Grateful Crane Ensemble
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| Grateful Crane Ensemble | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Name: | Grateful Crane Ensemble | |
| Date Formed: | July, 2001 | |
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| Location(s): | Southern California | |
| Notable Members: | Soji Kashiwagi, Executive Producer, Playwright | |
| Official site: | www.gratefulcrane.com | |
| Genre(s): | musical theatre | |
The Grateful Crane Ensemble is a theatre company based in Southern California, established in July, 2001.
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[edit] Mission
The Grateful Crane Ensemble's mission is to create and present meaningful and entertaining bilingual programs for Japanese American seniors in appreciation of the many sacrifices they have made so the generations that followed could live a better life in America.
[edit] Profile
The Grateful Crane Ensemble has been performing nostalgic programs in Japanese and English, for senior citizens at the Keiro Retirement Home, in East Los Angeles, and those throughout the Japanese American community. Through music, song and storytelling, the Ensemble honors, pays tribute to and remembers the Issei, Nisei and Kibei elders, as a way of "giving something back."
[edit] Productions
The Grateful Crane Ensemble produced the touring show, The Camp Dance: The Music and the Memories, a tribute to those who endured the U.S. concentration camps for Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II, and how music, song and dances help internees face the hardships of "relocation."
In 2003 the Ensemble received a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program to allow their program, The Camp Dance, to tour eight cities in California.[1] A second CCLPEP grant in 2004 allowed for additional performances, and for the show to be recorded on CD.[2]
In 2006, The Grateful Crane Ensemble premiered Nihonmachi: The Place To Be - A Musical Journey at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, as part of the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of San Francisco's Japan Town.
[edit] Awards
- Ruby Yoshino Schaar Playwright Award (to Soji Kashiwagi) for The Camp Dance: The Music and the Memories – presented by the New York/National JACL
