Will Pommerening

INTERVIEWS

(Production Stage Manager)

What's your background?

I have been a stage manager professionally for three years, but before my training at Elon University (BA Design and Production 2012) I had been an actor in shows dating as far back as 1999.

Did you know the story of the 442nd Regimental Unit?

I knew that the Internment camps existed and were a blight on Japanese American relations. Reparations took a long time to finally enact. I was unaware of the 442 and their legacy until beginning ”Crane Fable."

What do you hope audiences will take away from this production? What do you hope youth will learn from seeing this?

Older audiences may see the meaning as it relates to the 442 and internment. I hope younger audience members learn compassion and understanding of others from this show. It can remind us to trust others based on their actions and not their appearance or even actions of other members of their race, gender or creed.

What do you think is the place of the theatre arts in telling our history?

The keyword in the prompt is "Arts." It is up to the asthetic of the artists to put a spin on history to draw a lesson from its stories.

If you could be an animal, what would it be and why?

I would be a wolf. I like to have a pack that I trust and wolves tend to be at the top of the food chain.

What do you want people to know about "The Crane Fable Project" before they attend?

Bring a candle!

See more interviews from our team:

Tyler Herman (Movement Coach)

Andrew Quilpa (Actor, "Waddle" and "The Fox")

J. Robert Raines (Sound Designer)

Rebecca Speas (Actor, "Mother")

Will Pommerening (Production Stage Manager)

Matthew Strote (Actor, "Father")

Stephanie Tomiko (Actor, "Ducky)

Rachel Hynes (Actor, "Mother")

Ruthie Rado (Actor, "Flap")

Bryan Azucena (Actor, "Yori")