Theater Mu, (Formerly Mu Performing Arts), located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is an

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

arts organization in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, the second largest in the country. According to Mu's website, the company name "Mu" is "the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese character Mu for the shaman-artist-warrior who connects the heavens and the earth through the tree of life." Theater Mu was founded in 1992 by

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, director, and taiko artist Rick Shiomi, along with Dong-il Lee, Diane Espaldon, and Martha Johnson. Six years later, the organization changed its name to Mu Performing Arts after starting a taiko drumming program known as Mu Daiko. Shiomi served as

Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

for 21 years, stepping down in 2013. Randy Reyes took over as Artistic Director, and stepped down in 2018. Organizational changes occurred in 2017 as Mu Daiko transitioned to become a separate non-profit arts organization, TaikoArts Midwest, and Mu reverted to its original name of Theater Mu. Reyes stepped down as Artistic Director in 2018. The position was assumed by

Lily Tung Crystal Lily Tung Crystal is an actor/ singer and theater director serving as the artistic director of the Los Angeles theatre company East West Players, the largest producer of Asian American Pacific Islander creative work. She was previously the art ...

in 2019. Since its inception in 1993, Theater Mu's New Eyes Festival has been an annual tradition featuring staged readings of new works, and continues to the theater's longest running program. Mu's productions have included world premieres of new works by

Leah Nanako Winkler Leah Nanako Winkler is a Japanese-born American playwright currently living in New York City. Her play ''God Said This'' won the 2018 Yale Drama Series Prize. Her play, Two Mile Hollow, recently won the Francesca Primus Prize. She is a recipien ...

and local playwright

May Lee-Yang May Lee-Yang, also known as May Lee ( RPA: ''Mev Lis Yaj'', Pahawh: '), is a Hmong American playwright, poet, prose writer, performance artist and community activist in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. She was born in Ban Vinai Refugee Cam ...

, re-imagined productions of Shakespeare and Sondheim musicals, and collaborations with other theaters such as Mixed Blood Theatre Company, Jungle Theater, Penumbra Theatre Company, Park Square Theatre and

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

to bring plays by award-winning playwrights such as David Henry Hwang, Carla Ching, and Lauren Yee. Theater Mu is a founding member of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists and is a member of the Minnesota Theater Alliance, Americans for the Arts, and Theatre Communications Group. Mu is also a member of the Twin Cities Theatres of Color Coalition standing alongside New Native Theatre, Pangea World Theater,

Penumbra Theatre The Penumbra Theatre Company, an African-American theatre company in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was founded by Lou Bellamy in 1976. The theater has been recognized for its artistic quality and its role in launching the careers of playwrights includi ...

, and Teatro Del Pueblo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theater Mu Asian-American theatre Theatre companies in Saint Paul, Minnesota Asian-American art 1992 establishments in Minnesota