Fire In Heaven
Schedule
Thu Oct 21 2021 at 07:00 pm to 09:00 pm
Location
Montalvo Arts Center | Saratoga, CA
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Written by Andrew Saito • Directed by Miranda HaymonA public reading/script development, with a conversation between the playwright, director, and audience.
"Fire In Heaven" (working title) is a new work in progress about a forgotten corner of history: During World War II, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs enlisted African American prisoners of war (POWs) in ‘Negro Propaganda Operations’ to record radio dramas that contrasted the horrors of US racism with the joys POWs supposedly experienced in Japan. Japan’s goal was to broadcast these plays in Black American communities and foment civil unrest and destabilize its enemy from within.
Japan destroyed all Negro Propaganda Operations scripts and recordings upon surrender in 1945. Informed by extensive research, Saito's recreation of these radio dramas explores the dynamics within and between POWs and their Japanese captors as they produce broadcasts spotlighting American race relations.
The play is constructed around successive perception shifts: The audience first believes they are witnessing ‘reality,’ but as lines are flubbed, we begin to realize we are viewing actors. Then, Japanese soldiers enter the space, and the audience is in Japan. Then imprisonment. Then WWII. The recording’s anti-US purpose is revealed, before finally, the recording session concludes, and characters’ ‘offstage’ lives and conflicted inner worlds come into focus.
TICKETS: $25 (fees included)
This project was made possible through the generous contributions of the MAP Fund.
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Where is it happening?
Montalvo Arts Center, 15400 Montalvo Rd, Saratoga, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
