Lexington children’s play asks if anime, lunchbox of sushi can bridge cultural divides

Sam Hamashima was in elementary school when his lunchbox caused a stir.

“I had sushi, like steak and rice and pickled ginger, and seaweed — that was the one that so many people were curious about,” Hamashima says, recalling his childhood in Cary, N.C. “When I was in fourth grade, everyone was like, ‘This is disgusting,’ ‘What are you doing?’ blah, blah.”

Like any elementary school child trying to fit in, it was hard to take his parents’ advice to just be himself.

“Now, as someone who’s 25, just being myself is so empowering,” he says. “I wish I had learned that growing up more: Just be you because no one else can be you, be like you.”

Hamashima hopes that’s the lesson children will take from “Shoyu Tell,” his new play that has its world premiere this weekend at the Lexington Children’s Theatre. The story starts with Lucas, a Japanese-American student whose lunchbox makes him the target of the school bully, Gary.

“As a Japanese American, I’ve never seen myself represented on stage in the way that this play represents Japanese-American people, or Asian-American people, beyond that, especially in a story that’s been written by a Japanese American,” says Rusty Allen, who plays Lucas. “So, this play is very powerful for me in that way. It makes me feel seen and heard.”

He adds that with strong themes of family and food, the play is simultaneously specific and universal.

Kim Dixon, a longtime Lexington stage actor who is Asian American, says, “This is only the second time in my life that I’ve played an Asian character, and the very first time that I have done a script that was written by an Asian author. This has been an incredible journey for a lot of us. It has also been very difficult to face a lot of these things that happened in my own past, to see it reflected on a child. It’s been hard. We’ve had a lot of deep conversations.”

Some of those conversations have been about events of the past year, including wide-spread hate crimes against people of Asian descent during the COVID-19 pandemic and the March 16 spa shootings in the Atlanta area where six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent.

Hamashima says that director Jeremy Kisling made sure the cast had time to process and discuss the issues that were happening and that the play addresses.

On numerous occasions, Hamashima and the actors emphasize that while it addresses heavy topics, “Shoyu Tell” is a lot of fun and handles its topics in creative, culturally-relevant ways incorporating elements such as anime and video games.

“That’s a really fun element because we get to not just play real life, human characters, but then we also get a chance to play with magical characters mixed with the culture and the families,” says Michelle Pokopac, who says one of her characters becomes a magical cat that helps Lucas see, “why there’s importance in teaching traditions, and the lunch, and where you come from.”

In one of the key scenes, Lucas has to battle his fears in the “Gray World,” a place where all differences are erased. Hamashima says most children who have been othered will at some point wish all the differences would disappear and everyone was the same.

“Then it’s like, ‘Okay, if we all acted like the way everyone wants us to, we would be so dim in our light,’” Hamashima says. “I would rather have a sky full of bright stars than just little, little dim ones.”

While this is theater for young audiences, the cast sees “Shoyu Tell” as accessible to all ages in same way Pixar movies like “Soul” appeal to broad audiences.

“There are a lot of adults that are going to take an extreme amount from this,” Dixon says.

Even more than the story though, Hamashima sees the importance of putting more Asian actors and characters on stage for young and old alike.

“I remember going to these shows, and seeing no one like me, and being like, ‘Where am I?” he says. “That’s where the importance of representation comes from. In order to think that you can do it, you have to see that it is possible.”

‘Shoyu Tell’

What: Lexington Children’s Theatre’s world-premiere production of Sam Hamashima’s play.

When: 2 and 7 p.m.* Oct. 2, 2 p.m. Oct. 3

Where: Lexington Children’s Theatre, 416 W. Short St.

Tickets: $15-$20, *7 p.m. Oct. 2 is a pay-what-you-will performance

Call: 859-254-4546

Online: lctonstage.org

Streaming: “Shoyu Tell” will be available for streaming 5 p.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 8-10 and 15-17. Visit the website to order streaming passes.

School day matinees: 10 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Oct. 1 and 4-6. Visit the website for information.

COVID-19 info: Masks covering the nose and mouth are required at all times in the building regardless of vaccination status. Theatre capacity has been reduced to 50 percent with seating in alternating rows and a space between parties. See lctonstage.org/covid19-safety for complete information.