A staged reading of “Internment,???? ???” a television pilot written by Phinneas Kiyomura, will be held Sunday, Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Ave. in Little Tokyo.
Presented by JANM, the reading is directed by Academy Award-winning director Chris Tashima (“Visas and Virtue”) and produced by Ren Hanami and John Money.
“Internment” explores the lives of a gifted but deeply dysfunctional Japanese American family forcibly reunited by the internment of all Japanese Americans on the West Coast during World War II.
The cast: Takayo Fischer, Ren Hanami, Teresa Huang, Shiori Ideta, Brittany Ishibashi, Rodney Kageyama, Hiro Matsunaga, Ken Narasaki, Lani Nishiyama, Jeanne Sakata, Aaron Takahashi, Jerry Tondo, Kirsten Vangsness, Greg Watanabe, Mike Wiles, Ping Wu, Tadamori Yagi.
Kiyomura is a graduate of CSU Fullerton with a BFA in theatre. He is a fourth-generation Japanese American and his mother’s side is predominantly Irish. During World War II, his father was sent to the Rohwer internment camp in Arkansas along with many other California-born Japanese Americans.
Several of Kiyomura’s plays have been produced at award-winning Theatre of NOTE. Variety raved about his play “Lydia in Bed,” calling him “an impressively original voice.” The play was also nominated for two LA Weekly Awards. In 2006 he was invited to Film Independent’s Screenwriters Lab. He currently has two scripts optioned and is pursuing work in television and film.
Entrance free with museum admission: $9 for adults, $5 for seniors (62 and over), students (with ID) and youth (6-17). Admission free for children under 5 and JANM members.
For more information, call (213) 625-0414 or visit www.janm.org.