Harmony Witte, Author at Sampan

Harmony Witte

Boston November 8, 2024 0

Author Charles Yu Talks About His Work on ‘Interior Chinatown,’ His Start as a Lawyer

Writer Charles Yu has seen his career transform from law, to book author and now to television. That latter shift will be further proven when “Interior Chinatown” – his award-winning book – airs on Hulu and Disney Plus on Nov. 19. Produced by Taika Waititi, with a pilot that is also directed by Waititi, the edgy, fast-paced show tackles weighty themes of race, class, and immigration with a sense of humor that left the audience at the recent screening at […]

Features November 4, 2024 0

‘Imagine Yourself in My Place’: Palestinian Poet Mosab Abu Toha Asks of MIT Audience

Perhaps Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha’s most threatening weapon against Israel in its relentless and devastating bombardment of Gaza is his pen. But that very pen could also be what puts him in the most peril. “I think the fact that I’m a poet and a writer, I should be killed maybe sooner than others,” said Abu Toha to a packed audience late last month near Boston. This was one of several powerful moments during Abu Toha’s talk on Oct. […]

Arts October 28, 2024 0

Cuban Diaspora Artist Carves a Space Out in Boston’s Art Scene

New England sculptor and painter Fermin Castro knew he was an artist from the time he was a child, drawing in classes with friends. But he wouldn’t realize that calling until after a detour into the sciences. “Social media is also a good chance to be in contact with different kinds of artists, specifically for an emerging artist today. That’s very important because you will be able to adapt an idea or form and transform it into your own style […]

Arts October 11, 2024 0

‘Join or Die’ Argues Clubs Can Save America. But Is It Just Groupthink?

Is the downfall of Democracy dependent on something as simple as the decline of social clubs? That’s the central theme of “Join or Die,” a documentary film that screened at film festivals in 2023 and is currently making the rounds at community film screenings across the country. “The trend toward greater polarization in America did not begin five years ago. It certainly did not begin with Covid. It didn’t begin with Trump. It began 50 years ago. You can see […]

Arts September 27, 2024 0

CineFest Founder Tackles Big Questions on Identity

Sabrina Avilés founded Boston’s only currently operating Latino film festival, CineFest Latino Boston, in 2021, during a time of personal crisis. “I was in a kind of a very pivotal moment in my life at that point, and my father was very ill and close to dying,” Avilés, executive director of CineFest Latino Boston, told the Sampan recently. “And so it just made me reflect about a lot of things. When something like that happens, you just reflect about, you […]

Boston September 27, 2024 0

Chef Shi Mei of Lenox Sophia Serves Up Big Flavors Inside a Small Space

South Boston’s Lenox Sophia is not your typical restaurant – and in many ways Chef Shi Mei is not your typical chef. Trained in economics, Mei says the first dish he made as a kid was instant ramen. And his restaurant – where patrons are encouraged to bring their own drinks – is more akin to a tiny Japanese noodle house than a glitzy Hub bar. But the result is an intimate and delightful taste of small-room dining that serves […]

Arts September 13, 2024 0

Dorchester Art Project Set to Honor Vietnamese Diaspora

An art project by a group of Vietnamese Americans in Dorchester will complement a proposed Vietnamese diaspora memorial and aim to become a permanent presence in Boston, say organizers.The “Trưng Bày Mẫu Thiết Kế” show debuts on Sept. 14, from noon to 3 p.m. at the VietAID Community Center at 42 Charles St. in Dorchester, as part of the “1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Memorial.” The exhibit is lead by artist Ngoc-Tran Vu. “This design showcase is an inclusive and accessible […]

Arts June 21, 2024 0

‘Yellow Face’: A Play Ahead of Its Time

“Yellow Face,” which is now performing at Boston’s Lyric Stage Theater on Clarendon Street, was written some 17 years ago. But in many ways, it’s just now fully enjoying the spotlight. The play, by award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, will mark its Broadway premiere starring Daniel Dae Kim this fall and an Audible version is currently available. “Issues that are at the center of it, issues like representation and appropriation and whitewashing and casting, they were still relatively obscure issues […]

Boston June 7, 2024 0

‘Yellow Face’ Explores Identity Across Generations, Continents

“I’m always thinking about, ‘why are we doing this play now?’,” actor Michael Hisamoto told the Sampan of the Lyric Stage production of “Yellow Face.” Hisamoto has a key role in the play, written by David Henry Hwang. The semi-autobiographical show is about the playwright, who appears in the play and is the narrator. It’s about Hwang’s life, his father, and the period of the 1990s and the 2000s. It covers big themes like the “yellow peril” and the Asian […]

Arts May 24, 2024 0

Hub Music Group Celebrates ‘Chinese Arts and Culture’ Boston Festival Orchestra Conductor Tells of show, group’s history

Sampan sat down with the conductor of the Boston Festival Orchestra, Alyssa Wang. Wang discussed the orchestra’s upcoming program, “A Celebration of Chinese Arts and Culture,” as well as her thoughts on inclusion and engagement in music, and what it means to her to be leading the performance as a Chinese American. BFO’s “A Celebration of Chinese Arts and Culture” will be held on July 28, 3 p.m., at Jordan Hall in Boston.Tickets can be purchased at: bforchestra.ticketleap.com/scheherazade/Sampan: Will you […]

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