Word Up!--A Festival of Asian American Performances will be presented July 8-18 at the David Henry Hwang Theatre, produced by East West Players and the Mark Taper Forum's Asian Theatre Workshop.

The festival is comprised of nine performances that will be repeated over a two-week period. The short plays range from the acerbic observations of an Asian-American female to a coming-of-age story in a biracial family, to a darkly humorous road trip with three Chinese men bound for Disneyland.

The solo works include works performed and written by Paula Weston Solano, Amy Hill, Denise Uyehara, Alice Tuan, Dan Kwong and James Sie, among others. Such directors as Jessica Kubzansky, Luis Alfaro, Robert Egan and Chay Yew are involved.

The David Henry Hwang Theatre is located at 120 N. Judge John Aliso St, between First and Temple in Little Tokyo. For tickets and information call East West Players at (213) 625-7000.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent