COMEDIAN
BYRON YEE PERFORMS ONE-MAN SHOW AT BARNARD COLLEGE
MARCH 30
March
23, 2000, New York, N.Y.-- As part of Barnard College's
Forum on Migration, actor and comedian Byron Yee
will perform his one-man show at Minor Latham Playhouse
on March 30, 7 p.m. (117th St & Broadway). Paper
Son is the story of Yee's father's migration from
China to America in 1938 and his own account of
growing up as a Chinese-American in Oklahoma and
working in the entertainment industry. The show
ranges from comedic moments taken from Yee's stand-up
material to disturbing accounts of the experiences
of Chinese immigrants at San Francisco's Angel Island
to the moving story of Yee's attempt to unravel
the mystery surrounding his father's migration.
Yee graduated from the University of Oklahoma in
1983 and received his MBA in Finance from the University
of San Francisco in 1991. He moved from Oklahoma
to San Francisco in 1990 to pursue a career in stand-up
comedy. He began performing at the legendary Holy
City Zoo and later appeared on Comedy Central's
Two Drink Minimum with Jake Johannsen and NBC's
Friday Night. He is currently artist-in-residence
with Z Space in San Francisco.
In 1997, Yee premiered his autobiographical solo
show at the Victoria Fringe Festival and later that
year the piece was awarded "Best of the San Francisco
Fringe Festival." Paper Son has played to sold-out
houses and critical acclaim in San Francisco, Toronto,
Edmonton, Seattle, Minneapolis, and at the 1999
Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Yee's monologue, which The San Francisco Examiner
calls "both artfully constructed and as poignant
as it is funny," is divided into six scenes. It
begins with an audition in which Yee must speak
broken English as a stereotypical "excitable Chinese
restaurant owner." Realizing he does not know how
to imitate the accent, Yee begins a path of discovery
into the heritage he had long ignored. His quest
takes him to Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the
West Coast. There, he discovers that the man he
knew as his grandfather was truly an uncle who changed
documents to get Yee's father into America. As the
quest continues, Yee discovers what it means to
be a Chinese-American and feels a connection to
his father, a distant and reserved man who died
when Yee was 11.
Byron
Yee's monologue is part of the Barnard Forum on
Migration, which sponsors special events featuring
lectures, readings, and films exploring issues connected
to the movement of people from one part of the world
to another. Each year, the Forum hosts distinguished
writers and academics who address a broad range
of issues relating to questions of migration and
social order.
The Barnard Forum on Migration is supported by a
bequest establishing the Weiss International Fellowship
Fund to bring distinguished scholars in literature
and the arts to Barnard. The forum is organized
by Caryl Phillips, the Henry R. Luce Professor of
Migration and Social Order.
What:
Byron Yee's performance of Paper Son as part of
Barnard College's Forum on Migration When: March
30, 2000, 7 p.m. Where: Barnard College's Minor
Latham Playhouse, Milbank Hall, (119th & Broadway)
For more information, please contact Amy Fox, Barnard
Forum on Migration, 212-854-9011
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