Plan-B Presents A Free Reading of BLOCK 8 February 4

Utah Arts & Museums will present a reading of Plan B Theatre Company's BLOCK 8 Feb. 4, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, 211 W. 100 S. in Salt Lake City in conjunction with the exhibit Topaz: Artists in Internment. The reading is free and seats can be reserved by clicking Script-in-Hand Series at planbtheatre.org.

A series of special activities are being held in conjunction with the Topaz: Artists in Internment exhibit, which runs Jan. 13 through Feb. 10, 2012 at the Rio Gallery, 300 S Rio Grande St. (455 West) in Salt Lake City. There is no cost to attend the exhibit or the special events and the exhibit is open to the public during regular state office hours, Mondays through Fridays 8:00 am to 5:00 pm with an opening reception Friday, Jan. 20 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

A reading and discussion will be held with former Oregon poet laureate Lawson Inada who was interned with his parents in camps in Fresno, Arkansas and Colorado. Jan. 19, 7:00 p.M. Merrill-Cazier Library, Room 101, Utah State University, Logan.

The opening reception will include a screening of the short documentary Days of Waiting, a reading by poet Lawson Inada, recognition of survivors and descendants of the internment and an ikebana arrangement by Theresa Sueoka. Days of Waiting is about the experience of Estelle Peck Ishigo, a Caucasian woman who followed her husband into internment. This Steven Okazaki film received an Oscar for best documentary short subject. Jan. 20, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Rio Gallery, 300 S Rio Grande St, SLC.

A screening of the documentary Unfinished Business, also by Okazaki and a best documentary feature Oscar nominee. It will be followed by a panel discussion with Lawson Inada and civil rights activist Mark Alvarez. Unfinished Business is about three young Japanese Americans who refused to obey Executive Order 9066, the Wartime Relocation Act. Feb. 3, 7:00 p.m., Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, 20 S. West Temple, SLC.

A screening will be held of American Pastime, a fictional account of the establishment of a baseball league in an internment camp based on the in-camp league started by Chiura Obata, who also founded the art school at Topaz. Feb. 4, 4:00 p.m., Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, 20 S. West Temple, SLC.

Plan-B will perform a reading of BLOCK 8, an original play about a young Japanese man struggling with the decision to enlist in the military to prove his loyalty to America and who befriends a librarian at Topaz whose son is fighting overseas. The production enjoyed a sold-out, world-premiere run at Plan-B in 2009 in conjunction with Day of Remembrance events. The reading features the original cast of Anita Booher (Ada) and Bryan Kido (Ken) directed by Jerry Rapier. The production will be followed by a post-show discussion with the cast, director, playwright Matthew Ivan Bennett and poet Lawson Inada. Online reservations are encouraged for the reading of BLOCK 8 and can be made by clicking Script-In-Hand Series at planbtheatre.org. Feb. 4, 7:00 p.m., Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, 211 W. 100 S., SLC.

The special events are free and open to the public. Additional events, updates and opportunities to join the conversation will be gathered in the exhibit blog at topazexhibit.blogspot.com.
Topaz: Artists in Internment will feature artworks created during internment at the Topaz War Relocation Center near Delta, Utah, on loan from the Topaz Museum. Artwork by Chiura Obata, Setsu Nagata Kanehara, Charles Erabu Suiko Mikami, Miné Okubo, Thomas Ryosaku Matsuoka, Yajiro Okamoto, Kenji Utsumi and Kaneo Kido will be shown at the Rio Gallery in January and February before traveling to San Leandro and San Francisco where many of the internees originated and where many of their descendants remain.

"We are pleased to launch the traveling exhibit Topaz: Artists in Internment and the special activities surrounding it," said Margaret Hunt, Director of Utah Arts & Museums. "We hope many will take the opportunity to see these rarely seen works, which exemplify the triumph of the creative spirit over adversity and the ability of art to provide solace and opportunity for self-expression."

The exhibited artworks are collected and cared for by the Topaz Museum, a non-profit, volunteer organization whose purpose is to preserve the history of Topaz.
The exhibit is made possible by funding from the Western States Arts Federation, Utah Arts & Museums, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information visit artsandmuseums.utah.gov

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