I just finished reading YANKEE DAWG YOU DIE by one of my teachers, Philip Kan Gotanda. Again, I’m inspired by it. For some reason, I always thought the play was something that it obviously is not.
SYNOPSIS
Bradley Yamashita is one of the new breed of Asian-American actors. Highly political and outspoken, he will only take on acting roles that are dignified and unstereotypic. He has recently starred in a small independent film that is the darling of the art crowd, and he arrives in Hollywood full of himself and his politics. Vincent Chang is a survivor. He cut his teeth on the old “Chop Suey” circuit as a hoofer and went on to star in feature films, even garnering an Oscar nomination in the 1950s. Now, though still regal and debonair, Vincent is forced into taking often stereotypic and undignified roles. Through a series of quick-moving scenes, we follow the two men as they meet, form a tenuous friendship and together do battle amidst the often humorous and at times ruthless backdrop of the Hollywood film world. While maintaining the portrayal of integrity as all important, Bradley must face the reality of the same lack of work for Asian actors as Vincent faced in the early days of film. Vincent also teaches Bradley the dignity of survival as he learns to take on more of the cultural responsibility Bradley wishes him to accept.Credit to the description page of the play at – Dramatists Play Service.
MY TAKE
The play is about VINCENT and BRADLEY. 2 Asian American actors trying to make it in the movie industry. One is older, the other is younger. 2 very different views of what they see their roles are being an Asian American actor – yet the art of acting is what brings these two unlikely characters together. I saw these 2 begin at a party with the beginnings of animosity, to them working together, which bred true dislike for one another, and then eventual friendship and respect. Both of the characters had definite arcs and I was really happy to see their turns.
WHAT I’LL STEAL LEARN TO USE
– Philip uses Interludes, a monologue/short scene, to set up the next Scene. I’ve seen this done with COWBOY VS. SAMURAI by Michael Golamco. But I’ve never really seen this written on the page.
– Another thing I’ve yet to see in written form in a play is that Philip titles his scenes. I like this idea because it truly sets up the scene and structure wise, i saw the play as a series of individual scenes rather than all together. YET they still work perfectly all together.
– On these previous notes, he also ends each scene and interlude with “End of Scene” or “End of Interlude”
– Wraps things up nicely. Something I love to use and do with forwards. He’ll mention something and will reintroduce it later on to make interject a point or use it in a different way to magnify the same or different subject. This technique of using the same lines and reintroducing them to mean something else happens a lot in this play. Effectively done so, without getting to the point of tiresome. Well maybe in some points, but because I’m usually slow at catching on that he’s doing this for a purpose, as EVERY WORD in a script should be, I appreciate it more. The play begins and ends using this method as well!
– I love how the characters tell a story. One of the most challenging things for me to even wrap my head around are MONOLOGUES. How? Why? What? are mainly my questions, but seeing how Philip use them to tell stories and using sub-text between the lines to have meaning/lessons to these stories is a valuable lesson.
In summary, this play has affected me more than just reading it. I saw a lot of things I could use, and made me question how I see myself as an Asian American in this crazy world of succeeding and what, if any, personal sacrifices I allow myself to take. A definite goal of what I want to write.
