Streaming Now Available For Timely TheatreWorks Hit HOLD THESE TRUTHS

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is now streaming Jeanne Sakata's Hold These Truths, filmed during the 2018 TheatreWorks production. Presented as part of TheatreWorks's online initiative Voices of Democracy which encourages audiences to "get out the vote" and stand up for racial justice, Hold These Truths shares the story of a Japanese American who passionately defends his Constitutional rights against an unexpected adversary: his own country.

Starring Joel de la Fuente ("Madam Secretary," "The Man in the High Castle," "Hemlock Grove") in the hit production directed by Lisa Rothe, Hold These Truths is available to stream on-demand from October 6 - November 3, 2020. Closed captions for the show are available in English and Japanese. To purchase streaming access to Hold These Truths (sliding scale of $10-$100) the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

Hold These Truths tells the inspiring true story of Gordon Hirabayashi, a Japanese American student who fought internment to a relocation camp during World War II. This fight for freedom celebrates the human spirit as it chronicles Hirabayashi's journey from college in Seattle all the way to the Supreme Court, and eventually to a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Critics lauded Hold These Truths as a show which "gives hope that the arc of the moral universe does indeed eventually bend toward justice" (Los Angeles Times). Bay Area audiences and critics alike admired TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's 2018 production, hailing Joel de la Fuente's performance as "flawlessly focused and dazzlingly versatile" (The Mercury News) and deeming Hold These Truths "a rallying cry for our own times" (San Francisco Chronicle).

Joel de la Fuente made his TheatreWorks debut as Gordon Hirabayashi. He has performed Hold These Truths at leading theatres across the country, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for "Best Solo Performance" for this role. He has been featured in many films and television series, including "The Man in the High Castle," "Madam Secretary," "Hemlock Grove," "Nurse Jackie," "Manifest," "Hawaii 5-O," "ER," Red Sparrow, The Adjustment Bureau, and more. De la Fuente has also performed throughout the United States at theatres including New York Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, The Public Theater, and others.

Lisa Rothe (Director), who also helmed Confederates at TheatreWorks, returned to direct Hold These Truths. For her work on the Off-Broadway premiere of Hold These Truths, she earned a nomination for SDC's Joe A. Callaway Award for Direction, with The New York Times noting the production was "elegantly directed." Rothe has worked with New York Theatre Workshop, is an Artistic Affiliate with New Georges, a Drama League alum, a Women's Project Director's Lab member, a Fox Fellow recipient, a member of The Actor's Center, a recent board member of the League of Professional Theatre Women as the VP of Membership, and a new member of the National Theater Conference. She received her MFA from New York University's Graduate Acting Program before being invited by mentor Zelda Fichandler to be a part of the inaugural class of the Directing program. Rothe has workshopped, developed, and directed a multitude of new works with award winning writers and presented work across New York, including HERE, NYTW, New Georges, The Lark, The Culture Project, The Foundry, Ensemble Studio Theater, The 52nd Street Project, Naked Angels, Epic Theater Ensemble, Summer Play Festival, among others. As the Director of Global Exchange at The Lark in NYC, she expanded opportunities for playwrights to advance new works to production, both nationally and globally (connected to programs with Mexico, Russia, Romania, and China).

Jeanne Sakata (Playwright) is an actor and playwright whose work spans across theatre, film, television, and voiceover. She has been seen on television shows and movies such as Big Hero 6, Dr. Ken, NCIS Los Angeles, NUMB3RS, Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns, Desperate Housewives, ER, and John Ridley's I Got You. Sakata has performed throughout the nation at theatres including The Public Theater, South Coast Repertory, Lincoln Center Theater, Kennedy Center, A Contemporary Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Arizona Theatre Company, and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley where she starred in the 2017 production of Calligraphy. Her script for Hold These Truths was published in 2010 by the Japan Studies Association Journal, and is currently on display at the Library of Congress Playwrights Archive in the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection in Washington D.C., where the Jeanne Sakata Collection was established in 2011. She is a recipient of the LA Ovation Award for Best Lead Actress, the 2016 lee Melville Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Los Angeles Theatre Community, Los Angeles' Pacific American Friends of Theatre Outstanding Artist Award, Best Actress Award Entertainment Today Best Supporting Actress Award, and the Drama-Logue Outstanding Performance Award. Sakata resides in Los Angeles and is a member of the city's acclaimed classical group the Antaeus Company.

Part of TheatreWorks from Home, a virtual stage for the Tony Award-winning theatre while in-person performances are on hold during the pandemic, TheatreWorks's online initiative Voices of Democracy offers digital theatrical experiences that celebrate diverse voices and build a bridge from empathy to action. Presented in the weeks leading up to the 2020 election, the program features presentations of poems read by local actors and curated quotes that shine a light on underrepresented American voices speaking out about the timely and pressing issues during this election year. TheatreWorks is collaborating with Bay Area service organizations to provide resources to inspire action and making a difference in local communities. Voices of Democracy will also include an interview with Tony Award winner/ TheatreWorks alum James Monroe Iglehart (Broadway's Aladdin and Hamilton) and other presentations.

TheatreWorks from Home provides audiences access to a variety of new exclusive content. Other initiatives include: Featured Works, streaming videos of new material and delightful throwbacks; We Are TheatreWorks, spotlighting artists and behind-the-scenes staff members and supporters; TheatreWorks Unforgettables, featuring highlights of previous shows and interviews with the company's "unforgettable" artists; Learning from Home, an educational outlet providing digital access to the company's works for youth; and Invest in Our Works, in which special events and other content are offered to supporters. New Works from Home has offered viewers online workshop readings of several new works and in honor of Women's Equality Day/ the centennial of the 19th Amendment, TheatreWorks partnered with The Woman's Club of Palo Alto to stream excerpts and songs from Perfect 36, a musical detailing the fight for this amendment's ratification and commemorating a pivotal moment in Democracy when white women won the right to vote. The livestreamed presentation is still available to view on YouTube-for more information the public may visit theatreworks.org

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