Hapa Cup of Sugar follows 22-year-old college graduate Leila as she figures out what to do after graduating and how that plays into the color of her skin. She is hapa, which refers to someone who is bi-racial. After watching the play, audience members had the option to participate in a talk-back discussion with the playwright, the actors, and the director about the play and its themes.

In addition to the performance, we also reached out to students and peers through a social campaign though online platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and face-to-face interactions. We wanted to talk about identity, stereotypes, and what it means to be bi-racial, from mixed ethnic backgrounds, or anything in between.

The purpose of producing Hapa Cup of Sugar at SCU was to create a social dialogue about diversity and race with the student community. I wanted to close the gap between students of color and the rest of the community on campus, changing the way peers look, act, and talk with each other on a daily basis.

This project is sponsored by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office for Multicultural Learning, and SCU Presents Arts for Social Justice.