Cedar Grove OnStage is an Asian Pacific American

Asian Pacific American

Asian-Pacific American or Asian-Pacific Islander is a term sometimes used in the United States to include both Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans....

 theatre arts organization established in 2006, based in Los Angeles, co-founded by playwright Tim Toyama

Tim Toyama

Tim Toyama is a playwright and producer. He is Sansei presently living in Los Angeles, CA. He is co-founder of the Asian American media company Cedar Grove Productions, and its sister Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. He attended C.S.U.N...

 and actor/director Chris Tashima

Chris Tashima

Chris Tashima is a Japanese American actor and director. He is co-founder of the entertainment company Cedar Grove Productions and Artistic Director of its Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. He is the son of U.S. Circuit Judge A. Wallace Tashima...

 who serves as Artistic Director. It is a division of the entertainment company, Cedar Grove Productions

Cedar Grove Productions

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...

 and their focus is to develop, produce and present new and original Asian American theatre

Asian American theatre

Asian American theater is theater written, directed or acted by Asian Americans.- Background :Asian American theater emerged in the 1960s and the 1970s with the foundation of four theatre companies: East West Players in Los Angeles, Asian American Theatre Workshop in San Francisco, Theatrical...

 works.

Media company

In 1996 the independent media company Cedar Grove Productions was formed to produce the short film, Visas and Virtue

Visas and Virtue

Visas and Virtue is a 1997 narrative short film inspired by the true story of Holocaust rescuer Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara, who is known as "The Japanese Schindler"...

(1997). The story focused on Holocaust rescuer Chiune “Sempo” Sugihara

Chiune Sugihara

was a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from...

 and the film won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film

Academy Award for Live Action Short Film

This name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. For the three preceding years it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films." The term "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects" was used from 1957 until 1970. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate...

 at the 70th Academy Awards

70th Academy Awards

The 70th Academy Awards were noted for their high ratings and the 11 wins obtained by the Best Picture Titanic. Billy Crystal hosted the ceremony for the sixth time, and received an Emmy award for his performance....

. The company takes its name from the literal translation of "Sugihara": sugi meaning cedar, and hara meaning field or grove.

Theatre

Cedar Grove OnStage formed in 2006 when Cedar Grove Productions was invited to join the "Cultural Roundtable" at THE NEW LATC, a multicultural theatre arts consortium led by the Latino Theatre Company operating out of the Los Angeles Theatre Center facilities in downtown Los Angeles. The Latino Theatre Company formed the Cultural Roundtable to create culturally diverse programming for the City of Los Angeles. Performance groups belonging to the Cultural Roundtable include Cedar Grove OnStage, Culture Clash

Culture Clash (performance troupe)

Culture Clash is an Chicano American performance troupe composed of the writer-comedians Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Sigüenza. Their work is of a satirical nature....

, Latino Theater Company

Latino Theater Company

The Latino Theater Company is a theatre producing organization based in Los Angeles, California.- History :Latino Theater Company was founded in 1985 by its Artistic Director, Jose Luis Valenzuela. Known as the "Latino Theater Lab" and based at the Los Angeles Theatre Center , they produced plays...

, Playwrights' Arena, Robey Theatre Company

Robey Theatre Company

Robey Theatre Company is a Los Angeles-based non-profit theatre company.- History :Robey Theatre Company was founded in 1994 by Danny Glover and Ben Guillory. It takes its name from the pioneering Black actor and activist, Paul Robeson...

, and American Indian Dance Theatre/Project HOOP

American Indian Dance Theatre

American Indian Dance Theatre is a professional performing arts company presenting the dances and songs of Native Americans in the United States and the First Nations of Canada...

.

Mission statement

"To entertain, enrich and enlighten, through the sharing of Asian Pacific American art, culture and history, broadening perspectives of the American experience and empowering our community. By examining and preserving through 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."

Mainstage production

• In September 2008, Cedar Grove OnStage worked in association with East West Players
  East West Players
  East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As one of the nation's first Asian American theatre organizations, East West Players today continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American...
  
   to produce the world premiere of Dan Kwong
  Dan Kwong
  Dan Kwong is an American performance artist, writer, teacher and visual artist. He has been presenting his solo performances since 1989, often drawing upon his own life experiences to explore personal, historical and social issues. He is of mixed Asian American heritage...
  
  's Be Like Water
  Be Like Water
  Be Like Water is a play written by Dan Kwong, originally produced at East West Players, in association with Cedar Grove OnStage. The play received its world premiere in Los Angeles on September 17, 2008, directed by Chris Tashima, at East West Players' David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union...
  
  , directed by Tashima, presented at the David Henry Hwang
  David Henry Hwang
  David Henry Hwang is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University...
  
   Theater at the Union Center for the Arts, in downtown Los Angeles' Little Tokyo
  Little Tokyo
  Little Tokyo may refer to:* Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California* Little Tokyo, Vancouver* Little Tokyo, U.S.A., a 1942 American film* Another term for a Japantown* Shigeri Akabane , Japanese professional wrestler...
  
  .

Presentations

• April 2007 – 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors in Threat Condition: YELLOW at THE NEW LATC
• May 2008 – Cold Tofu in Edamame Nights at THE NEW LATC
• November 2008 – Dan Kwong in Its Great 2B American at THE NEW LATC

External links

• Cedar Grove OnStage on MySpace
  MySpace
  Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
  
  
• The LATC website