Lane Nishikawa presents his one-man show 'I'm on a Mission From Buddha' Saturday

Lane Nishikawa

One of Asian America's most compelling voices is coming to the Cornell Center for Theatre Arts Film Forum. Lane Nishikawa will present his acclaimed one-man show "I'm on a Mission From Buddha" Saturday, April 22, at 8 p.m.

The show, free and open to the public, is an explosive 90 minutes of 18 vignettes featuring characters ranging from a stand-up comic to a sushi-fearing redneck to a Nisei veteran of WWII. In an incisive look at a changing Asian America, Nishikawa weaves candid, autobiographical monologues about the ironies of growing up Japanese in America and the frustrations of being an actor with an Asian face.

Nishikawa has been touring his plays and performing across the country for the past 15 years. He is a writer, actor, director and producer in theater, film and television. His trilogy of critically praised one-man shows, "Mifune and Me," "I'm on a Mission From Buddha" and "Life in the Fast Lane," are humorous, educational and enlightening. His two plays, "The Gate of Heaven" and "Gila River," examine the human condition of the Asian American experience. "I'm on a Mission From Buddha" was adapted for television and aired nationally on PBS in 1994.

"Nishikawa is a poet first, an actor second, a presence always," said Sylvie Drake of the Los Angeles Times.

This event is sponsored by the Cornell Department of Theatre, Film and Dance, the Cornell Council for the Arts, Asian American Playhouse, the Association of Grads in Theatre, Asian American Studies and the Student Activity Finance Commission.