Meet Jonathan Cho, a HFF19 scholarship recipient (and recipient of the 2019 Freak Award for Best Solo Show) representing The Hollywood Fringe Festival as a part of Sydney Fringe’s brand new program: Global Fringe

What is your show about?

Mr. Yunioshi is a solo show that follows Mickey Rooney as he develops his infamous character for the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The show is written for an Asian actor to perform.

What inspired you to write this story? 

I first had the idea for the show when I was doing theatre in Tampa. I’m so grateful to have been a part of the theatre community there and I still consider Tampa my hometown in a lot of ways. That being said, I was one of maybe three Asian performers that I knew of that were auditioning and getting stage time. At the time, there was this one sort of problematic director that had directed a show featuring a pretty rough caricature of a Chinese person by a performer that was not Asian. There was a facebook thread where the director defended his choice calling it “satire.” So a friend of mine posted a picture of Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi with the caption “SATIRE,” and as a joke I wrote that I would be doing a one man show as Mickey Rooney showing his process in developing that character. The response was largely, “you know that’s not a bad idea.” 

What do you think the most important takeaway from your show is? 

My hope is that the show gets people fired up to more actively support Asian artists. I tried to make the point that Hollywood likes to cast “household” names so it sure would help if more people were talking about Asian performers in their houses (or in their virtual houses! on their virtual walls!). Coming from a close-knit and supportive theatre community, I learned how uplifting and helpful the act of championing your fellow artists can be. One thing that’s blown my mind about being in Los Angeles is how instead of only plugging plays, I’m now celebrating friends in movies, TV shows, and video games. If you feel so inclined, please check out and support these Asian artists: Joy Regullano (Supportive White Parents), Brandon Raman (I Can’t Indian Good), Paul Yen (EWP’s Vietgone), Olivia Cheng (Warrior), Jake Choi (Single Parents), Anzu Lawson (Dear Yoko), Feodor Chin (Bulge Bracket), Leonard Wu (Ghosts of Tsushima), and I always feel bad about starting one of these lists because I start to think about who else I could have mentioned.. Oh! There’s also an all-Asian comedy team named Miss Golightly at UCB that I found out about during the run of this show!

Tell us about the journey you have been on with this show? 

After I had the initial idea, I didn’t actually start writing until right around the time they revealed the first picture of Scarlett Johannson in Ghost in the Shell. I saw a lot of people calling for a boycott of the movie (which I can certainly understand people wanting to do), but I also felt the problem was bigger than Scar Jo and I started writing the show as a way to unpack my feelings and opinions about the subject. I finished the first version just in time for the New York Fringe Festival.    I was happy with the version that I did in New York, but for the Hollywood Fringe I had grown a bit and was better able to articulate my thoughts. I also had a terrific comedy director named Joe Wagner who helped me talk through a lot of the jokes I was hesitant to make. And a huge thank you to the Hollywood Fringe Diversity Scholarship for helping me on the production side of things! I was very wrapped up with writing and performing and it was nice having a team of people checking in to see if I needed any help (and I did!). I suppose the next step of the journey is figuring out a way for other Asian actors to be able to do the show in their communities. I hope the show can be a showcase for actors like me when I was starting out, a way of saying “Hello! I’m here! Look what I can do!” 

What are you most excited about in sharing your show with a global audience? 

I’m honestly really hoping I get to hear the response to the show and whether this is a topic and subject matter that resonates with an international audience. I’m rather keenly aware of the conversations being had about whitewashing and yellowface here in the U.S. and from friends in the U.K. and I’m curious whether this is a conversation that people everywhere want to be having. I think this show does a good job of introducing and dissecting those issues while disguised as a comedy. I just don’t know if people will think the show is as clever and/or funny as I think it is. I sincerely hope so. But I’m mostly just excited for people to see the show and hopefully enjoy it!

Do you have a favorite HFF memory? 

I have to say that winning an award with my Mom sitting next to me in the audience was a very lovely experience! That would be my favorite memory followed closely by a thousand smaller memories of meeting so many talented artists and being welcomed so warmly by the Hollywood Fringe community.

Check our Mr. Yunioshi and so many more amazing shows from around the world in Sydney’s Global Fringe !

We are so excited to announce the members of the 2020 Hollywood Fringe ACCESS Committee. These Fringers will work directly with the Hollywood Fringe staff to assess and identify successful approaches and actions to increase equity across the festival, and identify areas of inequity that need addressing by leadership. The list of our ACCESS representatives and their accolades are below.

Also a reminder that tomorrow, Saturday, June 27 from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm, we will host our first Listening Session and Roundtable with the Hollywood Fringe ACCESS Committee. We look forward to this being the first of many workshops and conversations led by our committee members, as we identify ways to institute change in the Hollywood Fringe and the LA Theatre community at large. If you would like to attend, please reserve a spot on our website. If you are unable to attend, but have a question, comment or discussion topic suggestion, please fill out this form. 

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The Hollywood Fringe Festival ACCESS Committee Members

Ella Turenne is a native New Yorker who has been in Los Angeles for 10 years. She has narrated books such as A Good Neighborhood and Remembrance and has performed her award winning one woman show Love, Locs & Liberation internationally at festivals such as the Hollywood Fringe Festival, The Downtown Urban Arts Festival and the United Solo Festival. She also is an activist working on mass incarceration and racial justice issues. A perpetual student, Ella recently went back to school to get her PhD in visual studies.

Matthew Robinson is a writer, director and producer who has put on various theatre shows over the last four years of the Fringe. Works include “Olivia Wilde Does Not Survive The Apocalypse”, “BlackBalled” and “Mary’s Medicine.” Matthew has also participated the past three years in the diversity scholarship program for the Fringe. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @robinsonishyde 

Michelle Roshanzamir is a consultant and producer based in Los Angeles. She works with creatives and leaders to bring their dream projects and initiatives to life.  Started MVR Creative after seeing how many creatives struggle with the business and management side of what they’re working on and turning their ideas into an actionable, results driven plan.  Through individualized support, she helps them develop a rock-solid strategy, determine their next steps, and explore funding options so they can make their vision a reality and reach their goals in a deeply fulfilling and financially rewarding way.  Check more out at www.mvrcreativela.com

Natasha Lewin is a former LA elected official, touring musician and managing editor of High Times. She’s a four-time published author, award-winning playwright and screenwriter as well as a top podcast showrunner. In 2017, Natasha won the Hollywood Fringe Diversity Scholarship for her dark comedy, CHATTER. In 2019, Natasha wrote and directed CHATTER as a short film. It became a 92nd Academy Awards qualifier in 2020. 

Peerada Meemalayath is a first-generation Asian American. She is an actor, activist, and overall artist. She strongly believes in adopting theater as a catalyst for social change and devising narratives that focuses on finding a voice for the voiceless.

Royce Shockley is an accomplished producer, writer, and performer originally from New Jersey. He has been a mentor for the Diversity Scholarship program, and is also the leader of the Inclusivity Board at the Pack Theater. He is passionate about diversity and inclusion and is excited for everything that the ACCESS committee plans to accomplish.

Rufino Romero was born and raised in Los Angeles. He has worked on many projects,  from independent films like “In Echo Park,” world premier plays like “Always Running,” based off of a best seller book. And the latest powerful black and brown digital series “East of La Brea,” created by Paul Feig and Sameer Gardazi. 

Spencer Frankeberger is an actor/director/improviser and board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) as well as an enrichment instructor and teacher.  He is a Hollywood Fringe vet, award-winning producer and director, as well as a Hollywood Encore judge.  For a fun fact, he is a huge theme park enthusiast — including working at a theme park, having annual passes to multiple theme parks, teaching an amusement park science class for kids, and currently creating a theme park podcast.

In light of cancellation, we have scheduled the following events to come together as a community.

Hollywood Fringe Office Hours “All About Cancellation”
Wednesday, June 24 | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Discord/Zoom

Join us for a Hollywood Fringe Office Hours all about cancelling the 2020 festival. Hollywood Fringe staff will be available in this open forum to discuss any issues, answer questions and provide support to you, our community.

Joining in is easy:
1. Head over to the Hollywood Fringe Discord Server (https://discordapp.com/invite/q7yeQUe)
2. You’ll be prompted to log in or register
3. Join in on the chat

Hollywood Fringe Town Hall “All About Cancellation”
Thursday, June 25 | 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm | Zoom

Join Festival Director Ben Hill & the Hollywood Fringe staff for a Town Hall all about the cancellation of the 2020 festival on Zoom. To receive the link for the event, please reserve a ticket for the event on the event page and a link will be emailed 30 minutes before the event.

This event will also be live-streamed on our Facebook and posted to Youtube post-event.

If you would like to submit your questions before the event, you can send them to us via this form: https://forms.gle/5Z18wk8GnifmNE3A7

Additionally, we are still holding these events to address racial inequity in our community. Please check this blog post to learn more about Hollywood Fringe’s stance and action plan. These events are the first of many to come as we work together as a community to combat these systemic issues.

Listening Session & Roundtable with the Hollywood Fringe ACCESS Committee
Saturday, June 27 | 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm | Zoom/Youtube

An open, brave and receptive discussion organized, moderated and led by the Hollywood Fringe ACCESS committee to identify ways to institute change in the Hollywood Fringe and the LA Theatre community at large. This discussion will be on Zoom, pre-register for a spot on our project page. The chat will also be live-streamed on YouTube.

If you are not able to attend, but have a question, comment or discussion topic suggestion, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/eoqXfG7ZVQ5KU63V6

Virtual Office Hours Open Forum Discussion on Inclusion & Equity
Wednesday, July 1st | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Discord/Zoom

During these Virtual Office Hours, we encourage artists to come in ready to discuss the structural inequities in our community. There will be separate breakout sessions to address any issues you have witnessed directly with Fringe staff. If you are unable to attend this meeting, please feel free to email [email protected] with any questions, comments, or concerns you would like to see the Hollywood Fringe staff address.

Joining in is easy:
1. Head over to the Hollywood Fringe Discord Server (https://discordapp.com/invite/q7yeQUe)
2. You’ll be prompted to log in or register
3. Join in on the chat

- Can I get a registration refund?

YES! If you need a refund a check will be sent to you, no questions asked. We understand these events are creating dire financial circumstances for many in our community. 

Please have the Primary Contact for the registered show (the person who paid the registration fee) login to the Fringe website and visit https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/refund. Click “Request Check” to request your check. On the next screen, please verify your payee and address are correct and we will issue your check. Please allow 7-10 business days for your check to arrive via the U.S. Postal Service.

- Can I roll the registration fee to a future festival?

Yes. Your registration can be rolled over to a subsequent festival if you do not submit for a refund. Please let us know after February 1 of the year in which you would like to produce your show, and we will credit your registration.

- Can I donate my registration to the Hollywood Fringe Festival?

For those participants that can afford such a generous gesture, your donation will help us maintain operations in this extremely vulnerable period. Note that any gifts to the Fringe are tax-deductible.

- Can I get a refund for my venue?

For those that have already booked a venue, the nature of your venue relationship is based on your contractual agreement with them. Please work with your venue representative for a best possible outcome considering the circumstances. Please note when working with venues that they have been deeply impacted by the recent crisis.

- How can I make back some of the money I have lost as an artist due to Coronavirus or the cancellation of the festival?

If you need additional assistance, here are some resources developed by outside organizations to support you at this time.

- Is the Hollywood Fringe continuing programming prior to 2021?

The Hollywood Fringe is determined to continue our in-person programming, and we look forward to bringing you more exciting events as soon as we can meet safely in person.

Until then, we will continue to present our Fringe from Home programming including online Office Hours, Virtual Cabaret and new workshops & panels. We will also provide a platform for your online performances through the Fringe website. Web resources normally available to Fringe participants during the festival will be available free of charge including our ticketing system and ads on our website. 

If you would like to register a show for the Fringe From Home program, please visit hollywoodfringe.org/add_project to create a show (please note the instructions on each of the screens to help you complete your submission). Contact [email protected] to take advantage of free online ads to help you promote your work.

We’re excited to help promote the virtual events our community is still producing. Visit our website for a complete schedule.

Dearest Fringe Family, 

After deep reflection the Hollywood Fringe organization is announcing the cancellation of the 2020 Festival. 

We recognize that COVID-19 is still a rapidly developing health crisis with little certainty of what the future holds. Knowing this, we cannot guarantee a safe festival season. This decision is based on guidance from state and local health authorities and our desire to minimize further financial strain to our HFF20 participants and partners.

Hollywood Fringe will offer all 2020 participants a full registration refund. If you are able to do so, please consider donating your registration fee to the Hollywood Fringe. If you are a participating artist and would like more information on what this cancellation means for you, please see our Registered Participant FAQ.

This decision does not come lightly to our organization. Although we are fortunate to have a strong foundation, we will run a high deficit due to this unforeseen cancellation.  We also recognize the effect cancellation has on our venues who are already financially compromised due to their inability to open their doors while state orders are in place.

While this year’s festival may be cancelled, our commitment to our community is not. We will continue to use our platform and passion to support our community through our expanded ‘Fringe From Home’ programming. We’ll also continue to offer our website to all artists to aid in ticketing and event promotion free of charge. We’ll continue to produce workshops and panels to help support you and your work until we come together again at our next festival. 

Upcoming events include:

• We will host a Virtual Office Hours that will include a discussion on event cancelation on Wednesday, June 24 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

• A Virtual Town Hall with HFF staff is scheduled for Thursday, June 25 from 6:00 pm to 7:30pm to answer any questions you may have. If you would like to submit your questions before the event, you can send them to us via this form.

More information on all of the above programming can be found on our website.

We remain committed to providing excellent resources to our stakeholders, and encourage our community to reach out with thoughts, questions, and concerns to [email protected]