UNiVERSALself - May 8th, 2014 - VPAC

UNiVERSALself - Electronic Press Kit - 2014 from Kilusan Bautista on Vimeo.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Christine Chai | chaichristine@fhda.edu |  408.864.5560
Tom Izu | Project Director, IMPACT AAPI | izutom@fhda.edu | 408.864.8986

IMPACT AAPI & De Anza College presents:

UNiVERSALself

May 8th, 2014 | 1:30-3:30PM

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Cupertino, CA - Kilusan Bautista's one-man show ‘UNiVERSALself’ explores race in multicultural America with subjects ranging from the history of Filipino people to Hip Hop culture in the 1980's/90's to his intimate relationships with family, friends and spirituality.  On Thursday - May 8th, 2014 from 1:30PM – 3:30PM, there will be a special performance of ‘UNiVERSALself’ at The Visual & Performance Arts Center (21250 Stevens Creek Blvd. ▪ Cupertino, CA 95014).  This event is part of DeAnza College’s Asian American Speaker Program and is sponsored by IMPACT AAPI, APAX, and the Visting Speaker Series with support from DASB.

UNiVERSALself is a coming of age story based on Kilusan Bautista’s real life experiences in urban America. Caught in the melting pot of 1980’s/90’s San Francisco, UNiVERSALself delivers prayers to father's addicted to crack cocaine, while street kids are adopted by Hip Hop break beats in the twilight zone of broken immigrant dreams governed by juvenile delinquency and where masculinity is expressed in the depths of Malcolm X's voice, cloaked in Peter Pan tights that find discipline in the ancient Martial Arts. UNiVERSALself is an action packed experience that leaves audiences with a deeper understanding of our shared humanity!

During his youth, Kilusan is haunted by a ‘spirit of hate’ that seeks to destroy his self-esteem by influencing him into a helpless, violent and psychologically troubled state of existence. Guardian angels also exist, both real & spiritual, to guide Kilusan in defining his true self worth and racial identity. It is now up to Kilusan to make the right choices as a youth in urban, working class America. Shall he fall victim to the statistics of growing up in a “high risk” environment, polluted with drugs, violence and crime? Or shall Kilusan find his destiny and live a life that possesses knowledge of self?

This show features over 15 different characters all acted out by Kilusan Bautista, a Brooklyn based performance artist, originally from San Francisco, CA, who weaves together theater, spoken word poetry, Hip Hop, dance, martial arts, music and animation.  Artistic Direction/Choreography by Lia McPherson; Music Production by Chuck Mays; Multimedia Design by Tony Santa Ana; Animation Design by Ace & Sons Moving Pictures LLC; Lighting Design by Laeticia Emmanuel.

IMPACT AAPI is a five-year program funded by an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The name is an acronym for Initiatives to Maximize Positive academic Achievement and Cultural Thriving focusing on Asian American and Pacific Islander students at De Anza College.  Our goal is to close the gaps in academic achievement and transfer among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students at De Anza by focusing on Asian Pacific Islander subgroups that are historically underrepresented in higher education. Our integrated curricular pathways are designed to provide educational experiences that support and challenge our students.

More information can be found at:  http://www.deanza.edu/impact-aapi/index.html.

For more information please visit: https://www.deanza.edu/impact-aapi/