Listen to actress and playwright Jeanne Sakata discuss the painful and enduring silence surrounding her family’s traumatic experience in the WWII Japanese American concentration camps. Hear her speak about finding her voice and healing through her writing, recounting the journey and development of her celebrated solo play, Hold These Truths, inspired by the Japanese American civil rights giant Gordon Hirabayashi.

Molly Smith (Artistic Director) hosts a weekly Salon featuring artists and leaders of Arena Stage. These half-hour-long weekly conversations will include some of the best thinkers and creative firebrands. Molly sits down with a variety of artists and leaders to discuss new ideas they are excited about and glimmers of hope for the future.

On Thursday, April 22 from 7- 7:30 p.m., Molly is joined by Ken Ludwig, Tony Award-winning playwright (Arena's Dear Jack, Dear Louise) and Jeanne Sakata, actress and playwright (Arena's Hold These Truths)

Playwright Jeanne Sakata and star Joel de la Fuente respond to questions from the audience and share their unique perspectives about the process of creating Hold These Truths.

Presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, moderated by Artistic Associate and Director of New Works, Giovanna Sardelli.

Richard Wolinsky interviews Jeanne Sakata about Hold These Truths ahead of the run at Theatreworks’ Lucie Stern Theatre.

Arena Stage offers a “First Look” at Hold These Truths with Playwright Jeanne Sakata.

Victoria Moy pens a Q&A interview with playwright Jeanne Sakata about her play Hold These Truths, performed at The Pasadena Playhouse until June 25th. They discuss her inspiration, the 10-year journey of the work, and the themes she hopes today’s audiences walk away with.

Jack Wiant and Jeanne Sakata have a video conversation about the 10th Anniversary production of Hold These Truths at Pasadena Playhouse, starring Ryun Yu. They discuss the origins of the work, the play’s development, and the future of the work.

On the eve of the 10th Anniversary production of Hold These Truths at Pasadena Playhouse, Gil Kaan interviews Jeanne Sakata about the histories of Japanese internment, her family, and the play.

In a very personal interview, Alice Hardesty speaks with Jeanne Sakata ahead of the run at Portland Center Stage. They discuss family and American histories, and how Hold These Truths remains relevant today.

Dmae Roberts interviews Jeanne Sakata as part of the “Stage and Studio” show. Listen at the 24:37 mark for “Northwest Stories Debuts at the Armory with Hold These Truths, a play about civil rights giant Gordon Hirabayashi.”

Guest hosted by Darcy Noonan, Jeanne appears as the guest interview for Episode 36. They discuss Hold These Truths, running through August 16 at ACT Theatre as well as Advantageous, the independent film she recently did a voiceover for will be premiering at NW Film Forum on August 14.

Marcie Sillman interviews Jeanne Sakata about her one-man show about Gordon Hirabayashi, Hold These Truths, running at Seattle’s ACT Theatre through Aug. 16.

In this two-part series, Jeanne Sakata shares the journey of Gordon Hirabayashi and how a “real” American isn’t just a white American.

Lia Chang sits down to chat with Jeanne Sakata to talk about her inspiration to write Gordon Hirabayashi's life story, how she did her research, why she chose the solo show format, and what she hopes audiences will take away from de la Fuente's performance.

Nancy Matsumoto shares how Jeanne is “Bringing New Life to Japanese American Hero Gordon Hirabayashi’s Story”. This feature article details more about how Jeanne went about writing and casting the play.

JQ’s Ann Chow recently spoke with Sakata about her profound fascination with Hirabayashi’s life, the meticulous research that went into writing Hold These Truths, and what she hopes the play will accomplish.

Jeanne is a Guest Lecturer at the The City University of New York’s (CUNY) Asian American/Asian Research Institute (AAARI) on September 28th, 2012. She discusses the development and writing of Hold These Truths.