"The Man Who Planted Onions" (Korea) Perception is always misleading, deceptive, and in this allegory, dangerous. Imagine a time and a place when "People didn't see people as people, but sometimes saw people as cows!!" "Seven Silly Fellows" (Philippines) Seven fools go down to the river. One falls in and foolishness follows. A "counting story" of chaos and confusion. Full of Filipino innuendo and audience participation. "Talaga!" (Really!) "Monkey Moon" (Tibet) A band of monkeys peer into a pond on a moonlit night and see something aglow. Their monkey chief, for want of pleasure and power, commands his band of monkeys to capture the reflection of the moon at any cost! A story on what happens when one follows a foolish leader. "The Bird of Happiness" (Tibet) A young girl hears of the legendary bird of happiness and wishes to be witness to the bird's beauty so that she can tell the people of her village what the bird looked like. By doing this, she hopes the villagers will believe in happiness again. Along her journey she confronts the evil demons that guard the bird in an attempt to lure her into betraying her community. She discovers the true source of happiness. "Trouble Talk" (Hmong/ Cambodia) Human outwits the animals with "I'm the most powerful creature!" Mounting bravado and competition amongst the animals results in human's abuse of power and almost the annihilation of the planet with fire. Man becomes the loneliest creature of all. Will Man ever learn his lesson? "Nu Wa Mends the Sky" (China) Gods of Fire and Water have damaged Heaven and Earth with their reckless warfare. Unless Nu Wa, a Creation Goddess can mend the rip in the sky and the wound in the Heavens, all of life on earth will be destroyed. With over 100 folktales, myths and legends, a partial list is provided below. "Takashi's Dream" A powerful true life journey tale that fluctuates between flashbacks and Takashi Tanemori's drive across the Bay Bridge on his way to give a speech at a Nuclear Disarmament Rally. As a young 8 year old boy, he had a prophetic and mythological dream with a powerful message on the eve of the Holocaust at Hiroshima. The bombing sets in motion the annihilation of his family, a life of bitter and suicidal destruction and immigration to America, where he is filled with hatred and revenge. But forty years after the bombing, he suddenly remembers his Dream, and he finally finds peace through forgiveness. "Tricksters in the Family Tree" Three generations of the Kikuchi family: from the island of Hachijo, to the ghetto red-light district of a US Navy town, to the white suburbs of Concord, California, this tale of Japanese American internment, identity, struggle and resolution, which illuminates the question: "What is an American?" "Unspeakable Moons" This interdisciplinary piece follows the healing journey of one woman's relationship with her mother. Woven in this story is the Chinese folktale "Long Haired Girl," a story about truth and courage. Soon to premiere: "In Need of Goddesses" A piece that reveals the all too common behavior of women giving up their power to men. In this piece, the story of Japan's Sun Goddess is woven with a journey upon Mt. Fuji where not only the females, but the males as well, summit to a 'storm god' and forget to shine their light upon the situation. Four Asian women activists from the Asian American community provide their wisdom and stories as an offering and a way to help the wisdom and light within each of us to shine on. Origin Myths and Wisdom Tales: Why Evergreens are Green (Mongolia/ Tuvan) Mekhala and Ramasaur (Cambodia) Mudbabies (Philippines/ Northern) The Rumor (Pakistan/ Sufi) The Amir Who Was a Beggar (Afghanistan) Gold Finger (China) Ghost Stories: Magic Pang Mang Yi (Korea) Dirtball (China) The Firehead Demon (Thailand) The Talking Corpse (Tibet) Ten Thousand Demons (Korea) Willow Tree (Japan) Cautionary Tales: Opposite Frog (Korea) Big Liar (Vietnam) Mr. and Mrs. Miser (India) Hero and Heroines Journey: Ookus Ool and the Colorful Khans (Mongolia) Choril and Cholchinay (Siberia) Long Haired Girl (China) Magical Magandiri (Philippines/ Southern) Maliang and the Magic Brush (China) Trickster and Foolishness: Fakhri, the Know-It-All (Afghanistan) New Ghost (China) Dingbo and Dangbo (Bhutan) Tanuki and The Magic Fan (Japan) Sieng Mieng the Kings Appetite (Laos) Terrible Leak (Japan)