Audrey’s Summer 2015 issue features an article about UCLA’s LCC Theatre Company, started by Derek Mateo, David J. Lee, and Fresh Off the Boat’s Randall Park when they were college students 20 years ago. Little did they know that they would lay the foundation for what would become perhaps the closest thing Asian America has to our own Saturday Night Live: a group of young creatives thrown together to write, act, direct and produce an original show from scratch every quarter. LCC Theatre Company would inspire a generation of Asian Americans working in art and entertainment, creating a lasting bond among its members – despite the occasional drama – and with each incoming class, in turn, leaving its mark in LCC’s evolution.
Alumni Spotlight (Then & Now!)
Ali Wong, stand-up comic/writer (Fresh Off the Boat)
Chris Dinh, writer/actor (Wong Fu Productions’ Everything Before Us, Crush the Skull)
David J. Lee, writer/director (Paulie)
Derek Mateo, director/film professor at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy
Kristina Wong, performance artist/comedian (The Wong Street Journal)
Hieu Ho, producer/president of Chu Studios (with director Jon M. Chu)
Leonard Wu, actor (Revenge of the Green Dragons)
Michael Golamco, writer (Grimm)
Randall Park, actor (Fresh Off the Boat, The Interview, Everything Before Us)
Tim Chiou, actor (Crush the Skull)
Tobit Raphael, actor (The Internship)
Yumi Sakugawa, comic book artist (Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe)
Photos courtesy of LCC Theatre alumni.
Go to LCC Theatre’s official site for a full list of cast members.
This story was originally published in our Summer 2015 issue. Get your copy here.
