Tuesday, May 18, 2021 | 5:30PM to 7PM
Skyler Chin will present on Illegal, a poetry-rap-rock musical based on his grandfather’s immigration documents from when he was detained on Angel Island in 1923. The lyrics are inspired by poetry carved into the walls by Chinese Angel Island detainees. Chin wrote Illegal to give voice to Asian Americans like his grandfather whose stories had been left out of history, and to convey the fighting spirit of the people who began to define what it takes to become American.
Chin and the musical’s director Olivia Facini will discuss Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history, anti-Asian violence, the development of Illegal, and the power of storytelling to inspire change. There will be a performance from the show followed by a Q&A session with Skyler Chin and Olivia Facini.
Synopsis: Illegal is a rap-rock musical dramedy about America’s first illegal immigrants. It’s 1923. The United States is enforcing the Chinese Exclusion Act by systematically separating families and imprisoning them on Angel Island. Kee Lin, a budding Hong Kong martial artist, is wrongly blamed for her brother’s death and must flee to America with a good-for-nothing imposter “paper” brother, Slim Chin, in her dead brother’s place. If they can survive detention and convince interrogators that they’re siblings, they may get a shot at a new life. They cross paths with Chinese-American interpreter, Carter Lee, who must choose between success for himself and justice for immigrants. Inspired by family secrets and detainee poetry, Illegal asks the timely and timeless question, “What does it take to be(come) American?”
