The expert artistry of words, direction, acting and tech marvelously converge into the current Pasadena Playhouse production of HOLD THESE TRUTHS. Ryun Yu, alone on stage, stunningly and authentically pulls off Jeanne Sakata's detailed depiction of American-born Japanese Gordon Hirabayashi's real-life incidents of standing up against the Executive Order 9066 of being sent to an internment camp in wartime 1942.
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Ten years ago, actress/playwright Jeanne Sakata began writing down her various thoughts on her personal connections with the subject matter of her DAWN'S LIGHT: THE JOURNEY OF GORDON HIRABAYASHI. Through various reincarnations over the last decade, and a title change to HOLD THESE TRUTHS; Jeanne will be opening at The Pasadena Playhouse. I was most excited to get Jeanne's insight on this dark and deplorable episode of American history.
Pasadena Playhouse (Danny Feldman, Producing Artistic Director and Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director Emeritus) rounds up its 2016-2017 Season with three summer programs including HOLD THESE TRUTHS, a critically acclaimed play about the unsung American hero Gordon Hirabayashi, from May 30 - June 25, 2017; SHOUT SISTER SHOUT! The Gospel of Rock.
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston announces the final two plays to complete the 2017-18 Season, Spiro Veloudos' 20th Season as Producing Artistic Director.
East West Players (EWP), the nation's longest-running professional theatre of color in the country and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, is pleased to announce the launch of its inaugural playwrights group, providing space and artistic support over the course of a year for six writers. The 2017 program is directed by playwright Alice Tuan and composed of all-female playwrights, as part of EWP's 51st Anniversary Season, Radiant, that focuses on featuring stories by and about women.
The Playwrights' Center today announced that Robert Chelimsky will join the organization as managing director, effective May 1, 2017. Chelimsky most recently served as managing director of Epic Theatre Ensemble in New York.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley continues its 2016/2017 season with the Regional Premiere of Velina Hasu Houston's international comic drama, Calligraphy. Two continents, two cultures, two estranged sisters, and two cousins determined to bridge the gap between them, are all boldly calligraphed in this free-wheeling work set in Los Angeles and Tokyo, past and present. East and West collide as Japanese free-spirit Sayuri and biracial American Hiromi care for their feuding mothers, whom they gamely hope to reunite before it is too late.Directed by TheatreWorks Associate Artistic Director Leslie Martinson, Calligraphy will be presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley March 8-April 2 at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. For tickets ($31-$86) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley continues its 2016/2017 season with the Regional Premiere of Velina Hasu Houston's international comic drama, Calligraphy. Two continents, two cultures, two estranged sisters, and two cousins determined to bridge the gap between them, are all boldly calligraphed in this free-wheeling work set in Los Angeles and Tokyo, past and present. East and West collide as Japanese free-spirit Sayuri and biracial American Hiromi care for their feuding mothers, whom they gamely hope to reunite before it is too late. Directed by TheatreWorks Associate Artistic Director Leslie Martinson, Calligraphy will be presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley March 8-April 2 at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. For tickets ($35-$59) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.
Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Director Edgar Dobie announce the 2017/18 season lineup for the company's 68th season. The season reflects Arena Stage's commitment to championing diverse voices and producing work that is politically and socially-relevant.
The Pasadena Playhouse (Danny Feldman, Producing Artistic Director and Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director Emeritus) announced today that they will present THE ORIGINALIST and HOLD THESE TRUTHS as part of the theater's 2016-2017 Season. THE ORIGINALIST, by John Strand (Charles MacArthur Award-winning Lovers and Executioners), directed by Molly Smith (Camp David and Artistic Director of Arena Stage), and starring four-time Helen Hayes Award-winner Edward Gero (Goodman Theatre's Red), tells the story about a liberal law student's nerve-wracking clerkship with Justice Antonin Scalia.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley continues its 2016/2017 season with the Regional Premiere of Velina Hasu Houston's international comic drama, Calligraphy. Two continents, two cultures, two estranged sisters, and two cousins determined to bridge the gap between them, are all boldly calligraphed in this free-wheeling work set in Los Angeles and Tokyo, past and present. East and West collide as Japanese free-spirit Sayuri and biracial American Hiromi care for their feuding mothers, whom they gamely hope to reunite before it is too late. Directed by TheatreWorks Associate Artistic Director Leslie Martinson, Calligraphy will be presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley March 8-April 2 at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. For tickets ($35-$59) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley continues its 2016/2017 season with the Regional Premiere of Velina Hasu Houston's international comic drama, Calligraphy. Two continents, two cultures, two estranged sisters, and two cousins determined to bridge the gap between them, are all boldly calligraphed in this free-wheeling work set in Los Angeles and Tokyo, past and present. East and West collide as Japanese free-spirit Sayuri and biracial American Hiromi care for their feuding mothers, whom they gamely hope to reunite before it is too late. Directed by TheatreWorks Associate Artistic Director Leslie Martinson, Calligraphy will be presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley March 8-April 2 at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. For tickets ($35-$59) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.
During World War II, nearly 120,000 Japanese-Americans, including over 200 Alaskans, were ordered to internment camps in the name of "national security." Gordon Hirabayashi was one of only three people who attempted to defy the order on legal grounds. Hold These Truths is his story. It's a play about one man who stood up to power and discrimination in the middle of a worldwide conflict. Gordon persevered, bringing his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court twice, and in 2012 was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Perseverance Theatre is honored to be collaborating with a team that includes a Japanese scenic designer, and Japanese-American actor, director, and playwright to produce this story in Alaska.
'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.' I remember learning this quote in history class. And I remember my teacher saying that what the authors of the Declaration of Independance really meant was, firstly, men and not women, and secondly, the implied qualifiers of white, land-owning, and age 21 or older. In the last 200+ years, we have worked to expand that definition, but the road towards that expansion has not been easy and it hasn't been linear; it's more of a two steps forward one step back kind of thing. And one huge step back was the internment of Japanese people during World War II. It's unthinkable that the president ordered this and our government allowed it, yet at the same time, it's scarily similar to what's going on today in terms of fear of immigrants and 'others.' The one-man play HOLD THESE TRUTHS, now playing in the Guthrie's Dowling Studio, tells the specific story of one man who defied these orders in a way that makes the injustice feel real and personal, and reminds us that we must never let it happen again.
In this weird presidential campaign, where ideas like building a wall along our southern border and excluding entire groups of people from our country based on their religion are tossed around as if they were reasonable, it's important to look back at our shameful history -- in the hopes that we might avoid repeating it. Jeanne Sakata's HOLD THESE TRUTHS, now playing at Portland Center Stage, gives us that opportunity, and I urge as many people as possible to take it.
Portland Center Stage at The Armory debuts its new Northwest Stories series with Jeanne Sakata's Hold These Truths, a play inspired by the life of civil rights hero Gordon Hirabayashi, a Seattle native who was posthumously awarded the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hold These Truths opens in the Ellyn Bye Studio on October 7, with previews beginning October 1 and performances running through November 13. Hold These Truths will be directed by Jessica Kubzansky, who directed the world premiere at East West Players in Los Angeles. Actor Ryun Yu, who originated the role of Hirabayashi at East West Players, will once again play the role in Portland.
Portland Center Stage at The Armory debuts its new Northwest Stories series with Jeanne Sakata's Hold These Truths, a play inspired by the life of civil rights hero Gordon Hirabayashi, a Seattle native who was posthumously awarded the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hold These Truths opens in the Ellyn Bye Studio on October 7, with previews beginning October 1 and performances running throughNovember 13. Hold These Truths will be directed by Jessica Kubzansky, who directed the world premiere at East West Players in Los Angeles. Actor Ryun Yu, who originated the role of Hirabayashi at East West Players, will once again play the role in Portland.
Portland Center Stage at The Armory debuts its new Northwest Stories series with Jeanne Sakata's Hold These Truths, a play inspired by the life of civil rights hero Gordon Hirabayashi, a Seattle native who was posthumously awarded the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hold These Truths opens in the Ellyn Bye Studio on October 7, with previews beginning October 1 and performances running throughNovember 13. Hold These Truths will be directed by Jessica Kubzansky, who directed the world premiere at East West Players in Los Angeles. Actor Ryun Yu, who originated the role of Hirabayashi at East West Players, will once again play the role in Portland.
People's Light presents the regional premiere of A SINGLE SHARD, a highly theatrical adaptation of Linda Sue Park's Newbery Award-winning novel by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Schenkkan.
