Asian Story Theater
BIG MONEY!
(the title, not the budget)
It's the world-famous "You're O-K, I'm O'Keefe" Dance Spectacular, the story of Irish-American Adventurer David Dean O'Keefe! How he rescued an island that barely survived for 2000 years without him! At least until the dancers take over. Then it's the truth of this very real, probably magical island, surviving pirate raiders, a religious crisis requiring the Pope to intercede, and unique island tradition of stone money: disks up to 4 meters across and 4 tons. Yap adopted the real O'Keefe, and together, incredibly, they ruled the entire world's copra industry for nearly a quarter of a century.
2026 Performances
San Diego International Fringe Festival, based in Balboa Park.
Shows:
5/15 @ 9PM, 5/16 @ 6PM, 5/19 @ 7:30PM,
5/21 @ 9PM, 5/23 @ 7:30PM
TICKETS HERE
Preview/promo video
Highlights
Complete show (fixed camera)
Program
Cast
TBA
Creative Team
Setting ~ Jay Newington
Stage Manager ~ Kalí Kamaria
Costume Design ~ Cheryl Lindley
Puppets ~ Kent Brisby, Kalí Kamaria
Choreography ~ TBA
Co-Directors ~ TBA
Story by KL Brisby & Lynnzey Sigrah Pedro
About the Company
Gingerlily Lowe is an actor, director, writer, songwriter, teaching artist and a founding member of Asian Story Theater -formerly Chinese Story Theater. She was a founding member and past president on San Diego’s first Asian American Theater company–Pacific Asian Actors’ Ensemble, and also the Magic Machine. She is proud of the decades of multi-ethnic theater she has been a part of and able to help produce, celebrating Asian American art and culture, and bringing new faces, voices, and stories to the community. She has been a teaching artist with Young Audiences/Arts for Learning, Institute for Arts Education, and currently is on the teaching artist staff for Guitars in the Classroom, and the Education Director for Asian Story Theater.
KL (Kent) BRISBY, Byers/O'Keefe; Co-Writer, Co-Director
Kent is a writer and producer with a broad background in adapting diverse narrative and performing arts traditions from around the world into new works, often featuring music. Upcoming projects include a new musical set during the Mexican Revolution, REVOLUCIÓN. He recently directed and produced THE LAST CENSUS for Asian Story Theater, and other past projects include RED, WHITE & BLACKLISTED and THE MUSICAL PAUL GAUGUIN, as well as leading development on STORIES OF THE SUN CAFE, HALO HALO, and the anthology series THE COFFEE PLAYS. Originally from Nebraska, Kent grew up on various Micronesian Islands, with some time in Hawaii, before returning to the states. He graduated from Whitman College in the Pacific Northwest before settling in San Diego as a performer and director with the San Diego Street Theater.
Kalí Kamaria is a visual artist with a broad background in theater and dance. Stage performances began with Teatro Máscara Mágica, and favorite roles include FA MU LAN and KAHUA with Asian Story Theater, performing in San Diego and San Francisco. She has trained 6 years in Balinese dance and 12 years with Heali’i’s Polynesian Revue.
Ms. Pedro lives and works on Yap, a small island in Micronesia sometimes called the Island of Stone Money, with her husband and two young daughters. Her passion for writing led to inclusion in the “Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia” anthology from University of Hawai’i Press, and fuels her career as a teacher of elementary and high school students as a way to give back to her community. Ms. Pedro has her BA from College of Micronesia and plans to pursue her Masters degree from the University of Hawaii.
