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The Evergreen State College
Cooper Point Journal
1.21.99
"Sand a masterpiece"
by Rachna Vas
Contributing Writer
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In preparation for the Day of Absence, I was asked to write an article featuring this year's upcoming guest performance of A Grain of Sand by the very talented Nobuko Miyamoto. As I peruse through her biography and various clippings about her from around the country, I begin to realize that this amazing Japanese American woman is not just any performing artist. She is a piece of history illuminated through a multimedia, multicultural, one-woman show.
Nobuko Miyamoto has an impressive theatrical history which includes dancing in "The King and I," "Flower Drum Song," and "West Side Story." She founded the nonprofit agency, Great Leap, which focuses on Asian American dance, drama and music, and cofounded a record label, Bindu Records. She also produced our country's first Asian American music album, now part of the Smithsonian Collection.
In A Grain of Sand, Miyamoto chronicles her history as a Japanese American from her internment to present day. Through film, video, dance, music, and theater, Miyamoto enlightens audiences about the poignant experiences that are a part of Asian-Americana, and other minority groups' experiences of the so-called "melting pot." It is her hope to foster productive dialogue and closer ties among various communities, so as to move past the polarized state that we, as Americans, tend to gravitate towards.
Miyamoto's quest "to dissolve boundaries and elevate our consciousness is due largely to her turbulent history. A Grain of Sand is Miyamoto’s chance to showcase her family’s history, from the time of her grandmother and mother to her days in a Japanese-American internment camp, followed by her struggle to assimilate in the entertainment world as she settled for the stereotypical roles allotted to Asian women at the time. She then leads audiences through the turmoil of the sixties, with her close ties to the Black Panthers and the Asian-American movement. She highlights her relationship with a black activist during this time, who is eventually shot by police soon after his child with Miyamoto is born. She also includes her experiences during the Los Angeles riots and discusses multiculturalism in the nineties.
A Grain of Sand has been heralded by Asian-American and other multicultural audiences across the country as a "milestone" and "stunningly beautiful" traveling chronicle. The Los Angeles Times described Miyamoto’s performance as a "well-crafted, multimedia showcase… sometimes witty, sometimes sobering, and always insightful."
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