HOOD RIVER — On Nov. 14, Hood River Valley High School’s (HRVHS) Bowe Theater will feature “Shizue: An American Story,” presented by the Portland Opera to Go (POGO) and the Our Oregon Project. POGO is the Portland Opera’s flagship outreach program that travels around Oregon and performs 50-minute productions on various subjects. The program is led by Alexis Hamilton, manager of education and community engagement.
Our Oregon Project commissions youth operas that spotlight individual experiences throughout Oregon’s rich history. “Shizue” (pronounced Shih-zoo-way) is Our Oregon Project’s second installment and dives into the life of Shizue Iwatsuki. The first commission came in 2022 and featured African American civil rights activist Beatrice Morrow.
Shizue Iwatsuki around the time she moved to Hood River.
Contributed photo
“Shizue” is directed by Dmae Lo Roberts and composed by Kenji Oh. The story reveals the trials, tribulations and triumphs Shizue and her husband Kamegoro “Charles” Iwatsuki — portrayed by Jietong Fu — experienced when they moved to Hood River in 1916. Shizue was a well-respected poet who practiced tanka poetry, described by the Academy of American Poets as a “31-syllable poem, traditionally written in a single unbroken line.”
Her poetry is a large part of the production and Shizue is represented by two actresses: Chihiro Asano as the elder Shizue and Lindsey Nakatani as the younger Shizue. This production hits close to home for the cast, but especially Nakatani, whose grandmother and her siblings were incarcerated in concentration camps. At the same time, her grandfather on her dad’s side fought for the U.S. in World War II. Nakatani said she used their experiences as a way to shape her perspective of Japanese Americans at that time.
“In preparation for this role and this piece of history, in particular, I knew the story of my family, but I reached out to my my relatives who are still living,” Nakatani said. Unfortunately, her grandparents have both passed away. “[I] really did my best to kind of internalize the mentality that must have been just so difficult, so frightening and so bewildering. I’m really trying to evoke that as I tell the story both of my family and of Mrs. Iwatsuki.”
Local historian, author and Willamette University professor Linda Tamura played a major role in the research for the play. Tamura invited some of the playwrights to Hood River to see for themselves. Hamilton was joined by Roberts and Oh who visited the Hood River Valley to get a sense of what Shizue’s life may have looked like. They also took a trip to the Japanese American Museum of Oregon located in Portland.
Shizue and her husband, Kamegoro, during a celebration.
Contributed photo
The production at HRVHS will be one of the group's final performances. The troupe traveled to 50 different locations throughout Oregon and southwest Washington. Hamilton said she has been receiving lots of requests from schools and other organizations to host the group. Hamilton added they started booking visits for the fall in March.
The showing at Hood River is on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
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