PULLproject

"Tales of Clamor" is a theatrical case-study that examines the sound of silence, the echoes of a little-known yet major moment of American history, and its universal reverberations in today’s landscape.  “Tales of Clamor” utilizes aerial apparatuses, scenes based in the present and past, and rarely scene video footage from the 1981 CWRIC Hearings (Commission of Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians).

Its political texture calls on us to recognize the need for solidarity and the power of a community breaking silence in order to create change.

In its emotional core, this show is about people showing up for each other at a critical moment of individual and collective need.

The narrative anchor of this show is the duo of traci and Kennedy - who together explore concepts including the science of sound, the Model Minority Myth, and, at the center, the cathartic experience of Commission Hearings that led to Redress in the 1980s and creation of lifelong, intergenerational activists.

 Working in collaboration with Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR), “Tales of Clamor” uses theatrical scenes, three aerial apparatuses, circus elements, and rarely seen video footage from the Los Angeles Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings.

Through the Exchange in 2015, PULLproject was entrusted with official use of the 1981 CWRIC Hearing video footage by NCRR and Visual Communications. PULLproject has spent innumerable hours with members of NCRR as they dove into an extended period of research, interviews, viewing of Commission Hearing footage, a writing workshop, a show-and-tell session early on in the process, and the involvement of one of their members in writing a first draft of a "Sansei monologue."

In March of 2016, the Exchange grant period culminated in a Staged Reading with in invited audience and many members of NCRR present in the audience. NCRR was very excited and enthused to see where PULLproject was in the early stage of development for Tales of Clamor. When asked about next steps in the process, NCRR member Richard Katsuda expressed, "We want to work with you two forever."  

NCRR believes this new and innovative work can help get the message of their work and education about the Commission Hearings (and Redress) to a different and much larger, broader audience.

The reading included a string of a dozen scenes, a few independent scenes, and longer ending sequence where an edit of the Commission Hearings was revealed in concert with a magnifying score by composer Howard Ho.

The workshop cast for the March 2016 reading was Takayo Fischer, Junko Goda, Jully Lee, Ken Narasaki, and Greg Watanabe.

In June of 2016, PULLproject was award The Continuation grant - where they were the sole recipient among previous Exchange grant recipients to receive support to continue the journey of the partnership (in this case with NCRR) as they develop their work.

This process led to a staged reading in February of 2017, with a full first draft. "Getting there was tough for so many reasons," says traci, "but it was great to get a full first draft done, do the reading, and then see all the holes and rewrites and edits to be made from that standpoint."

The workshop cast for 2017 was:  Malaika Abramson, Takayo Fischer, Kurt Kuniyoshi, Jully Lee, Fosse Lin-Bianco, Jeanne Sakata, and Greg Watanabe; with stage directions by Loryce Hashimoto.

Kennedy expressed, "I'm excited to see what comes next, and how we'll keep growing and clarifying the circus elements to amplify the story...and move it forward." 

traci adds, "We're ready to dive in and take it to the next level in both story and theatrical approach...let's get this thing in world premiere-shape!"

Awards/Grants

Network of Ensemble Theaters (NET) Exchange Grant, 2015

Network of Ensemble Theaters (NET) Continuation Grant, 2016