ABSTRACT
The period between 1978 and 1988 is noted .not only for the development of musical theatre and the Internment Camp Series, but also for the emergence of young playwrights, including Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro, Philip Kan Gotanda, Velina Hasu Houston, David Henry Hwang, and R. A. Shiomi. Because the EWP was the only professional Asian American theatre in Southern California, the company provided these young Asian American playwrights with career development opportunities. Consequently, through many stagings at the EWP, the young playwrights became more actively involved with other Asian American and ethnic theatre companies throughout the United States. In turn, these playwrights have become important and representative voices in contemporary American theatre who attract an increasingly diverse audience at resident theatres and universities across the country.
