Cedar Grove Productions
Encyclopedia
Cedar Grove Productions is an independent production company based in Los Angeles, CA., specializing in media and theatre arts representing the Asian Pacific American
community. Media
projects are educational, with Visual Communications (VC)
serving as a non-profit fiscal sponsor.
, actor/director Chris Tashima
, producer Chris Donahue
and actor/director Tom Donaldson, to bring the story of Holocaust rescuer Chiune “Sempo” Sugihara
to the screen by adapting Toyama
’s original one-act, Visas and Virtue, as a narrative short film. Visas and Virtue
(1997) film won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film
at the 70th Academy Awards
. In tribute to that film's subject, the company takes its name from the literal translation of "Sugihara": sugi meaning cedar, and hara meaning field or grove. Company describes itself as, "... dedicated to developing and producing projects which boldly defy mainstream Hollywood by giving Asian Americans the close-up on screen, or the spotlight on stage."
, a narrative short film broadcast as a half-hour PBS television special
on KHET/PBS Hawai'i
in 2005. Produced by Lisa Onodera
, the program received an Emmy nomination from the NATAS
San Francisco/Northern California Chapter, in the category of Historical/Cultural – Program/Special. The fact-based story followed a young Nisei (second-generation Japanese American
) baseball player during the Japanese American internment
in World War II.
works, with Cedar Grove Productions co-founder Tashima serving as Artistic Director
. Productions will be presented at the LATC venues in downtown Los Angeles
. Other performance groups belonging to the Cultural Roundtable include the Latino Theater Company
, Playwrights' Arena, Robey Theatre Company
, Culture Clash
, and American Indian Dance Theatre/Project HOOP
.
Cedar Grove OnStage developed "Be Like Water
," a play written by award-winning performance artist Dan Kwong
, which was produced by East West Players
, in association with Cedar Grove OnStage, in September 2008.
theatre artists came together to share cultural experiences — of the Japanese American community's history in the U.S. and the artistic community of Asian Americans working in Hollywood. Moderated by playwright/producer Soji Kashiwagi
and Tashima, panelists included Nisei playwrights Hiroshi Kashiwagi
and Wakako Yamauchi
, as well as noted actors George Takei
, Tamlyn Tomita
, Clyde Kusatsu
, Amy Hill
, Marcus Toji and Greg Watanabe
.
, a Community Award given by the Japanese American Service Committee, of Chicago, a Special Recognition Award from the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, a Visionary Award from East West Players
, and a Humanitarian Award received from The “1939” Club, a Holocaust Survivors’ organization.
Asian Pacific American
Asian-Pacific American or Asian-Pacific Islander is a term sometimes used in the United States to include both Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans....
community. Media
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
projects are educational, with Visual Communications (VC)
Visual Communications (VC)
Visual Communications – also known as VC – is a community-based non-profit media arts organization in Los Angeles, dedicated to creating, preserving and presenting Asian Pacific American history and culture through the media arts...
serving as a non-profit fiscal sponsor.
Motion Picture Background
Company was founded 1996 by playwright Tim ToyamaTim Toyama
Tim Toyama is a playwright and producer. He is Sansei presently living in Los Angeles, CA. He is co-founder of the Asian American media company Cedar Grove Productions, and its sister Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. He attended C.S.U.N...
, actor/director Chris Tashima
Chris Tashima
Chris Tashima is a Japanese American actor and director. He is co-founder of the entertainment company Cedar Grove Productions and Artistic Director of its Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. He is the son of U.S. Circuit Judge A. Wallace Tashima...
, producer Chris Donahue
Chris Donahue
Chris Donahue is an American film and television producer. He was born in Dallas, Texas, attended Jesuit College Preparatory, and currently resides in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America...
and actor/director Tom Donaldson, to bring the story of Holocaust rescuer Chiune “Sempo” Sugihara
Chiune Sugihara
was a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from...
to the screen by adapting Toyama
Tim Toyama
Tim Toyama is a playwright and producer. He is Sansei presently living in Los Angeles, CA. He is co-founder of the Asian American media company Cedar Grove Productions, and its sister Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. He attended C.S.U.N...
’s original one-act, Visas and Virtue, as a narrative short film. Visas and Virtue
Visas and Virtue
Visas and Virtue is a 1997 narrative short film inspired by the true story of Holocaust rescuer Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara, who is known as "The Japanese Schindler"...
(1997) film won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film
Academy Award for Live Action Short Film
This name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. For the three preceding years it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films." The term "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects" was used from 1957 until 1970. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate...
at the 70th Academy Awards
70th Academy Awards
The 70th Academy Awards were noted for their high ratings and the 11 wins obtained by the Best Picture Titanic. Billy Crystal hosted the ceremony for the sixth time, and received an Emmy award for his performance....
. In tribute to that film's subject, the company takes its name from the literal translation of "Sugihara": sugi meaning cedar, and hara meaning field or grove. Company describes itself as, "... dedicated to developing and producing projects which boldly defy mainstream Hollywood by giving Asian Americans the close-up on screen, or the spotlight on stage."
Television
Cedar Grove Productions produced Day of IndependenceDay of Independence
Day of Independence is a short film, broadcast as a half-hour PBS television special. It is a drama, set during the Japanese American internment of World War II, produced by Cedar Grove Productions with Visual Communications as fiscal sponsor....
, a narrative short film broadcast as a half-hour PBS television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
on KHET/PBS Hawai'i
KHET
KHET, also called PBS Hawaii, is the only Public Broadcasting Service member non-commercial educational Public television station in Hawaii. Based in Honolulu, KHET first aired in 1966...
in 2005. Produced by Lisa Onodera
Lisa Onodera
Lisa Onodera is an American independent film producer, of such noted films as Picture Bride, The Debut and Americanese. She grew up in Berkeley, California, and attended UCLA where she received a degree from the School of Motion Picture and Television.Early film credits include serving as...
, the program received an Emmy nomination from the NATAS
Natas
Natas may refer to:*King Natas, the villain of the TurboGrafx-16 game Dungeon Explorer*Natas Kaupas, an American professional skateboarder*Natas , a Detroit hip hop group consisting of Esham, Mastamind and T-N-T...
San Francisco/Northern California Chapter, in the category of Historical/Cultural – Program/Special. The fact-based story followed a young Nisei (second-generation Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
) baseball player during the Japanese American internment
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
in World War II.
Theatre
In 2006, Cedar Grove OnStage was formed, as a sister company focusing on live theatre. It joined a multicultural consortium called the "Cultural Roundtable" at THE NEW LATC. Cedar Grove OnStage develops, produces and presents new Asian American theatreAsian American theatre
Asian American theater is theater written, directed or acted by Asian Americans.- Background :Asian American theater emerged in the 1960s and the 1970s with the foundation of four theatre companies: East West Players in Los Angeles, Asian American Theatre Workshop in San Francisco, Theatrical...
works, with Cedar Grove Productions co-founder Tashima serving as Artistic Director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
. Productions will be presented at the LATC venues in downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
. Other performance groups belonging to the Cultural Roundtable include the Latino Theater Company
Latino Theater Company
The Latino Theater Company is a theatre producing organization based in Los Angeles, California.- History :Latino Theater Company was founded in 1985 by its Artistic Director, Jose Luis Valenzuela. Known as the "Latino Theater Lab" and based at the Los Angeles Theatre Center , they produced plays...
, Playwrights' Arena, Robey Theatre Company
Robey Theatre Company
Robey Theatre Company is a Los Angeles-based non-profit theatre company.- History :Robey Theatre Company was founded in 1994 by Danny Glover and Ben Guillory. It takes its name from the pioneering Black actor and activist, Paul Robeson...
, Culture Clash
Culture Clash (performance troupe)
Culture Clash is an Chicano American performance troupe composed of the writer-comedians Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Sigüenza. Their work is of a satirical nature....
, and American Indian Dance Theatre/Project HOOP
American Indian Dance Theatre
American Indian Dance Theatre is a professional performing arts company presenting the dances and songs of Native Americans in the United States and the First Nations of Canada...
.
Cedar Grove OnStage developed "Be Like Water
Be Like Water
Be Like Water is a play written by Dan Kwong, originally produced at East West Players, in association with Cedar Grove OnStage. The play received its world premiere in Los Angeles on September 17, 2008, directed by Chris Tashima, at East West Players' David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union...
," a play written by award-winning performance artist Dan Kwong
Dan Kwong
Dan Kwong is an American performance artist, writer, teacher and visual artist. He has been presenting his solo performances since 1989, often drawing upon his own life experiences to explore personal, historical and social issues. He is of mixed Asian American heritage...
, which was produced by East West Players
East West Players
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As one of the nation's first Asian American theatre organizations, East West Players today continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American...
, in association with Cedar Grove OnStage, in September 2008.
Educational Efforts
In 2000, Cedar Grove Productions organized and presented “The AJA Circle: Artists of Japanese Ancestry,” a day-long seminar where Japanese and Japanese AmericanJapanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
theatre artists came together to share cultural experiences — of the Japanese American community's history in the U.S. and the artistic community of Asian Americans working in Hollywood. Moderated by playwright/producer Soji Kashiwagi
Soji Kashiwagi
Soji Kashiwagi is a Sansei journalist, playwright and producer. He is the Executive Producer for the Grateful Crane Ensemble theatre company in Los Angeles...
and Tashima, panelists included Nisei playwrights Hiroshi Kashiwagi
Hiroshi Kashiwagi
Hiroshi Kashiwagi is a Nisei poet, playwright and actor. For his writing and performance work on stage he is considered an early pioneer of Asian American theatre.-Biography:...
and Wakako Yamauchi
Wakako yamauchi
Wakako Yamauchi is a Nisei Asian American female writer. Her plays are considered pioneering works in Asian American theatre.- Biography :...
, as well as noted actors George Takei
George Takei
George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
, Tamlyn Tomita
Tamlyn Tomita
Tamlyn Naomi Tomita is an actress, who has appeared in many Hollywood films and television series.-Early life:Tomita was born in Okinawa, the daughter of Shiro and Asako Tomita. Her father then later became a Los Angeles Police Officer, rising to the rank of sergeant. He succumbed to cancer in...
, Clyde Kusatsu
Clyde Kusatsu
Clyde Kusatsu is a U.S. actor.Kusatsu was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he attended ʻIolani School. Kusatsu began acting in Honolulu summer stock, and after studying theatre at Northwestern University, started to make his mark on the small screen in the mid-1970s...
, Amy Hill
Amy Hill
Amy Marie Hill is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Mrs. DePaulo in That's So Raven, Mrs. Kwan in The Cat in the Hat, the Kylie Minogue-inspired singer, Penny Candy from The Puzzle Place, and the voice of Jasmine Lee Amy Marie Hill (born May 9, 1953) is an American...
, Marcus Toji and Greg Watanabe
Greg Watanabe
Greg Watanabe is an American actor who played Isaac on the MyNetworkTV serial Watch Over Me. He appears in the independent films, Life Tastes Good, Only the Brave and Americanese. He is a founding member of the Asian American sketch comedy troupe,...
.
Community Recognition
Community organizations have recognized Cedar Grove Productions for cultural and artistic contributions. Honors include the Biennium Award from the Japanese American Citizens LeagueJapanese American Citizens League
The was formed in 1929 to protect the rights of Japanese Americans from the state and federal governments. It fought for civil rights for Japanese Americans, assisted those in internment camps during World War II, and led a successful campaign for redress for internment from the U.S...
, a Community Award given by the Japanese American Service Committee, of Chicago, a Special Recognition Award from the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, a Visionary Award from East West Players
East West Players
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As one of the nation's first Asian American theatre organizations, East West Players today continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American...
, and a Humanitarian Award received from The “1939” Club, a Holocaust Survivors’ organization.
External links
- Cedar Grove Productions website
- Cedar Grove OnStage on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- THE NEW LATC website