STORIED PERFORMER. Okage Sama De, which means "I am what I am, because of you," is the name of a new feature show by local storyteller Alton Chung. The performance tackles the complex Japanese World War II experience. (Photo/Minaki Ishii, beyondbordersimages.com)

From The Asian Reporter, V18, #9 (February 26, 2008), page 13.

By Toni Tabora-Roberts

In the final performance of the run of his new feature show Okage Sama De, Alton Chung played to a standing-room only audience at Hipbone Studio in Portland. "Okage Sama De," Alton informed the audience, "means ‘I am what I am, because of you.’" The title not only captures the essence of the show, but it also captures the essence of an emerging storyteller.

I met up with Alton at the Fresh Pot coffee shop on North Mississippi Avenue, somewhere relatively halfway between his home in Vancouver and mine in southeast Portland. "I’m tired," he admitted, but for good reason. He’d spent the night and morning hanging out with one of his idols, Jay O’Callahan, a nationally renowned storyteller who had been at a storytelling conference in Corvallis. Alton had the honor of watching the Super Bowl with Jay and later shuttling him to the airport. "He’s one of the storytelling gods right now. He’s what I aspire to become. It was great to be able to pick the brain of your idol."

Alton loved growing up in Hawai’i, but always had an itch to be elsewhere. He first arrived in Oregon to study, which eventually led him to study abroad. He’s travelled and lived all over the world, including stints in England, Scotland, Copenhagen, Turkey, Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.

It was on these travels that he began collecting stories as a way to get into the local culture. "I first started out collecting things to give to my godsons." Turns out he loved those storybooks himself, picking up books to give away, as well as keep for his own growing collection.

Originally trained as an oceanographer, Alton enjoyed going out to sea and doing research. But he did not enjoy writing the academically rigorous research papers required. After a while, he decided to leave the field. He trained as a massage therapist and even obtained his MBA, trying to find his way to a successful and fulfilling career.

Storytelling was a blip on the screen. Alton had been living in Corvallis (where he earned two degrees at Oregon State University) when the local new age bookstore, Mystic Mountain, posted a storytelling class that caught his eye. On a whim, he took the class. He had just returned from Africa, where he’d collected some local stories, and he used them as his first experiments in storytelling. At the end of the class, the teacher asked him, "So, what are you going to do with this talent?" It was the first sign this might be something important to him. He did a bit of storytelling with the local guild, but left it for a few years to pursue other opportunities.

Fast-forward to 2003, when Alton moved to Portland. It was then he decided to try his hand again at storytelling. He had one Hawai’ian ghost story to tell. On the advice of a friend, he entered himself into a showcase for Portland- and Vancouver-area librarians. He was told he had five minutes on stage and he thought, "Great I’ve got a five-minute story." He did his five minutes and thought nothing of it, except that it was a good experience. To his surprise, he started receiving calls from librarians asking him to hold one-hour storytelling performances. All of a sudden he was figuring out how to be a storyteller.

The story about how Okage Sama De evolved is as interesting as the stories themselves. After talking to a colleague about four years ago, Alton realized the stories about the "Boys of the 442" — the World War II Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team — are not well known outside the Asian-American community. He was inspired and spent the next two years collecting books, films, and other materials on the topic.

Then he got his first breakthrough. Alton, an apprentice to Eth-Noh-Tec (a respected Asian-American storytelling duo in San Francisco), had an opportunity to meet Eth-Noh-Tec founder Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo’s uncle, Ace Hiromura, who lives in Vancouver and is one of the surviving 442nd members. After this meeting, Alton realized how he was going to accomplish this project: "Tell the story from a single person’s point of view."

One connection led to another, led to another, and to another. Soon Alton had a nice complement of stories of Japanese during World War II that tied together nicely: A katonk (affectionate Hawai’ian term for Japanese American from the mainland) and his experience at war; boys from Hawai’i confronting the reality of combat; a U.S.-born Japanese who must face the invasion of Okinawa, where he grew up; a Japanese diplomat serving in Lithuania who makes the choice to defy his government and save thousands of Jews; and one of the Lithuanian Jewish boys he saved.

The production of Okage Sama De represents many firsts for Alton. This is the first feature-length show he’s put together. It’s the first show he’s produced himself with all self-written material. It’s the first time he’s worked closely with a musician. And despite a few fumbles here and there, it’s clear the show was a resounding success. Audience members were moved to tears and even to a standing ovation. Alton is working on a full DVD of the show, due out this summer. Other CDs and DVDs of his work, as well as his performance schedule and contact information, are available at <www.altonchung.com>.