By Andrew Hamlin
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Youth Theatre Northwest cast for “A Story of Sadako”
Mimi Katano is directing, and writing, for the upcoming Youth Theatre Northwest (YTN) production, “A Story of Sadako”—from the famous story of Sadako Sasaki, the little girl who survived the bombing of Hiroshima and died at age 12 in 1955, having folded more than a thousand origami cranes, for the cause of peace.
But, Katano admits, “I only studied acting. And I have written exactly two plays, so I don’t actually consider myself a playwright. I kind of backed into directing after doing choreography for many years, and found that directing might be my place.”
She grew up in Japan, left at 15 to attend a California boarding school, then moved to Boston for college, graduate school, and the first 10 years of her theater career.
“My parents were both very international, which was very unusual for my generation. They both spoke English, and in wanting to raise both my brother and me, we had a constant stream of college-aged exchange students. I think that really informed my desire to want to go abroad and be fluent in English.
“I was a ballet kid. But I saw the full Japanese professional company of ‘West Side Story’ when I was around 13 and fell absolutely in love with musical theatre. ‘West Side Story,’ still to this date, is one of my favorite musicals.”
Her biggest influence was Davis Robinson at Boston’s Beau Jest Moving Theater, for whom she worked five years.
“His approach to storytelling—through physical movement and choreography, comedy, and [deciding] what to keep and what to get rid of—really has informed the kind of director I am.”
Katano visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in 7th grade, and noted the Children’s Peace Monument, commemorating Sadako and the thousands of other children who died in, or from radiation complications after, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Years later, she read a book on Sadako’s story which inspired her play, after she joined YTN.
“Sometime between 2000 and 2001, former Executive Artistic Director Tina La Plant and I were planning the season, and I brought the book to her. What inspired me to pitch this was that this story was about a 12-year-old girl, but also about her friends who did something in the wake of tragedy and made a difference. That whole idea felt really fitting to what we do at YTN.
“What I didn’t expect was for her to tell me that I should write it. I did almost a year of research (including another visit to Hiroshima) and read many interviews of Sadako’s family and friends. When we produced it in early 2002, 9/11 just happened and that experience helped to draw a connection to the kids who were in it at that time, in terms of what it’s like to have your home country attacked.”
But this new staging features a new approach.
“In the first version, the play was a traditional two-act format, which was a big undertaking both in casting and production design. In this one, we wanted to create a production that was easier to mount, so I made it into a narrative-style storytelling, which has flexibility in casting. So rather than each actor playing a set character, they speak the narrative as storytellers and sometimes play a character and go back and forth between the two. This one is a one-act and presentational, like a staged reading of a play.”
Katano’s retiring from her post next month, after 26 years at YTN, although she plans to keep working in local theater. She remarked on her hopes that “young people learn about this story and think about what war does to children, regardless of who or where. And that they have the power to make a difference.”
“A Story of Sadako” plays May 30 through June 7 at the Youth Theatre Northwest, Parish Hall Theatre, located at 4400 86th Avenue Southeast on Mercer Island.
For prices, showtimes, and more information, visit https://youththeatre.org/on-stage/a-story-of-sadako.