Cedar Grove Productions is an independent production company based in Los Angeles, California, specializing in media and theatre arts representing the

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 ...

community.

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

projects are educational, with

Visual Communications (VC) Visual Communications (also known as VC) –– is a community-based non-profit media arts organization based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1970 by independent filmmakers Robert Nakamura, Alan Ohashi, Eddie Wong, and Duane Kubo, who were st ...

serving as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

fiscal sponsor.

Motion picture background

Company was founded 1996 by playwright Tim Toyama, actor/director

Chris Tashima Christopher Inadomi Tashima (born March 24, 1960) is a Japanese American actor and director. He is co-founder of the entertainment company Cedar Grove Productions and Artistic Director of its Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. ...

, producer

Chris Donahue Chris Donahue (born John Christopher Donahue) is an American film and television producer. He began his career as a producer in television news and documentaries, then transitioned to narrative film and television at the American Film Institute ...

and actor/director Tom Donaldson, to bring the story of

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; ...

rescuer Chiune “Sempo” Sugihara to the screen by adapting Toyama’s original one-act, ''Visas and Virtue'', as a narrative short film. '' Visas and Virtue'' (1997) 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 in ...

for Live Action Short Film at the

70th Academy Awards The 70th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 23, 1998, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the sho ...

. In tribute to that film's subject, the company takes its name from the literal translation of "Sugihara": ''

sugi ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' (syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L ...

'' ( ja, 杉) meaning cedar, and ''hara'' ( ja, 原) meaning field or grove. Company describes itself as, "... dedicated to developing and producing projects which boldly defy mainstream Hollywood by giving Asian Americans the close-up on screen, or the spotlight on stage."

Television

Cedar Grove Productions produced '' Day of Independence'', a narrative short film broadcast as a half-hour

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of e ...

on KHET/PBS Hawai'i in 2005. Produced by Lisa Onodera, the program received an Emmy nomination from the

NATAS The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, ed ...

San Francisco/Northern California Chapter, in the category of Historical/Cultural – Program/Special. The fact-based story followed a young ''Nisei'' (second-generation

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 As ...

) baseball player during the

Japanese American internment Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspo ...

in World War II.

Theatre

In 2006, Cedar Grove OnStage was formed, as a sister company focusing on live theatre. It joined a

multicultural The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

consortium called the "Cultural Roundtable" at THE ''NEW'' LATC. Cedar Grove OnStage develops, produces and presents new

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, with Cedar Grove Productions co-founder Tashima serving 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 ...

. Productions will be presented at the LATC venues in downtown Los Angeles. Other performance groups belonging to the Cultural Roundtable include the

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 Ontivero ...

, Playwrights' Arena, Robey Theatre Company, Culture Clash, and American Indian Dance Theatre/Project HOOP. Cedar Grove OnStage developed '' Be Like Water'', a play written by award-winning

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 ...

Dan Kwong, which was produced by

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 ...

, in association with Cedar Grove OnStage, in September 2008.

Educational Efforts

In 2000, Cedar Grove Productions organized and presented "The AJA Circle: Artists of Japanese Ancestry", a day-long seminar where Japanese and

theatre artists came together to share cultural experiences of the Japanese American community's history in the U.S. and the artistic community of Asian Americans working in Hollywood. Moderated by playwright/producer

Soji Kashiwagi Soji Kashiwagi (born 1962 in Oakland, California) is a ''Sansei'' (third-generation Japanese American) journalist, playwright and producer. He is the Executive Producer for the Grateful Crane Ensemble theatre company in Los Angeles. He has cont ...

and Tashima, panelists included ''Nisei'' playwrights

Hiroshi Kashiwagi Hiroshi Kashiwagi (November 8, 1922 – October 29, 2019) was a ''Nisei'' (second-generation Japanese American) poet, playwright and actor. For his writing and performance work on stage he is considered an early pioneer of Asian American theatr ...

and

Wakako Yamauchi Wakako Yamauchi (October 23, 1924 – August 16, 2018) was a Japanese American writer. Her plays are considered pioneering works in Asian-American theater. Biography Yamauchi (née Nakamura) was born in Westmorland, California. Her mother and f ...

, as well as noted actors

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the telev ...

Tamlyn Tomita Tamlyn Naomi Tomita (born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese-American actress and singer. She made her screen debut as Kumiko in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) and reprised the character for the streaming series ''Cobra Kai'' (2021). She is also ...

Clyde Kusatsu Clyde Kusatsu (born September 13, 1948) is an American actor and trade union leader of Japanese descent. Since 2013, he has served as the National Vice President of SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local. Life and career Clyde Kusatsu was born in Hawaii ...

Amy Hill Amy Marie Hill (born May 9, 1953) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Hill's first major role was as Yung-Hee "Grandma" Kim on '' All-American Girl'' where her character became the breakout character of the short-lived television seri ...

, Marcus Toji and Greg Watanabe.

Community Recognition

Community organizations have recognized Cedar Grove Productions for cultural and artistic contributions. Honors include the Biennium Award from the

Japanese American Citizens League The is an Asian American civil rights charity, headquartered in San Francisco, with regional chapters across the United States. The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) describes itself as the oldest and largest Asian American civil right ...

, a Community Award given by the Japanese American Service Committee, of Chicago, a Special Recognition Award from the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, a Visionary Award from

, and a Humanitarian Award received from The “1939” Club, a

Survivors’ organization.The "1939" Club history
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References

External links

Cedar Grove Productions website
{{Authority control Asian-American culture in Los Angeles Asian-American issues Asian-American organizations Organizations based in California Mass media companies established in 1996 Film production companies of the United States Video production companies Companies based in Los Angeles Pacific Islands American culture in California