Kick off Asian American Heritage Month at Joe's Pub with this eclectic and  inspiring variety extravaganza -- back by popular demand after 5 sold out shows.  

disOrientalism brings New York City's premier AAPI performers together from Broadway, Stand Up Comedy, Dance, and  Music curated into one spectacular all-star show. It is year of the Dragon  so we are featuring scorching talent from the incredible voices of Broadways Grace Yu and  Shea Renne, re-imagining South Asian millennial soundtracks through modern-day fusion movement by Sang & Shiv (of IMGE Dance), musical sensasians Arkai, and  comedy Mic Nguyen.

Curated and hosted by New York's original dragon ladies-- notorious comedienne/rapper Kate Siahaan-Rigg alongside child star-turned-Broadway-actress Olivia Oguma, the program lasts about 75 minutes and is designed to boost your immunity against boredom, inaction, xenophobia, orientalism and bowl cuts.

ARKAI is an award-winning electroacoustic duo that has inspired audiences around the world through its genre-defying string music. Graduates of The Juilliard School, their past engagements have included performances at the Abu Dhabi Culture Summit, Met Museum, US Air Force Academy, World Trade Center, Lincoln Center, Chateau Marmont, Carnegie Hall and TED.  Recent highlights include opening for Oscar and Grammy-winning musician Jon Batiste at NYC's Javits Center. In collaboration with Grammy-winning producer Jonas W. Karlsson, ARKAI's debut album will be released in 2024.

Mic Nguyen is a writer, podcaster and stand-up comedian living in Brooklyn. His stand-up has been featured on Netflix and he was the opening act in Ronny Chieng's special, "Speakeasy." Mic's writing can be found in McSweeneys, Esquire, and NBC News and he’s contributed to NPR's "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me”. He’s co-host of the popular podcast “Asian Not Asian” where he discusses Asian American funny stuff like the PSAT and gold. He performs all over the country.

SHEA RENNE--Broadway: Here Lies Love OBC; Hadestown (Fate, u/s Persephone); Allegiance. Broadway Tour: Hadestown. Select Regional: Gatsby, A.R.T.; Here Lies Love, Seattle Repertory Theatre; South Pacific, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Cape Playhouse, Music Theatre Wichita; The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mamma, Mia!, Little Shop of Horrors, Footloose, Fulton Theatre; Seussical the Musical, The Muny; Spring Awakening, Hangar Theatre. Education/Training: BFA, University of Michigan.

Sang Santhebennur and Shiv Lamba are bringing an original dance piece to disOrientalism to celebrate the intersections of the streets of New York with Southeast Asiam roots.

Sangeetha (Sang) (@_sangstaaa) (she/her) is a first generation Indian-American professional performing artist based in NJ/NYC. She is a vessel utilizing the art of performance through mediums such as dance, music, singing, modeling, choreographing, instructing and more to shape her artistic experience, tell stories, discover more about herself and the world as she cultivates a creative career from nothing but a burning passion within. She has worked with esteemed choreographers like Keone & Mari Madrid, Vinh Nguyen, Selene Haro, Ishita Mili, Monica Kapoor and more. Most recently, she completed her first out-of-country choreography workshop in Mumbai, India. Other work credits include commercial work with MAC Cosmetics, Apple, JVN, EOS, New York Times: Opinion, NYFW, and theater work at Asolo Repertory Theater and Stages St. Louis and more. She has toured with South Asian recording artist Raveena and Canadian-based circus company Cirque du Soleil’s Twas The Night Before. She is an active company member of IMGE Dance Company, a genre-blurring NJ-based dance company that has led her to the stages of NRG Stadium, New Victory Theater, Lincoln Center, Alvin Ailey and more.

Shivani (@shivlambda) (she/her) grew up in southern California and has been dancing various styles for over 10 years. She began her training and performance journey in Kathak under Smt. Anjani Ambegaokar (Orange County, CA) and eventually expanded to include include contemporary, modern, and street styles - earning a minor in Dance and Performance Studies at UC Berkeley, competing on hip-hop dance teams Groove Against the Machine (Oakland, CA) and 220 (San Diego, CA), and completing the pre-professional training program at Broadway Dance Center (New York, NY). Shiv is now a company dancer on IMGE Dance LLC - performing for various concert and commercial events including Broadway Bares, IndoWarehouse concerts, Asian American Arts Alliance at Alvin Ailey, the Monkey Man movie premiere, and featured in Vogue, Vanity Fair, and L’Officiel for a performance at The New York Diwali Gala.

GRACE YOO (she/her) is a Los Angeles native, born and raised in Koreatown. She grew up singing in Korean churches and karaoke rooms. Grace has toured with Todd Rundgren (who is not Korean) on two album tours and had the amazing chance to perform all across the US, Canada, and at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. Connecting with people on a deeper level through music and storytelling is her greatest passion. Broadway: Hadestown. Tour: A Christmas Carol. Regional: East West Players, Mark Taper, LA Phil/Hollywood Bowl.

Kate Siahaan-Rigg (@kateriggnyc): A star on the Manhattan comedy scene, host and curator Kate Rigg graduated from Juilliard's drama division and immediately began moonlighting in comedy and spoken word club stages around the country, creating solo shows (Zombie Asian Moms, Happy Lucky Golden Tofu Panda Dragon Good Time Fun Fun Show) and creating wild events like this one all over the city. She is the lead singer and lyricist for legendary Nuyorasian power duo Slanty Eyed Mama, and has had her original works invited to the Smithsonian, The Comedy Central Theater, HBO Time Warner Workspace, LA Grand Performances, and many International Festivals. As a comic you have seen her on Comedy Central, Showtime, NBC, PBS, and in dive bars and comedy clubs all over. She is currently the chief creative officer for the newly formed Center for Diversity, Disability & Inclusion (DD&I) in Cincinnati and  professor emeritus of the LGBTQ+ stand-up class at Manhattan Comedy School.

Olivia Oguma (@olioguma): Co-host Olivia was the first Asian-American Young Cosette in Les Misérables and has been wowing New York audiences ever since in the Broadway casts of Mamma Mia, A Christmas Carol, Disney’s High School Musical and many off Broadway shows. She has appeared in many, many productions of Miss Saigon (and zero productions of King and I. ) She does a lot of plays where she is usually crying or playing a 14 year old and sometimes, she plays a crying 14 year old. She has also been on a bunch of TV shows where she usually plays the token Asian assistant who drops something at inopportune times.

Music Director and token white guy Cody Owen Stine is a songwriter, composer, performer, musician, and music director working on and off Broadway. He is currently the Associate Music Director of Hadestown on Broadway. As a composer/lyricist, his work has been produced at Ars Nova, Prospect Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Joe’s Pub, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Second City, LA, and others. Cody Owen Stine Website

Website

Photo courtesy the artists.