PEELING was an Asian American theater troupe based in New York City from 1995 to 2005. Dan Bacalzo was its most recent artistic director.

History

In 1995, Van Lier-winning director Gary San Angel founded the group as Peeling the Banana at the Asian American Writers' Workshop in New York -- as an artistic collective of writers, performers, and directors who collaborated in developing original theater-based performance pieces exploring Asian American contemporary identity. Many pieces were developed through physical theater and improv work, and later transcribed; others were written, and further developed through workshopping with the group. From these wide-ranging and, often, autobiographical journeys, Peeling created memorable theater experiences that were both fantastic and familiar - shaped by the imagination and personal struggle, and always coming from the heart.

The group was originally founded as an all-men's group, similar to a Los Angeles-based group (founded by performance artist Dan Kwong) from which San Angel emerged. But soon it opened itself to women; and due to popular demand, ad-hoc gay/lesbian and South Asian subgroups developed additional shows. Some individual pieces and shows were directed by different members, with San Angel remaining as artistic director.

PEELING presented its poignant blend of poetry, theater, dance, and music to audiences from coast to coast. At the time, no other similar groups on the East Coast existed, and the group was in high demand, with sold out performances at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, Second Stage, Highways Performance Space in Los Angeles, the Desh Pardesh festival in Toronto, and numerous colleges and universities.

Peeling the Banana re-invented itself in 2000 after San Angel's move to Philadelphia, as a true collective, and simply became known as PEELING. It became a theater group with shows being fully written, with clear directing and producing roles solidified. More of its members were professional actors. The group continued with sold out performances at the Kraine, Puffin Room, colleges/universities, and other venues. The group decided to go on hiatus shortly after realizing the height of its collective expression by creating a seamless one-act play ending in a musical number and, finally, a three-week festival of one-act plays, Under the Skin in 2003.

Timeline of Performances and Projects

work in progress

2001

• Sins

2002

• Taught classes at Asian American Writers' Workshop

2003

• Under the Skin

Members

Members of the PEELING collective have included: