WORLD PREMIERE OF “NO-NO BOY” OPENS MAR. 27 AT MILES MEMORIAL PLAYHOUSE

No-No Boy, presented by Timescape Artists, will have its world premiere on March 27, 2010 at the Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90403. 

No-No Boy follows draft resister Ichiro Yamada after he is released from prison and struggles with the division within the Japanese American community and with his own conscience.  When he returns to Seattle, he finds he is still at war with himself and with those who feel his actions made him a traitor.

No-No Boy is based on John Okada’s ground-breaking novel published in 1957. Now adapted for the stage, it captures the spectrum of emotional responses felt by Japanese Americans returning to the West Coast after internment in American concentration camps, veterans returning from the war, and draft resisters who refused to sign a loyalty oath forced upon them. This speaks to an audience still grappling with issues of war, civil rights, and what it means to be an American in the 21st Century.

The same artistic team produced Innocent When You Dream (Critic’s Choice LA Times, Pick of the Week LA Weekly), which had a successful run at Electric Lodge in Venice and was later invited to perform at the Smithsonian Institute (Washington, DC) in 2008 ( www.timescapearts.com).

Director Alberto Isaac most recently directed ART at East West Players; some of his other directing credits include Innocent When you Dream, Ghosts and Baggage, The Maids and Yankee Dawg You Die.  He has won three DramaLogue awards and one L.A. Drama Critics Circle award for outstanding direction.

The cast includes (in alphabetical order) Keiko Agena, Jared Asato, Michael Hagiwara, Emily Kuroda, John Miyasaki, Sharon Omi, Sab Shimono, Chris Tashima, Greg Watanabe and Robert Wu.

Performances are March 27th through April 18th, 2010; Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 pm and8:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00 pm.  Tickets are $25 for general admission; discounts are available for students, seniors, and groups.  Tickets can be purchased at www.BrownPaperTickets.com, or by calling 1-800-838-3006. The Miles Memorial Theatre is located at 1130 Lincoln Blvd., just north of Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. Free parking is available.

Funding for this production of No-No Boy was provided by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a program of the California State Library. 

FACT SHEET

Performance: No-No Boy

             Written by Ken Narasaki

Place: Miles Memorial Playhouse

            1130 Lincoln Blvd.,

             Santa Monica, CA  90403.

Dates:  March 27 through April 18, 2010

Times:  Fridays 8pm, Saturdays 3pm and 8pm, Sundays 3pm

Tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com or call 1 (800) 838-3006.

Ticket Prices: $20.00 to $25.00

For more information: www.nonoboy2010.com

About the play:  Set after World War II as Japanese Americans return to the West Coast, the play follows draft resister Ichiro Yamada after he is released from prison and struggles to come to terms with the consequences of his choices, while the rest of the community tries to get back on its feet after a war that has uprooted them all. 

CALENDAR

Timescape Arts Group presents No-No Boy, Ken Narasaki’s stage adaptation of John Okada’s ground breaking novel. Set after World War II as Japanese Americans return to the West Coast, the play follows draft resister Ichiro Yamada after he is released from prison and struggles to come to terms with the consequences of his choices, while the rest of the community tries to get back on its feet after a war that has uprooted them all.  Opens Saturday, March 27 at 8pm and runs Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm through April 18, 2010 at the Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90403. Tickets: $25 regular, available online at www.brownpapertickets.com or call 1 (800) 838-3006. www.NoNoBoy2010.com