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Featured Speakers & Entertainment
Parry Shen
Parry Shen is best known for his performances in MTV Films’ “Better Luck Tomorrow” and in Columbia Pictures’ comedy, “The New Guy” opposite DJ Qualls (Hustle & Flow) and Zooey Deschanel. Other Films include: “First Daughter” starring Katie Holmes, “The Gene Generation” with Bai Ling & Faye Dunaway and “Hatchet” with Robert Englund. Television credits include: “Criminal Minds”, “Without A Trace”, “Veronica Mars”, “NCIS”, “The King of Queens”, “Tru Calling” and recurring on FX’s critically acclaimed “Thief” and ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters”.Parry is currently putting together an Asian American Superhero Graphic Novel Anthology entitled, "Secret Identities". The book will be published by The New Press in Spring 2009.
He’s been featured on “Entertainment Tonight” and “Extra” as well as in Premiere, Rolling Stone, VIBE, People Magazine, The LA Times and The Wall Street Journal.
In the past 3 years, Parry has spoken at over 100 Universities in his spare time -- demystifying the Acting Business and sharing his experiences as an Asian-American in the media to college students across the county. He is currently starting up his fifth tour. For more information, please visit Parry’s website at www.parryshen.com.
Danny Cho
It all started in the summer of 2000. A couple of friends dared Danny Cho to try stand-up. Just out of high school, Danny agreed and his friends entered him into an open mic night at a café in the middle of South Central LA. The café offered $ 500 dollars to the best open mic participant. Long story short, Danny was $ 500 richer and was bitten by the comedy bug. While attending UCLA, Danny performed stand-up at various colleges throughout the nation. During Danny’s senior year of college, he performed at Kollaboration, the biggest Korean-American talent show in the nation. That year was the first and only year that there was a stand-up comedy competition. Danny won the category and he started pursuing comedy more seriously.
Danny has performed at many comedy clubs in Southern California. He is a regular at the World Famous Laugh Factory in Hollywood. You can also find him at the Improv, Haha Café, and Mixed Nuts Comedy Club.
Danny has performed alongside many stand-up stars of today and tomorrow. He has shared the stage with Dave Chappelle, Tim Allen, Jon Lovitz, Darrell Hammond, Paul Rodriguez, Dane Cook, Bobby Lee, Godfrey, Jokoy, Russell Peters, Lisa Lampanelli, and many more.
Danny is a must-see at comedy clubs! For more information, visit www.dannycho.com
The Ken Oak Band
With Ed now on rhythm guitar, Ken dusts off his old high school cello and begins experimenting with it as a bass and lead instrument. Ed encourages him to sing and play at the same time. This proves to be rather difficult and for a few painful months, the band sucks. They keep playing. A few months later, they are decent. By fall of 2005, Ken and Ed are on their first self-booked national tour. By spring of 2006, they are playing their second one.
Halloween of 2006 is now approaching and Ken and Ed have shared the stage over 200 times since their first show at Highland Grounds two years ago. This does not include the hundreds of sets they have played at Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade, just a few blocks from Venice Beach. Street performing (aka "busking") has taught them new levels of humility.
Other recent accomplishments include a song placement in the Dreamworks film "She's the Man", an excellent write-up in Billboard Magazine, a few notable tv performances, embarking on their third national tour, and finishing a new album that they hope will knock the socks directly off your feet.
The duo teamed up with veteran rock producer Duane Baron (Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue, Tracy Chapman, Dream Theater) for their latest effort, "Vienna to Venice". Having penned most of the songs while touring the country in Ken's Honda Element, the album chronicles their individual journeys from East to West, loves come and gone, and the personal growth they have experienced in all of the moments in between.
Rich Kiamco
Rich Kiamco is a force of nature that rips across the stage leaving laughter, tears and applause in his wake. His one-man show UNACCESSORIZED, an autobiopic romp about a queer Filipino overachiever, received the Overall Excellence Award in Solo Performance at the New York International Fringe Festival and Best Solo Performance at the Montreal GLBT International Theatre Festival. He received standing ovations at FACT: Filipino Americans Coming Together, the largest Midwest Conference of Filipino American students and at True Colors, the world’s largest LGBTIQQA youth conference.Rich was also featured on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, hosted the WE channel's Three Men and a Chick Flick, appeared on Q Television’s Queer Edge, was a panelist on the Discovery Channel’s Second Opinion, was a guest speaker at MTV networks for LGBT Month and was honored to co-host a private event for Senator Hillary Clinton. He has also appeared in Las Vegas, on The Howard Stern Show and venues nationwide as the side-kick to comedian Judy Tenuta, and at various campuses with Peeling, an Asian-American performance collective based in New York City. His writing can be found in Take out: Queer Writing from Asian Pacific America, as well as Queer Stories For Boys. Rich recently returned from a tour of campus appearances in China and the Philippines, and showcased at the NACA [National Association For Campus Activities] National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information, please visit Rich’s website at www.richkiamco.com
