Cedar Grove OnStage is an

Asian Pacific American Asian/Pacific American (APA) or Asian/Pacific Islander (API) or Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) or Asian American and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) is a term sometimes used in the United States when including both Asian a ...

theatre arts organization established in 2006, based in Los Angeles, co-founded by playwright

Tim Toyama Tim Toyama (born April 28, 1952 in Chicago, Illinois) is a playwright and producer. He is ''Sansei'' (third-generation Japanese American) living in Los Angeles, California. He is co-founder of the Asian American media company Cedar Grove Productio ...

and actor/director Chris Tashima who serves as Artistic Director. It is a division of the entertainment company,

Cedar Grove Productions Cedar Grove Productions is an independent production company based in Los Angeles, California, specializing in media and theatre arts representing the Asian Pacific American community. Media projects are educational, with Visual Communications ...

and their focus is to develop, produce and present new and original

Asian American theatre Asian American theatre is theatre written, directed or acted by Asian Americans. From initial efforts by four theatre companies in the 1960s, Asian-American theatre has grown to around forty groups today. Early productions often had Asian themes ...

works.

Background

Media company

In 1996, the independent media company Cedar Grove Productions was formed to produce the short film, ''

Visas and Virtue ''Visas and Virtue'' is a 1997 narrative short film directed by Chris Tashima and starring Chris Tashima, Susan Fukuda, Diana Georger and Lawrence Craig. It was inspired by the true story of Holocaust rescuer Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara, who is known ...

'' (1997). The story focused on

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

rescuer Chiune “Sempo” Sugihara and the film won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Live Action Short Film at the 70th Academy Awards. The company takes its name from the literal translation of "Sugihara": '' sugi'' ( ja, 杉) meaning cedar, and ''hara'' ( ja, 原) meaning field or grove.

Theatre

Cedar Grove OnStage formed in 2006 when Cedar Grove Productions was invited to join the "Cultural Roundtable" at THE ''NEW'' LATC, a multicultural theatre arts consortium led by the Latino Theatre Company operating out of the Los Angeles Theatre Center facilities in downtown Los Angeles. The Latino Theatre Company formed the Cultural Roundtable to create culturally diverse programming for the City of Los Angeles. Performance groups belonging to the Cultural Roundtable include Cedar Grove OnStage,

Culture Clash Cultural conflict is a type of conflict that occurs when different cultural values and beliefs clash. Broad and narrow definitions exist for the concept, both of which have been used to explain violence (including war) and crime, on either a micr ...

Latino Theater Company The Latino Theater Company (LTC) 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. Founding members included Lupe Ontiver ...

, Playwrights' Arena,

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. Robey' ...

, and American Indian Dance Theatre/Project HOOP."THE NEW LATC cancels series" by Lynne Heffley - 2/26/08
on

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

online

Production history

Mainstage production

* In September 2008, Cedar Grove OnStage worked in association with

East West Players East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give v ...

to produce the world premiere of

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. His works ...

's ''

Be Like Water ''Be Like Water'' (2008) 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 ...

'', directed by Tashima, presented at the

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...

Theater at the Union Center for the Arts, in downtown Los Angeles' Little Tokyo.''Be Like Water''
on EWP site

Presentations

* April 2007 – 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors in ''Threat Condition: YELLOW'' at THE ''NEW'' LATC * May 2008 – Cold Tofu in ''Edamame Nights'' at THE ''NEW'' LATC * November 2008 – Dan Kwong in ''Its Great 2B American'' at THE ''NEW'' LATC

References

External links

Cedar Grove OnStage
on MySpace
The LATC website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cedar Grove Onstage Asian-American theatre Theatre companies in Los Angeles Asian-American organizations Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Los Angeles Organizations based in Los Angeles Entertainment companies established in 2006 Organizations established in 2006 2006 establishments in California