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Distant Voices
Touring Theatre
Peacemakers Among Us Award
Our Productions
Distant Voices
The Distant Voices production is based on the diaries of Hiroaki Nishimura written during his experiences when he was incarcerated in the Japanese American Concentration Camps of World War II. In his later years Hiroaki translated his journals into English for his daughter, Julie Nishimura. From those journals comes a powerful story that will keep audiences thinking long after the performance has ended.
Hiroaki's daughter, Julie, and her husband, playwright Danny Peak, created Distant Voices, a spoken performance set to music, to tell Hiroaki's story and to ensure that this dark period in American history is never forgotten.
September Echoes
September Echoes is an original play written by Danny Peak, who was a champion of social justice. Based on interviews with people in the aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, this production is a harsh reminder of how human rights and dignity can be stripped from people simply because of how they worship, the color of their skin and the way that they dress.
Our People
Danny Peak
1957 - 2016
Danny was the founder and co-artistic director of DVTT. He was a champion of social justice, gearing much of his work toward involving people whose voices are often overlooked and to helping increase awareness of the struggles of the underserved in our communities and society as a whole. Danny wrote the original scripts for both Distant Voices and September Echoes and he was the spoken voice of Hiroaki in our Distant Voices production. In addition to the shows, Danny held workshops in schools prior to and after performances to encourage open-mindedness and tolerance in the kids with whom he interacted. He held lively discussions with audiences in other venues after performances. This is a tradition we keep in his honor. He was beloved by the children he worked with and by the many whose lives he touched. We miss him every day.
Julie Nishimura
Julie is the artistic director of DVTT, which she cofounded in 1999 with her husband, actor and playwright Danny Peak. As an accomplished classical pianist, Julie selected and arranged the accompanying music for the Distant Voices production, making her piano the fourth voice of Distant Voices. A San Francisco native, Julie is third generation Japanese American, the daughter of Hiroaki Nishimura, upon whose diaries Distant Voices is based. Recently, Julie retired from a longtime staff position in the music department of the University of Delaware and currently splits her time between Wilmington, Delaware and San Francisco, where she continues to perform in a variety of concert venues.
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