Jeanne Sakata News

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.

The Guthrie Theater today announced it has been awarded a $1 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to underwrite a groundbreaking initiative for the theater's entire ninth floor, home to the 200-seat Dowling Studio, the Citizens of Minnesota Overlook - a signature feature of the lobby known as the 'amber box' - and a unique retractable wall that unifies the performance space with its lobby.

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.

Perseverance Theatre announces its 38thseason producing professional theatre by and for Alaskans.

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, announces the full cast and creative team for Ropes, a play written by Barbara Colio, translated by Maria Alexandria Beech, and directed by Lisa Rothe. Performances will begin in Two River's Marion Huber Theater, 21 Bridge Avenue, on Saturday, February 20 and continue through Sunday, March 20. The opening night performance is Friday, February 26 at 8pm. Tickets are available from 732.345.1400 or tworivertheater.org. The lead production sponsor is Bank of America.

Members of the 'Pro99' movement of Actors' Equity Association have issued an open letter to AEA's newly elected president, Kate Shindle, in response to her victory and to her inaugural address as president of the national union for actors and stage managers. The open letter is signed by over 400 Equity members (listed below), including such notable names as Ed Asner, Francis Fisher, Sally Kirkland and Alfred Molina. The 'Pro99' movement formed in late 2014 in opposition to AEA's rollout of a new plan that will effectively force 'intimate theaters' in Los Angeles to pay Equity actors minimum wage, go 'non-union' or even close - despite an overwhelming vote against the plan by 66% of the Los Angeles membership on an advisory referendum. 'Pro99' members around the nation, who take their name from the current AEA '99 Seat Plan' that allows members to volunteer in smaller venues, oppose AEA's new promulgated plan. They are requesting that Equity leadership put a moratorium on the plan until local members' voices can be heard, and that the union work with its members to develop an alternative plan that will more realistically address the needs of the Los Angeles theater community.

The trouble with one man shows is that it's difficult to make them engaging no matter the subject. Such is the pitfall that Jeanne Sakata's "Hold These Truths", currently playing at ACT Theatre, falls into. This may be an incredibly horrifying thing that happened to this man but unless you have an engaging way to tell it you might as well be trapped with someone at a party as they recount (in detail) their life story. And while that conversation might be ok for a little while, after 90 minutes it becomes wearing.