Posted at 1:13 p.m., Friday, February 1, 2008
Smithsonian to mark WWII internment anniversary
Advertiser Staff
To mark the 66th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt which led to the internment of 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American program this month will present "Innocent When You Dream," new play by Ken Narasaki and directed by Alberto Isaac.The cast will present a staged reading of their production, which won the 2006 Kumu Kahua Pacific Rim Playwriting Award, Feb. 23 at the Meyer Auditorium in Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Playwright Narasaki, whose father was a 442nd veteran (the most decorated unit in U.S. military history, made up predominantly of Japanese American young men whose families ironically languished in camps, deprived of their civil rights), brings together two disparate generations, separated by age and experience.
For more information about the production, visit www.timescapearts.com.
This program is presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and co-sponsored by the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation, the Japanese American Citizens League, and the Japanese American Veterans Association.
