Autumn Moon and Throne of Blood

Host Dmae Roberts presents two different Asian-themed art events

First up, Ivy Lin, event director, tells us about "Music Under the Autumn Moon" a celebration of the 68-year-old Yat Sing Music Club in Portland's Chinatown. 

Lin is joined by Classical Revolution PDX, one of several music groups presenting a multiculural concert on September 25th.

Other groups include Third Angle New Music Ensemble and Portland Cello Project.

Yat Sing Music Club is a social Cantonese opera group that's been performing together in Portland's Chinatown since 1941 to raise money for the war effort.  "Music Under The Autumn Moon" celebrates the harvest during the Moon Festival, a tradition in China for 1000 years and  is organized by Friends of Portland Chinatown.

In the second part, Dmae  talks with Ako at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  A Japanese American actress trained in Kabuki theatre, Ako talks about her role as Lady Asaji in Ping Chong's production of Throne of Blood based on the Akira Kurosawa film.

This multimedia play features a stellar cast and talented designers. Under the direction of NYC's Ping Chong, this fine production performs at breakneck pace complete with video projections and Kabuki and Noh movement just under 2 hours without intermission. It stays true to Kurosawa's frightening tale of murder, war and madness. Ako's performance as the Lady M based character is a study of masterful calculation and ruthlessness. She tells us how she handles this role with very few scenes and artful movement.

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See Classical Revolution PDX perform live in the studio!