Lane Nishikawa is a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

actor, filmmaker, playwright and

performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

who was born in

Wahiawa, Hawaii Wahiawa ( haw, Wahiawā, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu. It is in the Wahiawa District, on the plateau or "central valley" between the two volcanic mountains that comprise the ...

and is ''

Sansei is a Japanese and North American English term used in parts of the world such as South America and North America to specify the children of children born to ethnic Japanese in a new country of residence. The ''nisei'' are considered the second g ...

'' (third generation Japanese American).Kim, Esther. (2006). His work often deals with

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

history and identity issues. He is widely known for a series of one-man shows, including ''Life in the Fast Lane'', ''I'm on a Mission From Buddha'', ''

Mifune Mifune () is a Japanese name, Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Toshirō Mifune (三船敏郎) (1920–1997), Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films *Jiro Mifune (born 1972), game designer *Mifune Chizuko ...

and Me'' and others. In 2005 he directed the independent feature film, '' Only the Brave'', a fictional account of the rescue of the Lost Battalion by the

100th Infantry Battalion The 100th Infantry Battalion ( ja, 第100歩兵大隊, ''Dai Hyaku Hohei Daitai'') is the only infantry unit in the United States Army Reserve. In World War II, the then-primarily Nisei battalion was composed largely of former members of the Haw ...

442nd Regimental Combat Team The 442nd Infantry Regiment ( ja, 第442歩兵連隊) was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment is best known as the most decorated in U.S. military history and as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-gene ...

, a segregated Japanese American fighting unit during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Nishikawa also starred in the lead role. He has written and directed two short films about World War II

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

s, ''Forgotten Valor'' and ''When We Were Warriors''. Nishikawa has a long history in Asian-American theater, having served as

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

for the

Asian American Theater Company The Asian American Theater Company (AATC) is a non-profit theatre performance company based in San Francisco. Its stated mission is "To connect people to Asian American culture through theatre". Background The Asian American Theater Company was es ...

, in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

for 10 seasons. He was co-artistic director of the Eureka Theatre and resident director at the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.

Honors

*Profiles of Excellence Award – ABC-TV *Harvard Foundation Honoree *Ruby Yoshino Schaar Playwright Award – National JACL * NEA Solo Performance Fellowship

Notes

External links

*
Lane Nishikawa bio on onlythebravemovie.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nishikawa, Lane Living people American performance artists American film directors of Japanese descent Male actors from Honolulu Year of birth missing (living people) American male actors of Japanese descent American male film actors American film actors of Asian descent Writers from Honolulu Film directors from Hawaii