Soji Kashiwagi(born September 10, 1962 inOakland, California) is aSansei(third-generationJapanese American) journalist, playwright[1]and producer. He is theExecutive Producerfor theGrateful Crane Ensembletheatre company inLos Angeles.He has contributed to TheRafu Shimpowith his column, "Corner Store." He is the son ofNiseiplaywrightHiroshi Kashiwagi.
Soji Kashiwagi | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 10, 1962 Oakland, California,U.S. |
| Occupation | playwright Theatre Producer |
| Nationality | American |
Education
editKashiwagi grew up in San Francisco and graduated fromLowell High SchoolandSan Francisco State University,[2]majoring in Journalism. He also studied film production atVisual Communications (VC)and play writing atEast West Players,[3]in Los Angeles.
Career
editKashiwagi's comedy playThe Grapevinewas produced in 1993 at theLos Angeles Theatre Center.[3]In 2001 he formed a theatre company, theGrateful Crane Ensemble,where for several years he wrote and produced bilingual (Japanese and English) shows using music, song and story, to entertain Japanese American senior citizens at the Keiro Retirement Home inEast Los AngelesIn 2003, Kashiwagi wrote the playThe Camp Dance: The Music & The Memories,which was produced by Grateful Crane, toured the Western U.S., and received the 2006 Ruby Yoshino Schaar Playwright Award from the New York/NationalJapanese American Citizens League.[4]Kashiwagi wroteNihonmachi:The Place To Be – A Musical Journey,which Grateful Crane first produced in 2006 at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, as part of the 100th-anniversary celebration ofSan Francisco's Japantown.[5]BothCamp DanceandNihonmachihave continued to be performed by Grateful Crane. In 2009, Kashiwagi received a California Civil Liberties Public Education Program grant to produce his father's play,The Betrayed,which will be[needs update]presented by the Grateful Crane Ensemble in 2010 at theJapanese American National Museum.[6][7]
Plays
edit- The Grapevine
- The Camp Dance: The Music & The Memories
- Nihonmachi: The Place to Be
Awards
edit- 2006 Ruby Yoshino Schaar Playwright Award –The Camp Dance: The Music & The Memories
References
edit- ^listing on Discover Nikkei site
- ^Kashiwagi writes about himself on DiscoverNikkei.orgMarch 12, 2007
- ^abKashiwagi/GRAPEVINE in DHHWI HistoryArchived2010-01-08 at theWayback MachineonEast West Playerssite
- ^National JACL Convention report in Mile-Hi Chapter newsletter; p. 6 (pdf)Archived2011-07-27 at theWayback Machineby Dr. F. Sakamoto and J. Yoshimura – 8/06
- ^Nihonmachifeature on discovernikkei.orgArchived2008-11-05 at theWayback Machine7/25/06 (pdf)
- ^2008–09 CCLPEP Grant RecipientsArchived2010-01-17 at theWayback Machinepdf
- ^"JANM Calendar of Events for Feb. '10".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-01-30.Retrieved2010-01-12.
External links
edit- Grateful Crane Ensemble website
- Nichi Bei Timesarticleby Kashiwagi aboutTule LakePilgrimage (7/23/09)