Asian Story Theater, in collaboration with the Chula Vista Public Library, presents a new play about immigration during the Gold Rush in California and the controversial laws from that era that continue to impact immigrants today. The Golden Rule was inspired by the gold country legend of "The Lost Mine of Kanaka Jack,” a California Gold Rush man of Hawaiian descent who regularly appeared with gold from some location that he would never reveal. That legend triggered parallels with other immigrant experiences of the period highlighted in the play, including the surprising story of the second Chinese woman in California, as well as the astonishing experience of an African-American slave brought to California.

Audiences will be welcomed and addressed as community members from 1851, facing tricky questions about making space for newcomers even while struggling to make their own place. The Golden Rule is written and directed by K.L. Brisby with music by S. Shames and is the first produced project funded by the new Create Chula Vista Arts Grant from the City of Chula Vista.