Performed outdoors in each of NYC’s five boroughs in September 2021, this solo work with Suzi Takahashi asks how we safeguard our civil rights framed through the lens of Japanese-American identity, using Japanese storytelling forms, like kamishibai, along with family history and current events. Representing the relocation of Japanese Americans during WWII, each audience member receives a tag and suitcase, inside of which is a wireless headset and a family photo album. Each unique family photo album documents the problematic history of Asian people in the U.S. and the rise in anti-Asian violence during the pandemic. The Story Box asks audience members to reflect together on the stories in each suitcase, and they are invited to leave a story of their own behind for future audiences.
The Story Box was produced by HERE and developed with support from Alfred University, Bethany Arts Community, Bristol Valley Theatre and National Park of Women’s Rights. The premiere was co-presented with Japan Society, Bronx Academy of Art and Dance, and NYC Economic Development Corporation and through partnerships with Asian American Arts Alliance, Chocolate Factory, Flushing Town Hall, National Lighthouse Museum, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island Arts, and Target Margin Theater.
“The piece toggles between the forcible relocation of Japanese Americans to concentration camps through the Second World War to the hate crimes of the past two years, with a through line of personal memoir. There are a lot of moving parts… and there’s a lot to think about.” –The New Yorker
Photos by Paula Court
Kristin Marting 