SHINSAI: Theaters for Japan

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The Dramatists Guild Fund is the fiscal sponsor for SHINSAI: Theaters for Japan, accepting donations on behalf of the Japan Playwrights Association. You can make your fully tax-deductible donation by clicking DONATE NOW (above) until June 1, 2012. 100% of the funds donated through SHINSAI go directly to the Japan Playwrights Association for distribution to help restore the conditions that surround the Japanese theatre, i.e. theatre buildings, companies, rehearsal spaces, education and audiences.

If you are in Japan and would like to make a donation, please email FundAssistant@dramatistsguild.com for details.

The Event

Last spring, shortly after the devastating earthquake in Japan, actor James Yaegashi, whose family is from a nearby area, called friends in the New York theater to say, "We as a theater community have to do something to help our fellow artists on the other side of the world."

Six months later, a friendly consortium of over a dozen organizations came together to create a remarkable nationwide event.

On Sunday, March 11, 2012, the first anniversary of the earthquake, theatres everywhere joined together for SHINSAI: THEATERS FOR JAPAN. Shinsai [SHEEN-sigh] means great quake in Japanese.

A menu of 10 minute plays and songs was commissioned from major American and Japanese artists, who donated their work for a one-day only event. Using the model of 365 Days/365 Plays, each theater nationwide crafted their own event, drawing from the commissioned plays and from work generated by their own resident artists.

In New York City, all the plays and songs were presented in the Great Hall at Cooper Union on March 11, 2012. Over 70 theaters around the world joined the effort, garnering media attention including NPR and NBC. You can continue to make donations until June 1, 2012 through the Dramatists Guild Fund website.

Questions about the events? Check out the FAQ page or email japan@tcg.org. Please follow SHINSAI: Theaters for Japan on Facebook and on Twitter at #Shinsai.