Multi-talented playwright, musician, artist, and author, Jessica Hagedorn, will give a performance and reading of her work on Wednesday, December 1, at 7:30 p.m., in Garrison Theater at the Scripps College Performing Arts Center on 10 th and Dartmouth in Claremont. Hagedorn will also participate in a luncheon discussion on fiction and performance on December 1, at noon in the Hampton Room of the Malott Commons. Guests to the luncheon may bring their own lunch, or purchase lunch at the Malott Commons Dining Hall.
The performance reading and lecture are part of the Alexa Fullerton Hampton Speaker Series, “The Power of Influence,” at Scripps College. The events are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hagedorn has written a variety of major works including Dogeaters, The Gangster of Love, Chiquita Banana, Dangerous Music, Pet Food & Tropical Apparitions, Danger and Beauty, Dream Jungle, and Comeperros. In 1990, she received the National Book Award nomination for Dogeaters.
Hagedorn, who identifies herself as a Filipino, writes about issues surrounding the struggle of Filipino Americans to find a place between two cultures. Her works focus on different aspects of the Filipino American experience, such as identity, fitting into a new society, or dealing with ties to a historical home. She presents her works in non-traditional ways-many are in multimedia format-showcasing her broad range of talents from songwriting and poetry to the visual arts and drama.
Hagedorn’s visit to the College is part of the fall 2004 Scripps College CORE Humanities Program. Dogeaters was included in the syllabus for all first-year students. This best-selling novel is a montage of voices from junkies to movie stars telling a story that reinforces the fact that no one has escaped the influence of colonization. In October, the play based on the novel opened in Los Angeles at the Temple Gateway Youth & Community Center.
Hagedorn’s family came to San Francisco from Manila when she was fourteen years old. Her training in the theater arts, t’ai chi, martial arts and mime at the American Conservatory Theater laid the foundation for her works.
The Alexa Fullerton Hampton Speaker Series is made possible through the generous bequest of Alexa Fullerton Hampton, Scripps class of 1942.