Kate Rigg: Touring Shows

Birth of a nASIAN

In Addition to full length stand up comedy/music shows by Kate Rigg-- which can range from 1 to 2 hours and consist of funky edgy urban Asian material, with room for talk back sessions and may include excerpts from the other touring shows (see Below)-- the following may be available for bookings or archival pictures and video:

Slanty Eyed Mama concerts and multimedia shows

Slanty Eyed Mama is lyricist and singer Kate Rigg (aka Lady K-sian) and electric violinist/beats Lyris Hung who met while studying at the Juilliard School and began collaborating on creating a fresh Amerasian voice through trip hop, spoken word, and the inclusion of 'cyber butoh', the japanese modern dancer Sato at live performances. Where are the cool asian rock acts they asked themselves? Where's my funky urban asian culture?

Lyris Hung and Kate Rigg. Photo by Dora Herzog. "Slanty eyed Mama brings something special to the American landscape--a bold daring fun, crazy voice that expresses our joy, our rage, our piece of the American dream, in a way that is accessible to everyone, most of all recognizable to other Asians and Hapas..." --East West Woman

Because of frontwoman Lady K's parallel career in stand up comedy and performance art, this versatile act can tour with comedy acts. Their fresh politicomic rants and satirical lyrics in songs like "My Boyfriend's Black and There's gonna be trouble" and "Me Love You Long Time" are peppered into their energetic performance style. A typical concert is an hour and a half of thoroughly contemporary Asian American street savvy art, with audience interaction, freestyling and comedy.
Lyris Hung and Kate Rigg. Photo by Kate Rigg. Depending on the venue, Slanty Eyed Mama can perform a theatrical, multimedia concert. Americasiana incorporates dance, video, acrobatic suspension and the music into a full length Slanty Eyed Mama performance. Slanty Eyed Mama also host talkback/workshops on Asian Americans in pop culture, women of color issues and politics, performance technique, and multiculturalism in the arts and media. Please see the Slanty Eyed Mama page for more information.

Click Link to see VIDEO OF LIVE PERFORMANCE "I'M A NAUGHTY SCHOOLGIRL" BY SLANTY EYED MAMA - QuickTime Movie mp4

Click Link to see VIDEO OF "mulan" BY SLANTY EYED MAMA - QuickTime Movie mp4

Birth of a nASIAN by Kate Rigg and Leah Ryan

"Birth of a nASIAN" -is Trip hop comedy theater with an asian slant. Original Character monologues, stand up comedy and fierce spoken word rants are all woven together by the kickin pulse of former Juilliard virtuoso turned rockin electronic violin player Lyris Hung.

Lyris Hung and Kate Rigg. Photo by Leda. Kate takes on a wild series of characters exploring identity and alienation across an Amerasian palette. The transitions between characters include an original trip hop soundtrack played live on electronic violin, live sampling, and beats, by Lyris Hung, as well as several in your face spoken word pieces that bring street sensibility to the issues facing Asian Americans searching for their cultural voice.

See edgy thought provoking characters like a 31 year old asian cheerleader, a World Trade Center Street hawker, and a china-latina with an axe to grind at the UI office.

The Anchorage Daily News called Birth of a nASIAN "poetry in drag and symphony on a hip-hop bender...stand-up comedy doing the freak with an electric violin...A raucous, in-your-face performance that upends stereotypes and belies cultural expectations through song, sound, rant, comedy, character and technical virtuosity." The Association for Theater in Higher Education said in their annual conference newsletter "One of those rare gems that is so smart, witty and hilarious that I could barely laugh because I was so busy marveling at the layering of language and political sophistication" Northwest Asian Weekly called it "Wild" Metro Weekly Silicon Valley wrote "Uses stereotypes as tools to transcend color...bridges Asian Ameican Identity issues and trip hop puts familiar faces in unique circumstances"

It's good asian girls gone badassed, twisting their classical training to further kick the ass of the pidgin speaking GI loving manicuring kung fu kicking flower arranging ping pong shooting violin playing (!!) math equation solving laundry taking opium smoking delicate oriental lotus flowers that exist in the media's take away minds.

In 2007 Birth of a nASIAN was featured at the Comedy Central Theater in Los Angeles, and in 2008 it will headline Asian Pacific Islander Month at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. Birth of a nASIAN has also been performed in New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Massachussets, Alaska, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chapel Hill and continues to tour.

CLICK Link to VIEW "WHY CAN'T I BE WHITE?": 5 minute character excerpt from Birth of a nASIAN at the Comedy Central Theater In L.A. - QuickTime Movie

Kate's Chink-O-Rama
featuring the Chinkorama Dancers

Funky Urban Comedy with all the flava and extra MSG

Lyris Hung and Kate Rigg. Photo by Kate Rigg. Kate's Chink-O-Rama deconstructs, repositions, ridicules, explodes, embodies, satirizes, re-visions, dissects, reconstructs addresses, discusses, and challenges images of Asian America found in pop culture and mass media. It is funny, a-political, political, irreverent, scathing, hilarious, silly, astounding, and touching. Using a combination of sketch, wild musical numbers, hot fly girl dancing, character monologue, stand up and song parody, it's a comedy music revue in the style of In Living Color, but with a decidedly asian slant. (get it?).

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote Funny and ferociously energetic... at full throttle she's an urban machine NY Cool.com called it Funky Urban comedy wth flava and extra MSGBackstage Magazine raved sassy and devilishly bright comedy: move over Whoopi Goldberg, John Leguizamo and Tracey Ullman...

Kate's Chink-O-Rama developed a large cult following in New York city and was a regular sold out show at at one of the city's "hotspots" Joes's Pub at the Joseph Papp Public Theater. Kate's Chink-O-Rama has been featured in TIME, Newsweek, backstage, BUST Magazine, THIS Magazine, The Toronto Star, The San Francisco Chronicle, Asia Week, A Magazine and many others. It has toured to college campuses around the country and portions have been performed on NBC, NPR, CTV, STAR TV.

Chink-O-Rama Did you say CHINK? Race and Representation in the Touring Shows

"Rigg used stereotypes against themselves to nuanced but devastating effect."--WASHINGTON POST

The use of the word chink, while controversial, is intentionally political in its co-option of racist language to expose its negative impact on culture. Tongue in Cheek, Satirical and subversive, the deliberate re-possession and relocation of racist language in this particular case begins with the etymology of the word chink, which is purportedly a diminutive for "Chinese" but, as most asian Americans will tell you, Koreans, Thai people, Japanese people, Malaysians, Indonesians, Filipinos, and other members of the A/PI community have been potential targets for the word, which racistly assumes that all asian people are/look the same. Hence the cast of chink-o-rama is ethnically diverse and often of mixed race. Other words such as gook, nip, slant, etc are used in the show interchangeably as part of the movement of disempowerment repossession and relocation of the images associated with the words. In Birth of a nASIAN, these issues are addressed directly in the spoken word sections. And Slanty Eyed Mama's lyricism addresses all of them too. More discussion of this and other issues facing the A/PI community are addressed in all of Kate's shows and the discussion groups afterwards.


In Addition to full length stand up comedy/music shows by Kate Rigg-- which can range from 1 to 2 hours and consist of funky edgy urban Asian material, with room for talk back sessions and may include excerpts from the other touring shows (see Below)-- the following may be available for bookings or archival pictures and video: Slanty Eyed Mama concerts and multimedia shows Slanty Eyed Mama is lyricist and singer Kate Rigg (aka Lady K-sian) and electric violinist/beats Lyris Hung who met while studying at the Juilliard School and began collaborating on creating a fresh Amerasian voice through trip hop, spoken word, and the inclusion of 'cyber butoh', the japanese modern dancer Sato at live performances. Where are the cool asian rock acts they asked themselves? Where's my funky urban asian culture? "Slanty eyed Mama brings something special to the American landscape--a bold daring fun, crazy voice that expresses our joy, our rage, our piece of the American dream, in a way that is accessible to everyone, most of all recognizable to other Asians and Hapas..." --East West Woman Because of frontwoman Lady K's parallel career in stand up comedy and performance art, this versatile act can tour with comedy acts. Their fresh politicomic rants and satirical lyrics in songs like "My Boyfriend's Black and There's gonna be trouble" and "Me Love You Long Time" are peppered into their energetic performance style. A typical concert is an hour and a half of thoroughly contemporary Asian American street savvy art, with audience interaction, freestyling and comedy. Depending on the venue, Slanty Eyed Mama can perform a theatrical, multimedia concert. Americasiana incorporates dance, video, acrobatic suspension and the music into a full length Slanty Eyed Mama performance. Slanty Eyed Mama also host talkback/workshops on Asian Americans in pop culture, women of color issues and politics, performance technique, and multiculturalism in the arts and media. Please see the Slanty Eyed Mama page for more information. Click Link to see VIDEO OF LIVE PERFORMANCE "I'M A NAUGHTY SCHOOLGIRL" BY SLANTY EYED MAMA - QuickTime Movie mp4 Click Link to see VIDEO OF "mulan" BY SLANTY EYED MAMA - QuickTime Movie mp4
Birth of a nASIAN by Kate Rigg and Leah Ryan "Birth of a nASIAN" -is Trip hop comedy theater with an asian slant. Original Character monologues, stand up comedy and fierce spoken word rants are all woven together by the kickin pulse of former Juilliard virtuoso turned rockin electronic violin player Lyris Hung. Kate takes on a wild series of characters exploring identity and alienation across an Amerasian palette. The transitions between characters include an original trip hop soundtrack played live on electronic violin, live sampling, and beats, by Lyris Hung, as well as several in your face spoken word pieces that bring street sensibility to the issues facing Asian Americans searching for their cultural voice. See edgy thought provoking characters like a 31 year old asian cheerleader, a World Trade Center Street hawker, and a china-latina with an axe to grind at the UI office. The Anchorage Daily News called Birth of a nASIAN "poetry in drag and symphony on a hip-hop bender...stand-up comedy doing the freak with an electric violin...A raucous, in-your-face performance that upends stereotypes and belies cultural expectations through song, sound, rant, comedy, character and technical virtuosity." The Association for Theater in Higher Education said in their annual conference newsletter "One of those rare gems that is so smart, witty and hilarious that I could barely laugh because I was so busy marveling at the layering of language and political sophistication" Northwest Asian Weekly called it "Wild" Metro Weekly Silicon Valley wrote "Uses stereotypes as tools to transcend color...bridges Asian Ameican Identity issues and trip hop puts familiar faces in unique circumstances" It's good asian girls gone badassed, twisting their classical training to further kick the ass of the pidgin speaking GI loving manicuring kung fu kicking flower arranging ping pong shooting violin playing (!!) math equation solving laundry taking opium smoking delicate oriental lotus flowers that exist in the media's take away minds. In 2007 Birth of a nASIAN was featured at the Comedy Central Theater in Los Angeles, and in 2008 it will headline Asian Pacific Islander Month at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. Birth of a nASIAN has also been performed in New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Massachussets, Alaska, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chapel Hill and continues to tour. CLICK Link to VIEW "WHY CAN'T I BE WHITE?": 5 minute character excerpt from Birth of a nASIAN at the Comedy Central Theater In L.A. - QuickTime Movie
Kate's Chink-O-Rama featuring the Chinkorama Dancers Funky Urban Comedy with all the flava and extra MSG Kate's Chink-O-Rama deconstructs, repositions, ridicules, explodes, embodies, satirizes, re-visions, dissects, reconstructs addresses, discusses, and challenges images of Asian America found in pop culture and mass media. It is funny, a-political, political, irreverent, scathing, hilarious, silly, astounding, and touching. Using a combination of sketch, wild musical numbers, hot fly girl dancing, character monologue, stand up and song parody, it's a comedy music revue in the style of In Living Color, but with a decidedly asian slant. (get it?). The San Francisco Chronicle wrote Funny and ferociously energetic... at full throttle she's an urban machine NY Cool.com called it Funky Urban comedy wth flava and extra MSGBackstage Magazine raved sassy and devilishly bright comedy: move over Whoopi Goldberg, John Leguizamo and Tracey Ullman... Kate's Chink-O-Rama developed a large cult following in New York city and was a regular sold out show at at one of the city's "hotspots" Joes's Pub at the Joseph Papp Public Theater. Kate's Chink-O-Rama has been featured in TIME, Newsweek, backstage, BUST Magazine, THIS Magazine, The Toronto Star, The San Francisco Chronicle, Asia Week, A Magazine and many others. It has toured to college campuses around the country and portions have been performed on NBC, NPR, CTV, STAR TV. Did you say CHINK? Race and Representation in the Touring Shows "Rigg used stereotypes against themselves to nuanced but devastating effect."--WASHINGTON POST The use of the word chink, while controversial, is intentionally political in its co-option of racist language to expose its negative impact on culture. Tongue in Cheek, Satirical and subversive, the deliberate re-possession and relocation of racist language in this particular case begins with the etymology of the word chink, which is purportedly a diminutive for "Chinese" but, as most asian Americans will tell you, Koreans, Thai people, Japanese people, Malaysians, Indonesians, Filipinos, and other members of the A/PI community have been potential targets for the word, which racistly assumes that all asian people are/look the same. Hence the cast of chink-o-rama is ethnically diverse and often of mixed race. Other words such as gook, nip, slant, etc are used in the show interchangeably as part of the movement of disempowerment repossession and relocation of the images associated with the words. In Birth of a nASIAN, these issues are addressed directly in the spoken word sections. And Slanty Eyed Mama's lyricism addresses all of them too. More discussion of this and other issues facing the A/PI community are addressed in all of Kate's shows and the discussion groups afterwards.
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