Season 15

Been MIA as life has been a little insane.  Moved back to KTown, turned 25, ended the season at TNC.  BUT I’M BACK.

I forgot to eat dinner last night.

It wasn’t until I pushed into my apartment that my stomach kicked in and reminded me that I had eaten little more than a sandwich, a gin-tonic, and a Cafe Dulce iced coffee all day.

Last night was the final Tuesday Night Cafe show for the season. For those who don’t know, we organize a free multidisciplinary show every first and third Tuesday of the season running from April to October. The intention was to create a consistent Asian American arts scene, to bring young people into LA Little Tokyo, and to utilize the (at the time) new Union Center for the Arts.

15 seasons later, our founder Traci is stepping back to concentrate on building other programs within our larger organization, Tuesday Night Project. Last night was a waterfall of love for her and the space. I have never heard the name “traci” more in a 2 hour period of my life.

It was also a passing of the torch…I am privileged to take over the role starting today.

But what made last night amazing was as always…the people. I kept neglecting to grab The Park’s Finest we have posted to the side for staff, performers, and volunteers because when I wasn’t making sure stuff was going smooth I was running into old friends, meeting new people, and introducing folks to the space. It was a night of serious reflection for long time artists and members of the staff, yet through all the names people didn’t know and inside jokes they didn’t get, the people “got” it and stayed, laughed, and cried.

And CRIED!

I’ve had like 4 people tell me that they cried even though they walked into the courtyard with no more than a base understanding of what TNC was. And I’ve had folks beyond that ask how they can get involved!

It really reaffirmed for me that the most important thing for me to do is to make sure that no matter how many faces change, how many SNAFUs arise, no matter how the community shifts, that I have to, at the heart of it, keep our ship moving to the needs and vision that traci and her crew set out to focus on when they first hit the mic in 1999. To support artists, to bridge communities, and to put on a show that the audience can absorb, process, and build from.

The people will always “get it”.

April will come sooner than we think, and I really hope that you will put April 1st on your calendar as the first show of the 16th season. It will be the start of a fresh chapter with an old soul.

And I am going to go in on this breakfast sandwich.

Thank you to the staff, performers, audience members, and volunteers who made it happen. Special shout out to my friends who were able to make it out on a school night. It really really meant more than you can imagine.