Specially Processed American Me by Jaime Sunwoo is a surreal autobiographical performance film that explores Spam, the canned meat, as a portal into her Asian American upbringing and her family’s experiences of the Korean War. This filmed stage production investigates Spam’s legacy in the US military and its significance in the Asia-Pacific– Korea, the Philippines, Okinawa, Hawaii, and Guam– through puppetry, masks, and original music played with kitchen instruments. Oscillating wildly between absurd humor and sober tragedy, Specially Processed American Me explores one of America’s most misunderstood foods.
To learn more, visit speciallyprocessed.com and follow @speciallyprocessed on Facebook and Instagram.
To book screenings and engagements, contact sunwooprojects@gmail.com
The premiere production of Specially Processed American Me, produced by Free Rein Projects, Ping Chong and Company, and Dixon Place, was made possible with support from the Queens Council on the Arts' Artist Commissioning Program, Asian Women Giving Circle, the NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre by the City of New York Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts, Brooklyn Arts Fund, MVRP Foundation, The Laundromat Project, and The Jim Henson Foundation. Specially Processed American Me was developed through BRIClab, HB Studio Rehearsal Space Residency, BAX Upstart Program, Barn Arts Residency, Leviathan Lab, and FailSafe.
The Team: