This is the poster for the Japan People’s Theatre production of Jason Maghanoy’s play, GAS, in Tokyo. We brokered the translation by noted Canadian/Japanese translator Toyoshi Yoshihara and then we also provided them with Tom Fennario’s video material created for our production. Infinithéâtre did it with a cast of five, including the super talented Omari Newton and Lucinda Davis. The Tokyo production needed a cast of twenty-five. I ended up travelling to Tokyo to see their production. Imagine a blackface Japanese actor playing an African American GI. Yup. Toyoshi Yoshihara subsequently was awarded an Order of Canada for his life-time devotion to bringing Canadian plays to Japan. Below you can read my director’s notes from the published version of the play.

The extraordinary letter below was written as an assignment by a student from Collège Français after her class had come to our production of GAS in the Bain St. Michel. A letter like this in reaction to the blood and sweat one has put into creating a show gives me the energy to continue the battle.