Come see the documentary and meet me in Santa Ana! I will have copies of my book for sale that I’ll sign! Tickets are limited and CHEAP!!‍ ‍

This book event is FREE and PRECEDES the screening of “The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook” at 5pm. Recommended that you attend both!

TICKET INFORMATION HERE!

En Garde Arts' 40th Anniversary Gala

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Honoring

Anne Bogart & Chuck Mee

Featuring the world premiere of their latest collaboration, Prelude, presented by BAM's Next Wave Festival

6:30pm - VIP Cocktail Hour, KBH Building

7:30pm - World Premiere of Prelude, the Plaza at 300 Ashland

8:15pm - Processional to Roulette (Gala Event Space)

8:30pm - 40th Anniversary Gala Celebration

Register here for this almost free event! This is at Powerhouse Books’ Manhattan location. I will be in conversation with activist Annie Tan. NOTE: It is NOT IN DUMBO! Book signing to follow! Come back for more details.

Join me, Teddy, and Liberty at A&C Super, a bakery in Brooklyn. Grab a fresh baked treat and hear from the book. We will sign it! Our friends at Yellow Peril Books will be hosting us in conversation! Admission is basically the price of a baked good. Reserve here!!

Kristina will be on the “Theatre as Resistance aka LA Theatre: A Platform for Anti-Establishment Artists”

Register for the conference here.

I am the EMCEE. Details here!!!

Event Details

Join North East Trees as we celebrate 35 years of transforming Los Angeles through the power of nature. Be part of an unforgettable evening of community, inspiration, and impact as we honor the people, partnerships, and places that have shaped our journey.

LIST OF HONOREES:

Assemblymember Jessica Caloza, Public Service Leadership Award

Lauren Bon & Metabolic Studio, The Visionary Stewardship Award

LaDale Hayes & Operation Flame, The Community Leadership Award

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Step beneath the canopy and join us for an unforgettable evening of community, inspiration, and celebration. Savor delectable heavy hors d'oeuvres, decadent desserts, specialty cocktails, and a premium hosted bar as we gather to honor the people and partnerships transforming Los Angeles.

Hear powerful stories that showcase the impact of North East Trees' work in underserved communities, creating greener neighborhoods, expanding opportunity, and strengthening environmental resilience. Celebrate our distinguished honorees and community partners, and connect with civic leaders, environmental advocates, philanthropists, and changemakers from across the region.

Through music, celebration, and meaningful connection, you'll help grow the programs that are planting trees, creating jobs, restoring communities, and cultivating a greener, healthier, and more resilient Los Angeles for generations to come.

ATTIRE: Cocktail

I will be at this screening and have copies of my book to sign!

Join me at this free reading and signing event where a special Youth guest, Audrey, will also be in attendance reading from the Young Rebel section about APEN!

It’s a screening of The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook!

Free and open to the public.

I will be at the post-screening Q&A and have books to sign after.

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT IN ADVANCE AND COMMIT TO TWO DAYS OF WORKSHOPS. SPACE IS LIMITED SO HURRY UP!!

I will be in conversation with local elected official Terry Vo and signing books! Event is free! I’d love to meet you!

Here’s a link to the event here!

This is a public event as part of the “In Process Series” at MTSU. All are welcome!

NASHVILLE! Let’s hang out at this 🍵Matcha ☕️ Coffee🧋Boba Tea place!

There is 3 hour validated parking!

It’s one of my favorite volunteer days of year! Me and my sewing machine will be sewing up all the holes in your life. There will be NO KNIFE SHARPENING at this event. There is a limit of 3 items you can bring in for repair. More at Echo Park Repair Fair.

I will be reading from and selling my book at the longest running Asian American mic series in the country! And it’s free!!!

Free Screening! Walk up and sit down! I will be at the Q&A and have copies of my book on hand.

San Francisco Public Library Main Branch

Koret Auditorium

100 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94102

SFPL Venue Accessibility

This venue and its restrooms are accessible; advance notice or reservations are not required for wheelchair access.

SFPL Public Transport

Muni within SF City: K L M N J Muni Lines; F Street Car

BART: Civic Center Station 

I won’t be here (because I double booked myself in San Francisco that day) but the VULVA COSTUME I worked on will be walking the catwalk! A fun inclusive event with pay-what-you-can tickets! Information here!

I will be at the screening! Part of the 49th Asian American International Film Festival.

Screening and ticket information here.

I will be at the screening and answering your questions after! I’ll even have copies of our book on hand!

Get tickets here!

My spouse and I are co-moderating a panel where voice legend Billy West will be talking about his new book. Panel listing is here.

“Making Lemonade!” Fringe Benefits Theatre’s 35th Anniversary Celebration, July 12 from 5 to 8:30pm, at Plaza de la Raza!

Our “Making Lemonade!” theme celebrates the way Fringe Benefits helps youth turn their painful experiences with discrimination into powerful art that promotes a more just, kind and inclusive world.

RSVP & Get Your Ticket(s) by Monday, July 6. Space is limited!

 RSVP & TICKET LINK    

Suggested donation for tickets is $35 per person; $25 per ticket is tax deductible. 

If you are unable to donate $35, no worries, please join us anyways!  

Our 35th Anniversary Celebration features…

 Kristina Wong: Emcee Extraordinaire Comedian, Guggenheim Fellow, Pulitzer Finalist, & Longtime Fringe Benefits Ally!

 Entertainment & Inspiration from Fringe Benefits' Wonderfully Gifted Artists – Both New & Veteran!

 Absolutely DELECTABLE savories, sweets, & LIBERAL libations!

 A Gorgeous Setting with Happy-Making Music & Dancing to lift your spirits!

 One heck of a FABULOUS THRONG of delightful, thoughtful, diverse and FUN people!

️ An opportunity to partner with Fringe Benefits in our mission to continue to EMPOWER youth

       to replace hate with understanding through theatre & film LONG INTO THE FUTURE!

If you are unable to attend, please consider supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation.

Your contributions of any size are greatly appreciated!

DONATION LINK

I hope you can join us!

Love,

Norma

Norma Bowles | Artistic Director

Fringe Benefits Theatre | Setting the Stage for Social Justice

www.cootieshots.org

 Some of the PRIZES our supporters have donated for some of our lucky contributors... 

An Antipasti basket  *  “Bottle Shock” Game  *  Casa 0101 theatre tickets  *  Casita del Campo gift certificate  *  Dowsing Workshops  *  Drama in Action workshop voucher  *  El Coyote gift certificate  *  Fringe Benefits books  * Handmade Serving Utensils  *  M3 Collections jewelry gift certificate  *  Sold Out Crowd one year membership  *  Sumi on Vermont gift certificate

Fringe Benefits Theatre helps youth turn their painful experiences with discrimination into powerful art that promotes a more just, kind and inclusive world.

Fringe Benefits is a groundbreaking educational theatre company with a 35-year track record of collaborating with schools and community groups to create plays, videos and programs that open hearts and minds and foster respect, inclusion and justice. Thanks in part to our partnerships, schools have developed more inclusive curricula and ended discriminatory policies; youth obtained emergency housing; formerly incarcerated women found employment; Rotarians decided to support marriage equality; high school students learned ally-empowering strategies from their Indigenous peers; and a university audited and corrected accessibility issues throughout their campus.

Our collaborations have produced over 500 world-premiere plays and videos. And our critically acclaimed anthologies --- Cootie Shots, Friendly Fire, and Staging Social Justice --- are used in classes throughout the United States. Sir Ian McKellen narrates Surviving Friendly Fire, the award-winning documentary about our work. Our work has earned acknowledgment by the President's Commission on the Arts and Humanities and awards from: the CSJ Center for Reconciliation and Justice, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the Korean Youth and Community Center, PFLAG/LA, and Cornerstone Theater Company, among others.

Fringe Benefits Theatre (F.B. Alliance) is a 501-C3 non-profit organization, ID #:  95-4742959.            

www.cootieshots.org

️

Thank you to our 35th Anniversary Celebration Hosts!!!

Carol Fisher Sorgenfrei   *   David Miller  *  Diana and Jeff Tomei  *  Dwora Fried & Jehan Agrama  *  Fringe Benefits Board of Directors  *  Jesse Armstrong  *  John H. Bowles  *  Kathleen McHugh  *  Lo Sprague  *  Loring McAlpin  *  Mike & Nancy Riordan  *  Pamela Alma Weymouth  *  Peter Jones

Board of Directors

Barbara June Dodge Dart, President   *  Bernardo Solano, Secretary   *  Jan K. Tattam, Treasurer   *   Alexandra Billings-Blankenship   *  Norma Bowles  *  Sonja Berggren Seaver  *  Kimiko Warner Turner

Advisory Board

Jehan Agrama  *  Jayne Atkinson  *  Megan Cavanagh  *   David Ray Chaparro  *  Corky Dominguez  *  Olympia Dukakis †   *  Rabbi David N. Young  *  Yvette Freeman-Hartley  *  Mike & Lydia Gutierrez  *  Chris & Lynn Hunt  *  Allison Madison  *  Rev. Dr. Marilyn Matevia  *  Gail Rolf  *  Peter Sellars  *  Bob Stern  *  Jack Walker  *  Billie Weiser, Psy. D.  *  Bruce Whitacre  *  Jaime Wolf, Esq.  *  Joanne Woodward

️

“I am a supporter of Fringe Benefits because I share their belief that through theatre,

we can get to know and understand each other in all of our diverse beauty,

and work together to create a peaceful and loving world.”

Joanne Woodward, Fringe Benefits Advisory Board

If you are unable to attend, please consider supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation.

Your contributions of any size are greatly appreciated!

DONATION LINK

I am a guest reader. Event is free and a virtual option also available. RSVP here!

I’ll be in the audience and fielding questions with other Aunties.

🎟Get tix here!

This panel is part of a day long series called “Tea House Salon”. This particular panel is at 2:45pm. RSVP for this free panel here.

Diverse representation in film and TV has come a long way, but lately it feels like we’re sliding backward. Studios are retreating into old habits, and in a country that seems increasingly allergic to conversations about diversity, filmmakers from underrepresented communities are left wondering: where do we go from here? As the contraction of DEI continues, AAPI storytelling is at a crossroads. Join us for a conversation with Dino-Ray Ramos, journalist and founder of DIASPORA, alongside filmmakers as they unpack what authentic representation means and discuss whether or not AAPI storytellers still need to wear their cultural identity on their sleeve in order to be seen.

Featuring Schuyler Bailar (Participant, The A List) Kristina Wong (Participant, The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook) & Valerie Soe (Director, The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook), Jaskaran Singh (Director, Jersey Boy) in conversation with Dino-Ray Ramos (Founder, DIASPORA). 

I’m in the documentary and I also will be there!

🎟 Get tickets here!

Website for the documentary here.

Free event! We will be reading and signing copies of our book! All ages invited to come!

Check out this cool bookstore here!

For registered UC Irvine students only.

REGISTER HERE~