Like all great ideas, the decision to produce Achievers with Propergander Productions was based on a whim. In the spring of 2000, playwright Mike Golamco introduced the script to his friends and asked for their input. Impressed by the rawness of the script and intrigued by the notion of seeing the words come alive on stage, friend Naoya Imanishi turned to Mike and said, "Why don't we try to put this on?" From there the organization began.

Auditions were held, producers were picked, marketing team made, and set designers... Set. The assembly of Cindy Yoshiyama (producer), Joan Huang, Hieu Ho (marketing), and Steve Tu (set designer) rounded out the team under the direction of Imanishi. All the pieces of the puzzle were found through past friendships, and they formed like Voltron.

With no budget or official stage to rehearse in, the cast of Achievers has met for over a year in apartments, backyards, and even empty classrooms to run lines and develop their characters. Through this process, the cast and director had become integral in helping to evolve the script. Little is known about this, but in earlier versions of the script, Godzilla comes to LA and eats the character of Shingo.

The coalition that spawned from this production truly was a grass-roots effort. No one in this production entered the project with the assumption of getting paid. Elements of fundraising became a group effort. Most of the funds were pooled together by members of the cast and crew, in addition to loans taken from family members. Every single person involved in this production has contributed emotionally, physically, and financially to Achievers.

The venture to make Trent, Ellen, Akira, Murphy, and Shingo come to life has been a time consuming and at-times frustrating experience, but it has all been worthwhile for everyone involved. We are confident that audiences all over will get a new glimpse of Asian America, and it is our endeavor to make the play as entertaining as it was creating it.