My hopes for a connection with Little Tokyo were renewed by an email from Tim Dang:
“Hi Jessica,
Thanks for your interest. Coincidentally, I gave a short speech to the Irvine Foundation this past Friday on the cultural vitality of little Tokyo. If it doesn’t take too much time, I would be glad to participate.
Thanks! Tim Dang”
Success! Not only was this a lead, but a connection to the Executive Director of an arts organization- East West Players. And in my experience, those opportunities don’t come around often.
In meeting with Mr. Dang, I was delighted to discover the cultural vitality of his organization and how its relationship with the community resonates far and wide- inasmuch as its sense of historical identity and focus on the future. In the fear of sounding like an advertisement (aye, aye to citizen journalism), the programming at East West combines these two forces (the past and the future) by centering not only on the Japanese American experience, but the experiences of anyone put in the place of minority. Its venue, the David Henry Hwang Theatre, is wallpapered with posters of past performances- a mosaic of color, colored faces, and colored pasts. Consequently, the theatre, a renovated church, was, in its previous life, a place for the residents of Little Tokyo to register for internment during World War II.
Dang, who mentioned anecdotally that he was both an alumnus of USC and a former Island Boy (great strides made thanks to genetic experimentation- thanks, mom and dad!), is gearing up for another show. East West will hold a west coast premiere and preview performances of Po Boy Tango, November 5-8, 2009. The play tells the story of Richie Po, whose mother, a chef, recently passed. He recreates her famed cuisine in memoriam working alongside a soul food chef. “Together they…discover a deeper understanding of food, culture and the recipe for friendship,” says the East West website; but I find it pertinent, too, to point out the masterful combination of this play’s cultural flavors as it relates to Dang’s vision for East West and Little Tokyo by and large. He wants to create an arts community reminiscent of ones tastes in food: “let’s do Japanese tonight- we’ll go to Little Tokyo for food and stay for an East West performance” (I paraphrase.)
There’s beauty in the sentiment of this artistic integration, given the troubled past of the Issei experience and Little Tokyo’s stiff upper lip in forward movement. But this is no lofty ideal, East West has certainly set the standard for integration programming in Little Tokyo- followed by JANM’s debut of Giant Robot’s Biennale exhibit just days ago and the JACCC who will hold a World Festival of Sacred Music at the end of November.
If current trends are indication of the impact an arts organization has on a community rich with experience; I think we’ll get there , Tim.
– Jessica Hilo