SO I wrote this play…

I knew that First Congregational Church of Berkeley, CA – my church –had served as a Civic Control Center for the registration and “evacuation” of Berkeley’s Japanese American population in 1942, but wanting to know more, I became one of the curators for the “Roots, Removal, and Resistance: Japanese Americans in Berkeley” exhibited October 2024-August 2025 at the Berkeley Historical Society. It was when I read the daily diary of Eleanor Breed, the church secretary at the time that I realized i had the makings of a play. I scanned and transcribed photocopies saved from FCCB’s 2016 fire and originals at the Bancroft Library, read a scholarly paper on the Fair Play Committee, and absorbed information from local witnesses that were part of the “Incarceration Wall,” my part of the exhibit. This play, performed just once by members of our church and of local JA churches, was the result. Below is a link to the recording of that performance, on Sat. April 26, 2025. It lacks the slides meant to accompany it, and was staged simply, as a dramatic reading – no time or money for a full, costumed production – but the woman reading the part of Eleanor Breed was herself once secretary in that very office, years before it burned… https://www.youtube.com/live/6STtSD1TAPg?si=mvyIH8OU1pFhVGaP.

A friendly review

To quote my friend Joy Goto, a long-time member of Berkeley Methodist United Church, this play brings “the beautiful, honorable, and long relationship First Congregational Church has had with the Berkeley JA community to light. It is an inspirational tale of how, with God’s grace, compassion prevails.” Based on the daily diaries of Church Secretary Eleanor Breed and folding in contemporary letters, speeches, and interviews, the play wrestles with what it means to be an ally in the face of fear and bigotry and ultimately what it means to be both an American and a Christian. Performed by volunteers from FCCB and members of the local JA community after just three rehearsals, it is a dramatic reading of what could be a fully-staged production.

The cast list of A Cup of Cold Water in order of appearance:

Doris Lynch as Shirley Q. Henderson; Alice Clark as Ruth Kingman; Carmelle Knudsen as Eleanor Breed; Leonard Ash as Dr. Vere Loper; Rod MacKenzie as Announcer Voice #1, Dr. Raul Aurenheimer, Man’s Voice; Bruce Stangeland as Announcer Voice #2, Council Member, Soldier; Kara Korbel Chinula as Marjorie Walker, Richard Allen; Charles Taylor as Sgt. Wilkins; Lee Heuermann as Women’s Assn Member, Marion Rosen, Leslie, Kind Old Woman; Susan Webb as Mrs. Hadden, Ruth Price, Second Quaker, Ida Boitano; Nathan Hood as The Berkeley Gazette, Ron Dellums, First Quaker; Robert Lucchese as Julean Arnold, Mr. Jensen, Walter; Mary Ann Wight as Grace Kajiwara, Miné Okubo, Ensemble, Barbara Takahashi, Nikkei Mother; Gary Tominaga as Jim Kajiwara, Ensemble, Hiro Kitayama, Mr. Sato, Dr. Henry Takahashi, Lo Jung-Pang, Fred Korematsu; Kate Lucchese as Helper, Woman’s Voice, Mrs. Boitano; Greg Suzuki as Ensemble, Young Nikkei Man, Rev. Lester Suzuki, Chiura Obata. Slides expert: Jacqueline Dennis. Tech booth: Luca Capponi and Zach Miley. Special thanks to Rev. Molly Baskette, who sacrificed her much-deserved post-Easter week off to assist in this play’s production.

Yes, it is copyrighted, and only awaits a sympathetic backer to become something spectacular… contact me at catedeluca@ripariapublications.org