A Thousand Cranes
Article submitted by Susanne Kaime Reese
Great Basin College Theater
Friday, May 3, 2024 3:30 pm
One Act Play and Group Reading
Taiko Drum Performance by Taiko Tsurunokai
Japanese Drum Group
Followed by
- Panel discussion Resistance & Resilience:
- Reflections on the Japanese American Incarceration During WW2 with Frank Abe, Dr. Meredith Oda,
- Miya Hannan, and Cary Yamamoto
The month of May is national Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, celebrating their achievements and contributions to American society. The first Asian immigrants arrived in the U.S. in 1843. By 1868, the tireless labor of Chinese railroad builders resulted the Union Pacific Railroad reaching what we now know as Elko. Three years later they were working placer mines in Tuscarora. In celebrating the cultures that helped build America and contribute to our great nation, Americans are able to bring diverse communities together and share a rich heritage of distinctive music, customs, stories, inventions, languages, foods, books and art.
Such will be the case this year in Elko when Great Basin College (GBC) and its project partners collaborate on May 2-4 to honor Asian/Pacific American and Pacific Islander communities with multiple free arts and humanities events. The inspiration for the project began with reading the book, “One Thousand Paper Cranes.” This is the story of Sadako and the Children’s Peace Statue, by Sue DiCicco. The book is a true story about Sadako Sasaki, a young Japanese girl who develops leukemia after the atomic bomb was dropped in her hometown of Hiroshima. Feeling ill and low in spirit, she begins to fold one thousand paper cranes. Within the story of Sadako Sasaki, Sadako’s older brother Masahiro tells her complete story in English for the first time—how Sadako’s courage throughout her illness inspired family and friends, and how she became a symbol of all people, especially children, who suffer from the impact of war.
“A Thousand Cranes,” a one-act play by Kathryn Schultz Miller, is scheduled for four performances by project partner and local theater company Silver Stage Players and the GBC Theater program. The one act play features local actors Katie Ashley, Derek Burwell, Sara Walls and Brian Frye, directed by Frank L. Sawyer. Each performance will be followed by a Japanese Taiko drum recital presented by guest artists from the Reno Taiko Tsurunokai troupe.
Friday, May 3rd offers a full line up of activities happening at GBC’s Leonard Center, including the one-act play and drumming, Asian themed food from Teppanyaki Japanese Fresh Grill and Blue Moon Restaurant and an expert panel discussion focusing on the Japanese-American internment experience. “In order to reach all our GBC communities, the Friday performances and the panel discussion will be live-streamed on Zoom for all to enjoy,” says Sawyer. There will be something for all ages to enjoy. This unique program is a proud collaboration between the Reno Taiko Tsurunokai Japanese drum group, GBC Phi Theta Kappa club, GBC Childcare Center, GBC Elementary & Secondary Education, Elko County Mybrary and K-12 teachers, together with many active participants from the Elko area community.
This program explores the question, how do you sustain hope in the face of adversity? In the spirit of Sadako Sasaki, Origami crane workshops will happen throughout the community and before each performance. GBC’s goal is for participants to help create two mobiles, each with 1000 Origami cranes. The project welcomes local Origami artist Theo Arthaud, who will conduct multiple crane-making workshops throughout the month. Arthaud is a senior at Elko High School and has been folding Origami since he was a child. A display of his more complex origami models of insects and animals are on display in the GBC Library now through the end of May.
For more information please contact Gail Rappa, GBC Humanities Center Coordinator at (775) 327-2146 or [email protected]