TN Box:
A Hug Vibes
Care Package
**SOLD OUT**
Each box includes a ceramic mug, an assortment of loose leaf tea, a surprise pack of garden seeds, a script & link to three radio plays, two postcards, an enamel pin, and a zine.
Click on an item to learn more!
tea
A random selection of loose leaf tea by Linda Wei and Alex Kanegawa.
Our Tea & Letter Writing program is a gathering to drink tea, share space, and write letters of support and affirmation to ourselves & folks in isolated communities. Originally hosted at the Japanese American National Museum, we shifted online in March of 2020. Here are some words from Linda Wei, our resident tea master. While our resident tea master Linda Wei can’t do their usual tea pour in person, they and Alex Kanegawa have selected these teas for you to brew at home.
Linda Wei:
“I approach tea as an experience. A good tea will always hold up for many steepings, but what I am looking for is the tea’s taste profile - the experiential arc - to stay with me for a while after my session. It comes back the next day while driving home from work, or even a few weeks later while I’m in the middle of a project. It will prompt me to ask a friend if they have tried such and such tea.
Even though I enjoy hours-long sessions with good leaves and friends, it’s not always practical. I don’t have much time these days, so I use a portable brewer to create space for myself. These last four months I’ve been returning to these following teas. They’ll hold up just as well in a concentrated session, but are very forgiving when you can’t focus on the steeping process and details.”
script
5.5 x 8.5” script, with a QR code to three radio plays.
Click here to listen!
Storytelling, experimentation, and collaboration is core to our work – writers Jason Fong and traci kato-kiriyama came together to write a series of 3 short radio plays meant to be listened to in various environments. Glenn Suravech generously gave his time to record the performances given by actors Jully Lee, Takayo Fischer, Jason, and tkk. Tree Herrera contributed artwork inspired by each short play. You’ll find these hidden gems throughout the script!
JASON
There is so much going on in our community, in our world, and on top of that...our good friend Takayo tells us she is retiring from acting...sheesh!
TRACI
I know, right?! Sheesh!
…so we decided to write a few audio plays in the moment of our musings...and I wanted to make Jason cry.
Feel free to listen to them in any order, and please do so in stereo or with headphones.
Enjoy :)
pin
1.25 x 0.75” enamel pin of TNP’s new logo.
We’ve been so lucky to have different designers bring our logo to life over the last twenty years. As we entered our third decade, we revisited our visual identity with Yosuke Murakami. This small gift is the result of our process!
Yosuke Murakami:
"My approach to designing this logo was leaning into the story TNP was trying to tell. There are so many layers and textures, so much movement of lines. I wanted to capture the depths of stories that TNP has.
Everything I love about how the logo turned out is what makes this logo unlike anything I've ever designed. It's imperfect, with handmade textures and organic shapes; I personally connected with that sense of rawness as a designer and member of this amazing TNP community."
contact
postcards
Two 4 x 6” postcards depicting the Tuesday Night Cafe space.
Many of us are far away from the East West Players courtyard. We wanted to share this physical memento of the space; Sophie Wang’s postcards bring us back to warm summer nights under the stars. Here’s one for you and one for a friend!
Take some time to look at the postcard. What details of the courtyard stand out to you? What memories does it bring up? If you’ve never been to Tuesday Night Cafe, what feelings does it evoke? On the postcard write about that memory or feeling, then send it to a friend.
Sophie Wang:
"I started stage managing at TNC in 2014, and this space has raised me in too many ways to list here. This spring, I got a job that will move me halfway across the country, and it felt right to do a postcard since I’ll be physically distant but heart close to y’all next season. Keep in touch, friends!"
contact
IG @sophcal
TW @wangshuf
www.wangshuf.com
seeds
A pack of garden seeds from Anzen Hardware. In this box you will randomly receive one of the following: shiso, red shiso, komatsuna, or mizuna.
Tuesday Night Cafe has been rooted in Little Tokyo since we started in 1999. We’re thinking about all the growth and nurturing it’s taken to create the community we’re a part of. These seeds are from the historic Anzen Hardware on First Street – in our 20+ years of presenting TNC, there has never been a season where we weren’t running around the corner to Anzen to pick up some twine, tape, or tools to help us along!
The seeds included here are for you to grow, enjoy, and share what sprouts!
Anzen Hardware:
A hardware store with Japanese tools and everyday hardware supplies. Serving Little Tokyo and Los Angeles since 1946.
contact
IG @anzen_hardware
309 E 1st St,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 628-7600
mug
Taz Ahmed donated her talents to design this 11 oz ceramic mug for us, creating an original painting specifically for the care package.
Taz Ahmed:
"I have performed poetry almost annually for many years at Tuesday Night Cafe and standing on the stage, looking at a sea of mostly AAPI faces, it’s one of the most inspiring and safest spaces I've ever performed. This piece, for me, represents the types of people I see looking back at me when I'm on stage. These are not judging or hateful looks – just simply lasered looks of love and compassion and community."
contact
IG @TazzyStar
TW @TazzyStar
etsy.com/shop/TazzyStarShop
www.tazzystar.me
