A panel of Japanese American World War II camp internees discuss their experiences following the performance of the Santa Monica College production of the world premiere, “Heart Mountain” on Sunday, November 4 2012.
“Heart Mountain” – a drama that includes dance, music and powerful imagery and tells the story of a family in a World War II Japanese interment camp – runs Nov. 2-11 in the SMC Theatre Arts Studio Stage on the main campus, 1900 Pico Blvd.
Speakers included Noboru Kamibayashi of Santa Monica, who was interned at the Manzanar and Tule Lake internment camps in California; Arnold Maeda of Mar Vista (Manzanar), who is active with the group organizing the Venice Japanese American Memorial Marker; Brian Maeda of West Los Angeles (Manzanar), whose 2011 grant was approved by the National Park Service to create a documentary, We Said, No-No; and Joyce Masamitsu of Mission Hills (Poston, Ariz.). In addition, a representative of the Japanese American Citizens League will serve on the panel.
Commissioned by Theatre Arts Department Chair Perviz Sawoski, who is also the director and choreographer, “Heart Mountain” takes its name from one of the internment camps set up for the relocation of Japanese and Japanese American citizens in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. More than 100,000 persons of Japanese descent were sent to internment camps in remote areas of the country, including Heart Mountain in Wyoming, which became a center for a draft resistance movement.
Although the play follows a fictional family as it struggles to maintain dignity and cohesion in the face of difficult choices of conscience, it was inspired by research that included interviews with former camp internees – including Noboru Kamibayashi – and their relatives as well as other sources. The play also includes dance and movement inspired by Butoh, as well as audio-visual material.
The play was written by G. Bruce Smith SMC’s public information officer and an award-winning playwright with production credits in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Minnesota.
Show times for “Heart Mountain” are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. in the SMC Theatre Arts Studio Stage. An additional 2 p.m. matinee is added for Saturday, Nov. 10. Tickets are $10 in advance and $13 at the door, with a service charge, and can be purchased by calling (310) 434-4319 or by going to www.smc.edu/eventsinfo. Parking is free on Friday evenings and weekends.
