Jessica Peters

Dear Cornerstone Theater Company,

I went to see the play "Farewell to Manzanar" on October 13, 2006. I am a seventh grader at Eagle Rock Junior/Senior High School and I went to see the play with my Drama class. I really enjoyed the play. I was personally connected with the play because I am one quarter Japanese, and my ancestors went to Manzanar. As soon as I heard that I was going to get to see this play, I was really excited. I was really looking forward to seeing the play.

I loved watching "Farewell to Manzanar"! It's amazing that Page and Leslie played so many different characters at once. I really enjoyed how the puppet was used to play Papa, and how the actors incorporated puppetry, several props, baton twirling, the clarinet, and several other skills to produce a fabulous show. It amazed me that Page and Leslie could memorize so many lines. They expressed the emotions of the characters very clearly using their voices, gestures, and facial expressions.

I know that World War II was a terrible time, and all those Japanese people, even if they were American citizens, were taken to internment camps. It was just because of how they looked. I hope that nothing as awful as Manzanar ever happens again. There are still people who are prejudice today, but I hope it won't get to a point where people of a certain race are sent to internment camps again. I can't believe that somebody could just sign a piece of paper and be able to take away all Japanese people.

After the play, we were asked to write down on a tag what we thought people think of us when they look at us one side and what they couldn't tell by looking at us on the other side. Today, people aren't judged by their race as much as they were during World War II. Back then, when someone first looked at a Japanese-American , the first thing that they'd see was that they're Japanese. They would not be able to tell that they're talented, or a great musician, or very intelligent, or anything else. The only thing that they'd see was that they're Japanese. You can't judge somebody until you get to know them. You have to know their personality before you decide whether you like them or not.

I really enjoyed watching the play. While I was watching, I kept thinking of my grandmother, my great-grandmother, and my aunts and uncles who were at the camp. One of my great-aunts was born there. Another one of my great-aunts was going to Eagle Rock High School during World War II, and was pulled out to go to Manzanar. Even though there were only two actors performing the play, you could see all of the different characters as if Mama, Papa, Woody, and Jeanne were actually standing there themselves. After seeing the play, I am really looking forward to reading the book. I'm glad Jeanne decided to write everything down. If she hadn't, we wouldn't have had such a great record of Manzanar. I'm surprised that she can remember everything so well! I really enjoyed seeing "Farewell to Manzanar". Thank you for giving us the opportunity to see it.

Sincerely

Jessica Peters