History

TeAda Productions History

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It all started when...

For over 25 years, TeAda has collaborated with community-based organizations across the country, creating original plays rooted in the experiences of immigrants and refugees. A leader in their field, TeAda impacts tens of thousands of community members, offering acts of service through transformative theater workshops and performances.

TeAda Productions began in 1996 as a nomadic theater, with a commitment to artists of color, and a focus on highlighting marginalized stories for purposes of public discourse. Throughout the years, TeAda vigorously upheld the spirit of its programming, delving into exciting, groundbreaking work rooted in pressing community issues. TeAda Productions' cross‐disciplinary performances have addressed health, education, and social justice issues affecting communities of color from intersecting experiences.

TeAda’s national touring productions include Refugee Nation, Masters of the Currents, and Global Taxi Driver. Created in 2005, Refugee Nation was the first nationally touring play about Laotian refugees in the U.S. Gathered from Lao-American oral histories, the interdisciplinary theater performance explores the impact of war, refugees, global politics and U.S. citizenship. After touring the USA for over five years, Refugee Nation premiered in Los Angeles June 2012.

Global Taxi Driver world premiered in Minneapolis at Intermedia Arts September 2014 and premiered in Los Angeles at East West Players March 2015. Inspired by the real life experiences of immigrant taxi drivers from L.A. to Minneapolis and Bangkok to Guadalajara, Global Taxi Driver explores immigration and mobility in the 21st Century. It tells a worldwide story of diaspora and the effects of technology on the workforce.

In 2017, TeAda Productions premiered Masters of the Currents, a story that gives voice to Hawaii’s most recent immigrants from Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania, which comprises of thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Many fled their island nations due to environmental and economic pressures, yet are facing resistance and battle for equality in their assimilation. Masters of the Currents combines community based story collection and social justice practices with devised ensemble techniques to create a theatrical performance, built with the involvement of this community. Since 2015, we have worked to collect stories, write, workshop, co-produce, and collaborate on our Masters of the Currents play, which has now toured Guam, Los Angeles, Utah, Minnesota, San Francisco, and Hawai’i since 2018 to the present. The play has been developed through a New England Foundation for the Arts - National Theater Project award to work with Micronesian community in the aforementioned areas.

Our newest play, Nothing Micro about Micronesia is a coming of age story about two Micronesian boys who encounter an unlikely place after a series of conflicts between them. They must navigate between the directions from elders and the government systems who have had an impact on their current lives and states of being/belonging. This play takes us through the lenses of island life in Micronesia, personalizing stories connected to migration, climate change, decolonization, justice, and more connected to the Micronesian experience in Hawai’i, Micronesia, and beyond.

Nothing Micro about Micronesia is an expansion of Masters of the Currents, created by Leilani Chan & Ova Saopeng, with Cultural Navigator Innocenta Sound-Kikku and contributions from numerous multi-generational Micronesian community members in Hawai’i, Micronesia, and beyond. Nothing Micro About Micronesia came about as a result of Masters of Currents’ successful international tours and community engagement activities. As a result, community leaders have requested that TeAda Productions create new work that focuses on the continued discrimination and resilience of Micronesians. Like Masters of Currents, this new work combines community based story collection, and social justice practices with devised ensemble techniques to create a theatrical performance built with the involvement of the Micronesian community.

Nothing Micro About Micronesia world premiered at Honolulu Theater for Youth in March 2024; and hosted a sold-out performance in May 2024 at UH Mānoa Kennedy Theater for the 7th Annual Asian Pasifika Theater Festival, ConFest. To learn more about how you can support our touring ensemble and touring costs, visit: teada.org/nmamcampaign.

PAST COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Nothing Micro About Micronesia: Honolulu Theatre for Youth, ANNO Institute, Ka Hālau Hanakeaka, UH Mānoa Kennedy Theater

Masters of the Currents: T-Shirt Theatre, Micronesian Health Advisory Coalition, Honolulu Theatre for Youth.

Refugee Nation: Legacies of War

Refugee State: Program for Torture Victims, Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) in Portland, Oregon; Midtown Utica Community Center (MUCC) in Utica, New York.

2017-Present Los Angeles Community Partners: UCLA Labor Center, Los Angeles Worker Center Network, Pilipino Workers Center of Los Angeles (PWC), Program for Torture Victims (PTV), Antena Los Angeles, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), Long Beach Public Library SEED Program, Garment Worker Center (GWC), USC Visions and Voices, and more.

PAST TEADA ARTISTS

Anatalia Vallez, Annie Lokomaika'i Lipscomb, Alejandra Cisneros, Alex Torres, Alison De La Cruz, Anthony Aguilar, Antonio Olivas, Armando Molina, Blake Williams, Blanca Melchor, Carla Vega, Carlos Ramos, Christelle Baguidy, Chella Coleman, Corky Dominguez, D'lo, Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, Erin O'Brian, Gabriel Guillen, George Paez, Ifrah Mansour, Isaac Cruz, Jay Laeno, Joshua Lamont, Kenesha Hemmings, Kiana Rivera, Kristina Wong, Laurie Woolery, Librecht Wanderlust, Porschia Baker, Lidet Viravong, Lindsey Haley, Luke Lizalde, May Lee-Yang, Magdalena Guillen, Marcella Pabros-Clark, Marcelo Olivas, Maria G. Martinez, Mariella Saba, Meg Teran, Mercedes Floresislas, Mikendon Raed, Miriam Moses, Misa Tupou, Natalie Camunas, Nicole M. Smith of Neuveausoul Productions, Nicole Ortega, Nurit Siegel, Oscar Basulto, Ramona Gonzales, Raquel Salinas, Rena Heinrich, Robert Karimi, Ryan I. Kahaʻiʻōlelo Sueoka, Samantha Quintero, Sami L.A. Akuna aka Cocoa Chandelier, Sarah Manamtam, Saymoukda Vongsay, Ser Anzotegui, Shyamala Moorty, Shruti Purkayastha, Toni Temehana Pasion, Uhuru Moore.

TeAda Productions

TeAda Productions is a nomadic theater of color rooted in the stories of immigrants and refugees. Through theater workshops and performances, TeAda is committed to healing and honoring the lives of the displaced, exploited and overlooked. Our artistic process starts and ends with conscious listening, community building, and creative courage. TeAda began in 1996 as a means of providing opportunities for people of color to develop their artistry and bring marginalized voices into the public dialogue. TeAda’s plays are developed through community-based story gathering and a devised ensemble theater process. Current touring plays developed through this process include Refugee Nation, (the 1st nationally touring play about Laotian Refugees in the U.S.) and Global Taxi Driver (a play based on the stories of Taxi Drivers and the effects of technology on this gateway profession). TeAda’s Creative Self Care workshop series is entering it’s 3rd year at the UCLA Labor Center in downtown L.A.