Bye Twin Cities, Hello Des Moines

Time flies by when you are traveling and touring three states in 10 days. Minneapolis rocks with the Lao Writer's Summit, after much hub-bub and an amazing Saturday night performance of spoken word, poetry, readings and performances...we had to take some time to rejuvenate, NOT! After a fun filled, let loose, laughing til your belly busted out after event celebration....we karaoke and cruised the streets of St. Paul seeking food for the hungry...Perkins anyone?! We had an adventurous time with Minneapolis host who had the audacity to entertain us in various ways with their talents. I must say...thank you deeply to Bryan Thao Worra, Saymoukda Vongsay and Catzie Vilayphonh for being such a great trinity for this Lao Writer's Summit. You three overshadow the talents of the Three Stooges. We love you and look forward to another round of antics that will always be remembered.

We've now moved on to Iowa. We are in Des Moines ready to rock this town with our Refugee Nation sensation. I hear there are Lao peeps in Des Moines so if you are reading this come out to the show. I've attached a flyer. Come share in our experience. It's been great to meet some wonderful people who've just are generous. Mira Yusef of MONSOON and our love host Thao and her family. Thank you. Thank you. We love you. A night rest until tomorrow.

Laotian American Writers Summit Day 1

What happens at the first Laotian Writer's Summit taking place in Minneapolis, MN. Well...a lot of laughter, food, fun and discussions. Day one has been full of laughter as jokes are thrown around amongst friends and colleagues. This summit gathers a memorable collective of characters fresh and familiar with each other. Guests and artists from Washington D.C., Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Illinois, Vermont, Pennsylvania, California and even Nebraska all jump into this monumental event with fervor. Food fuels conversation amongst like minds. Fun in the loose way of open space technology. Interns and volunteers sharing one word poem.

Thanks to wordsmith Bryan Thao Worra for bringing wonderful poets, playwrights, screenwriters, lyricists and spoken word artists together.

Lao people are comedic.

Lao Writers Summit August 13-15 in Minnesota

Refugee Nation will be a part of this historic event in Minnesota. We then hit the road and do a tri-city visit to Des Moines, Iowa and then Elgin, Illinois.

Lao American Writers Summit

Lao American writers and artists from around the nation will gather for the first Lao American Writers Summit August 13-15, 2010 at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. The event includes panel discussions, workshops and author readings.

The Lao American Writers Summit examines ways Lao American writers create work to transform their lives and their world. Many writers will meet face to face for the very first time. It is organized as a grass-roots effort with the assistance of many local and national arts and community groups.

Lao culture traces its artistic roots to the 14th century. Modern Laos, a nation the size of Great Britain, is home to over 140 ethnicities. Approximately 200,000 Lao refugees resettled in America during the 2oth century. Minnesota has the 3rd largest Lao refugee population in the US.

Confirmed summit participants include award-winning film-makers, writers and performers such as Catzie Vilayphonh of the spoken word duo Yellow Rage, Saymoukda Vongsay, playwright and author of the chapbook “No Regrets,” and the acclaimed poet Phayvanh Leukhamhan.

This year’s Summit received funding and support from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Lao Assistance Center, the Loft Literary Center and many others. For more information email:info@laowriters.org or visit the conference website at www.laowriters.org.

L.A.O. at UCLA Rocks!

Congratulations to L.A.O. for putting up a wonderful and amazing production of Refugee Nation. The support we received at Ackerman Grand Ballroom, the incredible turn out of over 300 attendees, the brilliant question and answer after the performance made the experience completely educational and entertaining. Look out future bookings L.A.O. has set the standard towards an amazing residency and production.

UCLA Feb. 1 Performance

We are preparing for a one night performance in Los Angeles at UCLA, thanks to the hard work put in by student organizer Leslie Chanthaphasouk of L.A.O. Laotian American Organization at the university. REFUGEE NATION will share a 60 minute performance and Q&A Monday night February 1, 2010 on campus at Ackerman Grand Ballroom in the Student Union at 7pm. This is monumental for many reasons being one of the first theatrical presentations on the Lao experience and presented by the first Lao student organization at UCLA. We are sooooo excited to play again in Los Angeles and looking forward to showing it to our home town friends and supporters.

EVENT INFORMATION:
REFUGEE NATION
Location: Ackerman Grand Ballroom, UCLA
Date: Monday, February 1, 2010
Time: 7:30pm (Doors open at 7pm)
Admission: The event is open and free to the public.

Parking:
Ackerman Grand Ballroom is conveniently located next to UCLA Parking Lot 9 & 6. All day parking permits may be purchased at the parking kiosk on Westwood Blvd. & Strathmore for $10. Pay by space parking is also available in Lot 6 at the same daily rate. Go to UCLA Map for details.

For more information please contact Leslie at laoatucla@gmail.com