Performing Artists in Conversation: Tisa Chang & Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
May 23, 2026, 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
General Admission: $15 | Senior & Student Admission: $10
MOCA Member Admission: Free
In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, MOCA continues its commitment as a vital platform for presenting timely and resonant live arts, uplifting Asian American artists working across time-based disciplines, including music, theater, dance, and film.
The Museum of Chinese in America is proud to present Performing Artists in Conversation. This program invites performing artists and companies whose work has shaped and advanced the Asian American performing arts landscape.
Come hear from foundational artists, choreographers and artistic directors who built the Asian American Theater Movement. Our first guest of this ongoing series is Tisa Chang, of the seminal Pan Asian Reperatory Theatre. How did Pan Asian Rep start? What does it take to operate a physical theater? How has the field changed? What is the future of Asian American theater?
ABOUT Tisa Chang
Tisa Chang has led Pan Asian Repertory Theatre since inception, promoting stories seldom told and voices seldom heard. She is a theatre professional with five decades of experience as an actor, dancer, and director. Directing highlights include: Sayonara; The Joy Luck Club; the epic play-with-music Cambodia Agonistes, which toured nationally and to Cairo and Johannesburg; Kwatz! The Tibetan Project; and Rashomon, which was invited to Havana Theatre Festival in 2003. She pioneered premieres, in English and Mandarin Chinese of the classic Peking opera, RETURN OF THE PHOENIX, and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM at La Mama ETC.
ABOUT Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre is the pioneer, award-winning Asian American theatre company on the East Coast and the second most veteran in the nation. With the help of the late Ellen Stewart and core Asian American artists at La Mama ETC, Tisa Chang founded Pan Asian Rep in 1977 with the vision that Asian American artists can equally follow their artistic aspirations to reach the zenith of American Theatre.
The company nurtures thousands of artists and is a “who-is-who” of Asian American theatre history, with notable alumni/ae including June Angela, Tina Chen, Philip Gotanda, Wai Ching Ho, David Henry Hwang, Daniel Dae Kim, Lucy Liu, Ron Nakahara, Qui Nguyen, R.A. Shiomi, Lauren Yee, and Henry Yuk.
For over four decades, Pan Asian’s mission is to provide professional theatre opportunities for Asian American artists to work under the highest standards of excellence and create new works that dignify Asian Americans and dispel stereotypes, focusing on stories of probing social justice issues. PAN ASIAN has pioneered artistic distinction with Off-Broadway Productions, Tours, Educational Outreach, and Community Service.