<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As per the press release below, Mitch Miyagawa's
<EM>The Plum Tree</EM> opens at the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver tonight
and runs until February 28. The play has interesting parallels with the current
drive to save Joy Kogawa's former family home in Vancouver as described by the
website <A
href="http://kogawa.homestead.com">http://kogawa.homestead.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>T H E F I R E H A L L A R T
S C E N T R E</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>For Release: January 14, 2004</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><BR>FAMILY HISTORIES COLLIDE IN MITCH MIYAGAWA'S
PLAY<BR>‘The Plum Tree’<BR>FIREHALL ARTS CENTRE -- FEBRUARY 6 TO 28</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Firehall Arts Centre presents The Plum Tree, Mitch Miyagawa's poignant
drama in <BR>which a Japanese-Canadian man and a German-Canadian widow are put
on a collision <BR>course in a struggle for ownership, justice and harmony. The
Plum Tree begins previews <BR>on Friday, February 6, opens on Wednesday,
February 11 and continues to Saturday, <BR>February 28. Performances are
scheduled Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 <BR>p.m. with
pay-what-you-can matinees on Wednesdays at 1 p.m., at The Firehall Arts
<BR>Centre, 280 East Cordova, Vancouver.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Miyagawa's play unfolds in 1989 following the federal government's apology
to <BR>Japanese-Canadians for their internment during the Second World War.
George <BR>Murakami is a third-generation Japanese-Canadian who is spurred by
the puckish spirit of <BR>his late Uncle Mas to return to the small farm his
Grandparents were expelled from. <BR>In his search for a tangible connection
with his past he forms an adversarial bond with <BR>Frieda Wagner, an immigrant
to Canada from Germany following the Second World <BR>War. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Plum Tree has been produced at Alberta Theatre Projects' National
playRites <BR>Festival in Calgary, at the University of Lethbridge, the On the
Verge Festival in Ottawa <BR>and at the Nakai Theatre in Whitehorse where
Miyagawa is Playwright-in-Residence. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Firehall Arts Centre production features Hiro Kanagawa as George, David
Fujino as <BR>his Uncle Mas, and Karen Austin as Frieda. The creative team
includes director Adrienne <BR>Wong, the Firehall's current Artist-in-Residence,
and set designer Tara Arnett, lighting <BR>designer James Proudfoot, costume
designer Barbara Clayden and sound designer Hannu <BR>Huuskonen.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Tickets: Previews $10, Tuesday to Thursday $16 / $14, Friday and Saturday
$20 / $18, <BR>Sunday $16 / $14, Wednesday at 1 p.m. is pay-what-you-can. Group
rates available.<BR>Call The Firehall Arts centre box office at 604-689-0926.
For online purchase and <BR>information visit <A
href="http://www.firehallartscentre.ca">www.firehallartscentre.ca</A>. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
-- 30 -- </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Media Contact: Joan Wellwood. Ph: 604-737-7827. E-mail: <A
href="mailto:joan_wellwood@telus.net">joan_wellwood@telus.net</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>