In the 1980s, the South Asian presence in the United States was barely noticeable. In American popular imagination, South Asia was a distant site founded on stereotypes. The only well-known brown character in the entertainment industry was Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the convenience store owner in the famed animated series “The Simpsons”. Let alone a definable diaspora, South Asians living in America had no clear role in the nation’s racial history.
Fast forward to now: Bollywood has a prominent status in American popular culture; major television shows have South Asian characters; and the legislative branch has elected representatives from the community. Yet this exposure has generated equally problematic –if arguably less exotic—stereotypes: ignoring the immense cultural diversity of the region, India is often seen as synonymous with South Asia; anyone from the region is randomly assumed to be a tech expert; and most importantly, South Asian immigrants are collectively labeled “model minority” due to their economic success in the United States, an immigration myth that has only distanced them from other minorities.

The task of underscoring the complexity of the region, therefore, falls on the immigrants themselves, and “South Asian-American Theater” is an event committed to that goal. Spearheaded by the Boston-based non-profit theater group “Off-Kendrik”, it is a three-day celebration of the performative arts –play, stand-up, storytelling, seminar—that brings together eight creative groups. Their narratives address a range of issues in multiple languages, from politics in their countries of origin and experiences of immigration to complexities of ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. More than simply a celebration of multiculturalism, the occasion, with its insight into the diversity of the South Asian-American diaspora, provides a rare opportunity for education and enrichment, no less for South Asians themselves than for others.