Neither Black Nor White with Velina Hasu Houston and Jeanne Sakata

In this episode, veteran writer, Velina Hasu Houston, and actor and writer, Jeanne Sakata, reunite over their experiences losing a parent at a young age and living in the racially nonbinary space of being Asian American and multiracial in the United States.

This month:

Both writers answer the question, “What was it like to read your pieces in this format?”
Velina opens up about how she is treated like a suspicious presence in both white spaces and Asian American spaces, as a multiracial and multicultural Japanese and Black woman.
Velina relays an experience she had being followed in a store.
Jeanne talks about how much her experiences have changed since she wrote her piece, “My Father is a Quiet Man”.
Jeanne describes and empathizes with her father’s experiences as the child of an immigrant family and as the single father of multiple children.
Both Velina and Jeanne discuss seeing through the eyes of a child and learning from their perspectives of the world.
Jeanne and Velina connect over their experiences losing a parent as a child.
Jeanne talks about her desire to play Himiko from Velina’s play, TEA, because of her own experience having a ghostly presence over her shoulder.
Jeanne confesses she didn’t experience the same cold brutal realization that she wasn’t welcome into America as her parents did, but instead experienced racism and exclusion in ways that were less world-changing and subtler.
Velina talks about being “racially non-binary” as a child of mixed ethnic background.
Both writers discuss their experience witnessing and experiencing the rise of Asian American hate and violence during the pandemic.

“There is a racial binary and in this country. Things are either black or they’re white...For Asian cultures to carve a place for themselves in the racial landscape of America is ridiculous because the country exists on racial binary. And it’s very hard to be outside of that.”

— Velina, MINUTE 50:42

Pieces Read

An excerpt from COLOR MY WORLD, a novel by Velina Hasu Houston about a young multiracial Japanese and Black girl and her experiences living with her Japanese mother in the United States in the mid 20th century.
“My Father is a Quiet Man”, song lyrics by Jeanne Sakata, written about her own father
A work-in-progress play, LUCKY 13, by Jeanne Sakata inspired by Jeanne’s experience coping with her mother’s passing at age 13.

Velina Hasu Houston

Playwright & Professor

Velina Hasu Houston's literary career began Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club, expanding globally. With 30 commissions, she’s been honored by institutions such as the Japan Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and Theatre Communications Group. She founded graduate playwriting at the University of Southern California and directed dramatic writing there for 31 years; she is a presidentially appointed Distinguished Professor, USC Resident Playwright and School of Dramatic Arts/Iovine Young Academy faculty. A Fulbright Scholar, she served on the state department's Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission. She is a Writers’ Odyssey Associate Artist, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, and affiliated with New Circle Theatre Company.

Photo Credit: Ken Matsui

Jeanne Sakata

Playwright & Actor

Actor-playwright Jeanne Sakata’s solo play Hold These Truths (Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Solo Performance; Theatre Bay Awards, Outstanding Lead Performance, Direction and Production; San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Solo Performance), has won accolades in over twenty productions at the Arena Stage, Guthrie Theatre, ACT Seattle, Portland Center Stage, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Pasadena Playhouse, and more. Her latest play, For Us All, was commissioned and produced in 2021 by L.A. Theatre Works. Jeanne recently enjoyed recurring/guest star roles in ABC’s Station 19; CBS’ NCIS Hawai’I, NCIS Los Angeles, and Magnum P.I.; Disney’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and Big Hero 6; she has also performed in regional theaters nationwide (Los Angeles Ovation Award, Outstanding Lead Actress, Chay Yew’s Red, East West Players).