History



On August 10, 2000, three people spent a late evening in a studio apartment in downtown Seattle chatting about relationships and how Asian Americans learn about them, and how disparaging it was that there were so few representations of Asian Americans in the media, and that’s when the idea for Sex in Seattle was born ~ conceived by Moi and Kathy Hsieh with a little help from Daniel Arreola.

Moi and Kathy took their new idea and developed a concept for a new production company called SIS Productions. They wanted a company where Asian Americans, and especially women, could be the leaders and the driving force. And the main goal of the company would be to produce quality shows that showcased the talents of Asian American women ~ producing, directing, writing, acting. Kathy and Moi invited fellow artists Serin Ngai and Amy Waschke to join the team and soon an exciting new episodic theatre show was created.

The four women brainstormed and developed ideas for how the company would operate, its structure, its mission, and its goals. They also simultaneously created the characters and storyline for Sex in Seattle, and Serin wrote the first script. And by December 1, 2000, they had their first reading, which turned out to be a huge success. The reading was sold-out, and they even had to turn people away at the door. It was obvious that the Seattle community was ready for an innovative show about Asian American relationships.

SIS Productions was created because of the lack of representation of Asian Americans on television and in film, and something was needed to help fill that void locally. SIS Productions strives to provide more opportunities for local Asian American artists to work, and more importantly to provide the chance for those who were interested in taking on positions of leadership by giving them a chance to produce. By giving Asian Americans the opportunity to produce, to write, to direct, to design, and to act, SIS hopes to help develop more APA's with viable skills in this field, and therefore create greater visibility for them.

Since then, SIS Productions has successfully premiered 14 new episodes, playing to sell-out crowds, and an ever-expanding audience, while always maintaining a stable bottom-line. And even though the original team of creators and structure has continued to evolve, Kathy, along with Lorna Chin, Lisa Marie Nakamura and Tom Tran, plus support from Audrey Fan, Christopher Monsos, Jane Moon, Dawn Pearse and Miko Premo have continued to ensure that SIS Productions continues to stay true to its mission, by giving new directors, new writers, new actors, and new artists the opportunity to develop and showcase their craft, while producing shows that portray the diversity of what it means to be Asian American.