Heart & Minds Showcases Queer and Trans API Stories

GAPA Theatre

GAPA Men’s Chorus

Hearts & Minds      

GAPA and Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC) present Hearts & Minds on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at Gunn Theater, Legion of Honor, 100 34th Avenue in San Francisco. Showcasing GAPA Theatre and GAPA Men’s Chorus, Hearts & Minds aims to give voice to the intersectionality of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and culture, while providing a spotlight on the power of Queer and Trans Asian and Pacific Islander (QTAPI) collaboration and performance to create change.

GAPA Theatre members will present individual stories and dramatic vignettes that speak to multi-generational QTAPI lived experiences, with featured performers providing a touchstone for audience members’ own self-awareness and personal lives. This production is signature to GAPA Theatre’s mission, to make sure QTAPI stories continue to be told as a way to honor our history, provide strength and resilience to our community in the present, and make our future better.

GAPA Men’s Chorus will additionally present a varied set of songs that reflect our lives within the QTAPI community. A significant cultural component of the organization, GAPA Men’s Chorus was formed in 1989 to provide a showcase for the vocal musical talents of Queer and Trans Asian Pacific men. In turn, the performance will celebrate the 33rd anniversary year of the GAPA Men’s Chorus and honor the group’s longevity and continued relevance in today’s political and social climate.

While focusing primarily on GAPA’s cultural programs, the program will also be multi-disciplinary, incorporating the talents of other community-based performers, including guest artist Brian Palac, providing a varied view of talents in the community. According to Dino Duazo, event co-producer, “We want to shake up expectations of what QTAPI artistic achievement is all about. You’ll see everything from dramatic spoken word pieces and Hawaiian chant, to poignant show tunes and campy musical numbers.”

GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance dedicates itself to furthering the interests of Queer and Trans Asians and Pacific Islanders by creating awareness, developing a positive identity and establishing a supportive community. Taken together, the evening’s eclectic musical and theatrical offerings promise to joyfully come together in support of spreading our inclusive cultural message.

Hearts & Minds is being presented with Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center as part of the 25th Annual United States of Asian America (USAA) Festival. The program is also being sponsored by Legion of Honor Museum and admission is free as part of their Free Saturdays initiative which creates a space where the museum’s Bay Area roots can merge with local communities through expression and creativity.

For more information, email: theatre@gapa.org

GAPA