And…that’s a wrap for PCC this summer!

For PCC, summer has meant time for contemplation, deepening collaboration, bringing our ideas to fruition, AND spending much-needed time out of the office — going out into nature and traveling locally and internationally.

May the remaining few days of summer be filled with restorative rest and joy for us all.

Breaking Through: Our Trip to “Dance Camp” In Japan

In early August, PCC Associate Director Sara Zatz, and Teaching Artists Christopher Imbrosciano and Asuka Morinaga traveled to Osaka, Japan to participate in the second edition of “Breakthrough Journey Dance Camp,” an event geared toward enabling people with disabilities in the artistic field to meet, share, and create new connections across the lines of nationalities, cultures, and language. The dance camp was hosted by The International Communication Center for Persons with Disabilities (BiG-i) and consisted of workshops facilitated by professional choreographers, dancers, and theater makers from across Asia. Participating artists leading the workshops included the Dua Space Dance Theatre from Malaysia, Shunji Takahashi of YOZIGENZ, Kazuyo Morita, and Maki Tabata from Japan, Mary Jane Tang and Shadow Kid B-boy from Hong Kong, and Wonyoung Kim from South Korea.

At BiG-i, I sincerely felt safe and comfortable being able to reside, work, and eat in an entirely accessible environment. It took the daily concern of how to navigate space out of my day. It was pretty liberating and enabled me to be fully present and creative. - Christopher Imbrosciano

For years, I have been thinking about how I can bring PCC’s teaching artistry process to my home country of Japan, so this was my dream come true! I hope that participants felt that how important to create a safe & brave place, to respect each other, have fun and how valuable it is to tell your story! It was a very valuable experience to meet Japanese participants and artists from other Asian countries and working with Sara, who has been involved in PCC's Undesirable Elements for many years, and Chris, who worked at the same school at the residency program. Introducing my Japanese TA friends and educators, with whom I have worked with for a long time to develop theater education in Japan, to Chris and Sara (and Christina, from afar) through PCC was also very special to me. - Asuka Morinaga Derfler

PCC’s workshop was specifically geared towards artists, teachers, educators, and facilitators working in arts and community education in Japan. The rigorous 3-day experience concluded with a roundtable discussion with all the artists, facilitated by Professor Hiromi Sakamoto, of Kindai University School of Literature, Arts, and Cultural Studies a long-time friend and close colleague of PCC: he was an original Undesirable Elements cast member and co-creator of two UE productions in Japan, Difficult Lives in 2019, and Gaijin in 1995.

Over the course of three hours, I felt that everyone grew, not just as performers , but as audiences. Normally, you don't know who is watching next to you at the theater, but through the workshop, I could feel the audience growing as a community. It was a good experience. It was a lot of fun. This was my first experience of people with various disabilities coming together to create a piece of work. I wish I had more time. I am very honored to be able to experience a little bit of Ping Chong & Company. - Workshop Participant

Our journey through Dance Camp in 2024, reaffirmed what is possible when building and making in fully-inclusive spaces of Universal design and accessibility. The intention of the gathering, to “create new connections for people from different backgrounds - disabilities, nationalities, cultures and languages..to create new models and values for co-creation in the performing arts.” permeated throughout the week, and will remain with us as we continue to dream forward how to best create spaces of community and belonging.

Reflecting on our Undesirable Elements retreat

In early August, PCC ALT Members, staff, and collaborating artists, including Kirya Traber and Chaesong Kim, gathered to explore the past of Undesirable Elements (UE) and envision an expansive future for this foundational PCC program. Over three days, we explored the program's past and its ongoing evolution, imagined new approaches to its form, partnership, and engagement practices, actively grappled with framing and reassessing language, and embraced the possibilities of Undesirable Elements. Each person in the room brought their own background, creative practices, and differing experiences and history with both Ping Chong and Company and the Undesirable Elements form. Everyone brought something to learn and something to teach in the raw, candid, and vulnerable discussions that ensued. Below some of our team share reflections on their experiences at the retreat!

The retreat helped us in figuring out language and reinventing language to re-examine this platform that has continually shared unheard stories from real people. A deep dive into who it's for and who benefits from it. - Mei Ann Teo, Artistic Leadership Team

It was affirming to bear witness to the impact UE continues to have, and how transformative the experience of working on, creating, or witnessing UE has been to so many and consider how UE can continue to transform with time, reflection, and new creative frameworks, and still retain its essence and power going forward into the future. - Sara Zatz, Associate Director and Artistic Leadership Team

Something that's still bubbling for me is our reflection on the original intention of this work, which was founded upon authenticity and truth, and the ways in which we could better live up to those goals and get even closer to true authenticity in community-based work. - Christina Bixland, Education Director

It was beautiful to see how UE can be implemented in the future and to redefine the ethics of storytelling in theater. - Sabeen Shalwani, Operations Assistant

I also appreciate the thoughtfulness that everyone brought around the language, and the intentions of UE. I think we had a lot more agreement than what I was expecting….. now it's time to play and experiment! - Ariana Swei, Education & Community Programs Coordinator

What inspired me in the conversation is the idea that truth brings free-er expression. Seeing Nile's work [the same week] was very helpful as it was so subversive…and had me thinking about the artists we have and the potential we have for healing/community engagement/social justice/human rights/the right to freedom. - Stacy Waring, Operations Manager

The UE retreat offered me the opportunity to reflect on the methodology for interview-based theater that has meant so much to me, and has shaped my career, but also to question what its limitations and growth opportunities are. I said in the room that I feel UE will always be a part of my artistic practice in one way or another, but since our gathering, I can also see myself more boldly experimenting with the form. - Kirya Traber

I brought immense respect for UE and the Secret Histories arts education program to the retreat. I left the retreat overwhelmingly grateful for the creators and maintainers, and their time and effort dedicated for this practice. It is clear that UE is an invaluable asset that continues to be pertinent 32 years after its conception. I am humbled and inspired by its legacy, and excited to co-imagine its many offshoots and adaptations. - Chaesong Kim

This intense but deeply thoughtful gathering re-affirmed PCC’s ongoing commitment to the Undesirable Elements work, recognizing the place it holds as a unique generative model and space of community-engaged practices, within the larger aesthetic work and vision of PCC as an incubator that can create and nurture space for bold artistic practices.