Cedar Grove Productions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cedar Grove Productions | |
 |
|
| Type | Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Genre | Asian Pacific American media and theatre arts |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Tim Toyama, co-founder Chris Tashima, co-founder Chris Donahue, co-founder |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, CA,  United States |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Divisions | Motion pictures, television, theatre |
| Slogan | "Our Stories, Our Future" |
| Website | www.cedargroveproductions.com |
Cedar Grove Productions is an independent production company based in Los Angeles, CA., specializing in media and theatre arts representing the Asian Pacific American community.
Contents |
[edit] Motion Picture Background
Founded in 1996 by playwright Tim Toyama, actor/director Chris Tashima, producer Chris Donahue and actor/director Tom Donaldson, Cedar Grove Productions first brought the heroic saga of Holocaust rescuer Chiune “Sempo” Sugihara to movie audiences with the Academy Award® winning dramatic short film, Visas and Virtue (1997). First formed to pay tribute to Mr. Sugihara by adapting Toyama’s original one-act to the big screen, the company takes its name from the literal translation of the courageous diplomat's name: sugi (Japanese: 杉) meaning cedar, and hara (Japanese: 原) meaning field or grove. The company "remains 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."
[edit] Television
In 2006, Cedar Grove Productions received an Emmy nomination from the NATAS San Francisco/Northern California Chapter, for the half-hour PBS television special, Day of Independence, a fact-based story of a young Nisei (second-generation Japanese American) baseball player facing the tragic circumstances surrounding the internment of 110,000 Americans of Japanese Ancestry during World War II. Produced by Lisa Onodera, the program has been officially selected to over sixty film and video festivals across the country, and worldwide, having been shown in Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Chile, Italy and Canada, garnering twenty-five international awards.
[edit] Theatre
In 2006, Cedar Grove Productions On Stage a was formed, as a company division focusing on live theatre. It joined the Latino Theater Company in a multicultural consortium called the "Cultural Roundtable" at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, in downtown Los Angeles. Cedar Grove Productions On Stage will be developing, producing and presenting new Asian American theatre works. Cedar Grove Productions co-founders Toyama and Tashima will be guiding this new theatre group. Productions are slated to begin in 2008.
[edit] MISSION STATEMENT
To entertain, enrich and enlighten, through sharing Asian Pacific American art, culture and history, broadening perspectives of the American experience and empowering our community. By examining and preserving, through media and theatre arts, the rich culture and history of Asian Pacific Americans, we can come to an understanding and appreciation of our past, which informs and shapes our present and future.
[edit] Educational Efforts
In 2000, Cedar Grove Productions organized and presented “The AJA Circle: Artists of Japanese Ancestry,” a day-long seminar where Japanese and Japanese American 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 and Tashima, panelists included Nisei playwrights Hiroshi Kashiwagi and Wakako Yamauchi, as well as noted actors George Takei, Tamlyn Tomita, Clyde Kusatsu, Amy Hill, Marcus Toji and Greg Watanabe.
[edit] 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, 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 East West Players, and a Humanitarian Award received from The “1939” Club, a Holocaust Survivors’ organization.
