(No) Pressure Creatives, an original Asian American musical production group at Georgetown University, brought its second production, “Autumn Leaves,” to the stage in Gaston Hall April 4 and 5.

The musical tells the story of a couple that immigrates from New Delhi, India, to Seattle, Washington, to live out their dream of owning a jazz bar. After the couples’ passing, their two children grapple with understanding their parents’ legacy and learning how to continue it in their own way.

After the success of their musical “(No) Pressure” last year, (No) Pressure Creatives was formed to create a space on campus for Asian Americans interested in the arts and to combat their underrepresentation in traditional media and the performing arts world.

“Autumn Leaves” features an all-original script co-written by Sherri Wu (SFS ’26) and Wyatt Nako (CAS ’26), the director and vocal director of the production, and a cast and crew of around 65 students.

Executive producer Lucas Lin (SFS ’24) said musical expression can be an integral part of the Asian American experience growing up and (No) Pressure Creatives allows students to further pursue these interests in college.

“I think that it’s a really ubiquitous experience that at a young age we’re really encouraged to take up music and have it as a hobby, but almost a lot of Asian Americans drop it through high school or college,” Lin told The Hoya. “So (No) Pressure Creatives promoting Asian Americans in creative spaces is pushing them to have or continue these creative outlets in theater or musical theater ways.”

Full disclosure: Lucas Lin was a news writer for The Hoya from 2020-2022.

Associate producer Minato Shinoda (MSB ’26) said she and other Asian American students at Georgetown have extensive backgrounds in performing arts and music, which are creative interests they can pursue at (No) Pressure apart from their academics.

“Basically everyone in the production is not a theater major or a dance major or a music major or anything like that; we’ve kind of grown up hearing not to do that. So, we wanted a space for us to continue these interests in college as well,” Shinoda told The Hoya.

Beyond serving as a space to exercise passion and creativity through the performing arts, students say (No) Pressure Creatives and the Autumn Leaves production serve as important sources of community and friendship for Asian American students on campus.

Wu, who was also involved in the group’s production last year, said theater was a great way for her to find community at Georgetown.

“As cheesy as it sounds, it genuinely was the first time I felt like I actually had a place on this campus because I struggled to find people who had similar backgrounds as I did,” Wu told The Hoya. “At the very basis of it, it’s just a place for people with similar experiences, who feel like they don’t have a place on campus, to get together and it’s a really great way to make friends. Long-lasting friendships are really born out of this project.”

The story of “Autumn Leaves” encapsulates the childhood parental struggles of many Asian American students, according to Wu, who said the broader goal of (No) Pressure Creatives is to bring light to the lived experiences of Asian Americans on stage.

“Jokingly, among the cast, we say it’s about generational trauma. We kind of inserted a lot of our parents’ experiences and our experiences with our parents into the musical,” Wu said.

Wonnie Kim (SOH ’25), who played the mother, Ella, in the musical, said the story focuses on the tension between children satisfying their immigrant parents’ desires for them and living out their own ambitions. 

“I think the musical will have people thinking a lot about where they stand in their story, if they’re immigrants or not,” Kim told The Hoya. “I think everyone relates to that discrepancy between parents and children, wanting to stay connected with your family but also wanting to forge your own path.”

Though this is only their second year putting on a production, (No) Pressure Creatives has plans to expand and continue producing shows in the coming years. Currently, (No) Pressure Creatives operates under Georgetown University’s Asian American Student Association (AASA) with the support of other affinity groups such as Georgetown’s South Asian Society (SAS).

Lin said the group is trying to become fully institutionalized as a club under the Performing Arts Advisory Committee (PAAC), similar to other theater groups such as the Mask & Bauble Dramatic Society, Nomadic Theatre and Black Theatre Ensemble. 

According to Shinoda, maintaining the group’s original mission of portraying the underrepresented narratives of the Asian community is paramount moving forward.

“Asian American stories are definitely not a monolith. It’s not like everyone has the same experiences, so I really want to try exploring the different experiences that people have, portraying those stories every year,” Shinoda said.