ZOTTO: A Supernatural Japanese Folktale immerses audiences into the hidden history of Japanese American (JA) incarceration in WWII US Concentration Camps and introduces ghosts of the past that are all too present in today’s America whose impact is pervasive throughout generations. Mysterious ‘yokai’ spirits guide audiences through the lived experiences of five generations of Japanese American women, placing audiences at the center of a story of racism, trauma, displacement, redlining and resettlement - interdependence and ancestral joy. A final true story contextualizes the experience, emphasizing the resiliency in community healing and the lasting ramifications of the choices we make, asking audiences to consider what kind of ancestors they will be today for future generations. ZOTTO emphasizes we must ‘never forget’ and we are called today to be the allies that our ancestors and elders did not have. Remembering is an act of resistance, and never again is now.
Land Acknowledgement: Colorado resides on the ancestral and traditional lands of the Hinóno'éi-no' (Arapaho), Tsétséhéståhese (Cheyenne), Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), and the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires) peoples.
