The CreativeLife Podcast Ep.5: May Lee-Yang Would Make a Bad Porn Star [Download] [Stream]

May Lee-Yang! M is for Midwest. And Lee-Yang is Not Chinese. Let's Hear It For the Underdog.

Episode 5-May Lee-Yang

According to May Lee-Yang, breasts ruined her life.  She also insists that she would be a horrible porn star.  May has flown in from Minnesota to explain herself through the solo show, Ten Reasons Why I’d Be A Bad Porn Star…

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…There will be two performances of the show this week during the Third Annual National Asian American Theater Festival in Los Angeles.  It’s not everyday you get a Hmong-American writer, playwright and community activist from the Twin Cities to take you into her quasi-autobiographical world of sexuality, toys, and obsession of British period romances.  And apparently, there are parallels between the porn hustle and the artistic hustle.

During this candid conversation from the aspiring romance novel writer, we come to an “It’s weird that I’m telling you this right now” moment.  We get politically incorrect and talk about what it takes to write more honestly, why the Midwest is coming up, and how the Chinese just can’t avoid having a superiority complex (Jenny shrugs). Oh. And Jenny’s Mom makes an unexpected cameo.

Episode 5 Community Sponsor: The 3rd National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival. Check out all the amazing shows this week and celebrate the National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival in Los Angeles from June 16-26, 2011. The event will be presented by the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA) and hosted by Asian American Theaters East West Players and TeAda Productions, both residing in Los Angeles.  The theme for this year’s joint conference and festival is NEW DIRECTIONS citing transitional shifts in theater at all levels and an emerging generation of voices rising in the Asian American community.

If you liked what you heard, please comment in iTunes AND donate by simply clicking the Paypal button at http://www.creativelifepod.com.

LINKS:

• March 2011 Asian American Press article about May Lee-Yang
• May Lee-Yang’s Wikipedia page, including her numerous awards and fellowships
• May’s interview with University of Minnesota re: writing
• The Hmong Arts Connection – May is their Executive Director
• Burlee Vang – Hmong American Poet
• Fundraising Tool: Kickstarter.com
• Fundraising Tool: United States Artists

And when you’re done listening to it…leave a comment at the end of this post, or on iTunes.  Send me your feedback and comments!  What did you like about the interview? What did you learn that you hadn’t thought about before?  What was something that you wanted to learn more about the creative process?  What question were you DYING for me to ask but I never did!?

 Thanks for visiting The CreativeLife podcast with Jenny Yang, a podcast & blog about the art, business, & soul of living the Creative Life. If you find this interesting, subscribe to the RSS feed, visit our Facebook Page or add us on Twitter!