Immigrants in New England area. SAAThFest .
In the 1980s, the South Asian presence in the United States was barely noticeable. In American popular imagination, South Asia was a distant site founded on stereotypes. The only well-known brown character in the entertainment industry was Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the convenience store owner in the famed animated series “The Simpsons”. Let alone a definable diaspora, South Asians living in America had no clear role in the nation’s racial history.
Fast forward to now: Bollywood has a prominent status in American popular culture; major television shows have South Asian characters; and the legislative branch has elected representatives from the community. Yet this exposure has generated equally problematic –if arguably less exotic—stereotypes: ignoring the immense cultural diversity of the region, India is often seen as synonymous with South Asia; anyone from the region is randomly assumed to be a tech expert; and most importantly, South Asian immigran
The task of underscoring the complexity of the region, therefore, falls on the immigrants themselves, and “South Asian-American Theater” is an event committed to that goal. Spearheaded by the Boston-based non-profit theater group “Off-Kendrik”, it is a three-day celebration of the performative arts –play, stand-up, storytelling, seminar—that brings together eight creative groups. Their narratives address a range of issues in multiple languages, from politics in their countries of origin and experiences of i
Theater | Offkendrik