Final Diggin' Session

Sunday, 12/5/10 marked the final Diggin' Sunday Session.

Diggin' Sunday was the third Sunday chill spot @ Tribal Cafe in Historic Filipinotown, LA, CA for 4 years. For more information www.digginsunday.org

Honored to be apart of the selektor/dj line up - De La came with her final set that included Kalapana, Kui Lee, Sondheim & Bernstein, George Benson and Stevie Wonder.

She was also honored to be a part of the final round robin.

De La has always been a lover of music. After years of mix tapes in the solitary of her room she was encouraged to join the Rap & R&B department on her college campus by her dear friend the L.A.D. Regularly holdin'down a slow jams show she was often playing 'old school' jams before they were in vogue and blastin' all over the airwaves. De La went on to serve as the Rap & R&B Department Chair and Slow Jam DJ and Host on KUPS 90.7 fm in Tacoma, WA from 'Fall '95 til Spring of '96.

After she graduated, her love of music continued, but the means just weren't there - until Aesthetic Fish and Joel Quiz came along. Through Diggin' Sunday - De La, continued her ever-growing collection of music sharing ecclectic lounge, soul, soundtrack and island flavored sets first as a resident dj/selektah at Diggin' Sundays and then at EWP Next Generation Community Nights. De La Cruz has also DJ'd for Art Openings, Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations, and Dyke March.

More confident as a mellow selektor, De La enjoys mashing up island grooves, musical theater tracks and r&b sounds.

With the final Diggin' Sunday, De La is happy to continue playlistin' in the comfort of her home and for the occasional special event.

Well, at least for now.

Celebrating the Life of Peter J. Corpus

I recently had the great honor of helping to organize the life celebration of Peter J. Corpus. Peter's passing was truly a loss to the Queer API and Filipino American community. He was a dear friend and truly an amazing energy.

The portrait above was created by Eliseo Art Silva.


To read more about Peter please visit:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=peter-j-corpus&pid=147057426

I will be posting the draft of my frog folk tale ;)

Alison

Bio for Alison M. De La Cruz

Alison M. De La Cruz is a multi-disciplinary, community-based theater artist, producer, and arts educator.

De La Cruz's work has been presented at venues across the country including the Kirk Douglas Theatre, the Northwest Asian American Theatre and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.

In 2009, she appeared as Ofa in the Ovation Recommended: RUBY, TRAGICALLY ROTUND, directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera and produced by Playwrights' Arena at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

De La Cruz is currently finishing POSTAL AMERICANA, a new play inspired by slain postal worker Joseph Ileto.

De La Cruz’s directing credits include: Fall TEADA Works 2010 and Spring TEADA WORKS 2010 (co-directed with Dom Magwili) , a developmental table reading of Chiwan Choi’s DRYWALL and staged readings of Udaya Kanthi Salgadu's LETTERS FROM MY MOTHER, Serena Lin's A TRADITIONAL GIRL and Rebecca Baroma’s THE FLOWER AND THE FIREFLY for East West Players’ DHH Writers’ Institute. She also recently served as Asst. Director on the world premiere of Velina Hasu Houston's CALLIGRAPHY, directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera at the LA Theatre Center.

A respected human relations and dialogue facilitator, De La Cruz has led trainings for the J. Paul Getty Museum, Center Theatre Group, Shakespeare Center of LA, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Marlborough School, California State University, Polytechnic Pomona’s Division of Student Affairs, and several colleges and universities. She has extensive experience using theatre, writing, ensemble building and communication/dialogue skills to explore and create original themes or those highlighted in source text. De La Cruz has served as an arts educator for Shakespeare Center LA, East West Players, the HOPE Project, the HeART Project, About Productions and FilAm Arts' Eskuwela Kultura throughout Los Angeles County.

In 1999, the Asian American Resource Center at Pomona College renamed their Outstanding Service to API Community Award in her honor. De La Cruz was the 2007 recipient of the Duane Ebata Award, presented by the JACCC.

On the daily, De La Cruz lives with her wife in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA and is the Administrative Director of About Productions, a theatre company based in Pasadena, CA.

LETTER FROM MY MOTHER

LETTERS FROM MY MOTHER
A new play
by
Udaya Kanthi Salgadu.


David Henry Hwang Writers' Institute
presented
TUESDAY, December 7, 2010 @ 7:30pm

LETTERS FROM MY MOTHER by Udaya Kanthi Salgadu The story of Sripa, a young Sri Lankan high-school graduate who endured 26 months of forced labor in a household in the USA. With only her mother’s letters to keep her going, and a neighbor whose inquiries lead to her rescue, Sripa finds strength, bravery, and finally the power and self- confidence to become an advocate for the abolition of human trafficking. Based on the true story of a woman who has seen the worst and best of American life.


WRITTEN BY Udaya Kanthi Salgadu
DIRECTED BY Alison M. De La Cruz

SRIPA Renuka Veerasingam
MOTHER Meena Serendib
MADAM Rose Portillo
HUSBAND Ed Ramolete
LISA Jennifer Sandel
VICTOR Corey J. Roberts
BRYANNA Porschia L. Baker