What’s Latest (or reasonably recent, at least)

2014 Featured Festival Appearances

May 1-3 St Louis Storytelling Festival, St Louis, MO

May 10 Asian American StoryFest (sponsored by EthNohTec), San Francisco CA

May17-18 Bay Area Storytelling Festival, Richmond CA

2013 NEWS

Motoko’s Residency Program Funded by STARS Grant!

The Massachusetts Cultural Council awarded 2013-14 STARS Residencies Grant to Whitin Elementary (Uxbridge) and Pakachoag Elementary (Auburn) for a 7-9 day creative writing program with Motoko! She will work with the 3rd graders at Whitin and the 4th graders at Pakachoag, helping them write their own folktales connected to their curriculum content areas.

This is Motoko’s second year to receive funding from the MCC’s STARS Grant. In 2012-13 school year, she worked with K-6 at Westhampton Elementary, and the 1st graders at Plains School in South Hadley. Motoko thanks the MCC for their dedication to support arts in education in Massachusetts!

Motoko Helped Premier a Play!

The Resonance Story Theater of Utah and the Orem Public Library invited Motoko in September 2013 to take part in the premier staged reading of “Making Mochi on the Moon,” a powerful new play about Japanese American internment experience during World War II, written by Utah playwright Wendy Gourley.

This 6 person cast play is set in 1943, in the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah.  The protagonist is Miko, a 13 year old Japanese American girl from California. Separated from her beloved father, Miko’s only solace at the camp comes from an art class taught by Kazumi-sensei, who encourages Miko to create beauty amidst the harsh, isolated desert. In the art class Miko forms an unexpected friendship with Betty, the daughter of a white camp administrator. They help each other survive, overcoming racial and cultural barriers. When the Loyalty Questionnaire and the shooting death of elderly internee James Wakasa throw the camp into turmoil, Miko and Betty decide to take an action, which ultimately empowers the whole community.

For the past two years Motoko has worked with Wendy as her cultural consultant and advisor. Motoko was pleased to see the script come to life with local Utah actors, and was honored to play both Kazumi-sensei and Mr. Wakasa in the staged reading. The emotionally charged ending left the audience in tears!

The Naughty Side of Motoko?!

In May 2013 Motoko made her second featured appearance at the Ojai Storytelling Festival in Ojai, CA. This Festival has a unique feature: a late Friday night concert of Naughty Tales. Festival Director Brian Bemel gave Motoko a 10 minute slot to premier her hilarious adult tales from Old Japan, and it took her 20 minutes because the audience just wouldn’t stop laughing! Now she is inspired to develop this material into a full-length concert of naughty fun!

Festival and Conference Appearances for 2013

Feb 2013 Timpanogos Storytelling Conference, Provo UT

March 2013 Tejas Storytelling Festival, Denton TX

May 2013 Ojai Storytelling Festival, Ojai CA

August 2013 NSN Conference, Richmond VA

Sept 2013 White Mountain Storytelling Festival, Waterville Valley NH

Oct 2013 Four Corners Storytelling Festival, Farmington NM



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