The Asian American Theater Company (AATC) is a non-profit theatre performance company based in San Francisco. Its stated mission is "To connect people to Asian American culture through Theatre". The company's main stage productions are new plays and revivals of classics by Asian Pacific Islander American playwrights, directed, performed, and designed by local talent. Most scripts are developed at AATC and each are presented at various venues around the Bay Area with full-production runs.
The Asian American Theater Company was established in 1973 by playwrights Frank Chin and Melvyn Escueta, among others, to develop and present original works of theatre about Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent. AATC is credited as a progenitor of the Asian-American theater movement alongside East West Players and Pan Asian Repertory Theatre.[1]
In addition to being a producing company, AATC is a workshop where Asian Pacific Islander writers, actors and directors can explore ideas and create works that carry with them the AATC's purpose, which is to explore who Asian Pacific Islander Americans are as a people and as a community.
For many years, the Asian American Theater Company was housed in The Asian American Theater Center located near the corner of Arguello and Clement Streets in San Francisco's ethnically diverse Richmond district. The Theater Center suffered much damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but was able to re-open its doors a year later. However, the costly repairs created a heavy economic burden and in 1996 the Asian American Theater Company moved its administrative offices to Japantown, and produced its plays in various theater venues throughout the city such as the Off-Market Theater and the Thick House. Today the administrative offices reside in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood at 1695 18th Street.
Under its Emerging Artists Project, young actors, many of whom are making their acting debut, perform plays by new playwrights or revivals of classics by established artists.
A training program consisting of two semesters a year of courses in acting, scene study, voice and movement and playwright's workshops, conducted by professional artists is also offered.
The group also hosts staged readings, where scripts under development are directed, rehearsed and presented, followed by discussion and critique.
Many well known Asian American actors and playwrights have been associated with AATC productions in the past. Notable alumni include: