User:Jellioti/sandbox

Peeling the Banana, AKA Peeling
Peeling the Banana, known as Peeling from 2000 onward, was a New York City-based theatre collective of 16 male Asian American writers, directors, producers, and performers active between 1995 and 2005. Formed by director and performer Gary San Angel at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop with members originally ranging between 18 and 40 years old, the group pulled from autobiographical experiences to create physical and improvisational work as well as written, developed pieces exploring different aspects of contemporary Asian American identity. Originally comprised of 16 men between the ages of 18 and 40, the group grew over time from an all-male workshop to a small-scale movement with male and female members. Their first performance was off-Broadway in 1996.

In 2000, under the direction of Jin Auh, the collective re-formed under a new organizational structure and simplified its name to “Peeling.” Peeling’s repertoire expanded beyond short plays, monologues, and performance pieces to include full-length shows with distinct directing and producing roles. Outside of productions, the collective worked to familiarize group members with a broad range of theatrical skills, including performing and writing in addition to producing and directing. The collective went on hiatus in 2003 following a three-week festival of single-act plays called “Under the Skin.”