A group of people pose in front of a large Japanese drum, they are a mix of Japanese performers and Peterburg Arts Council members. — *Unit Souzou performers and Petersburg Arts Council board members at the Sons of Norway Hall.*

The performance

Who are you?

Where are you from?

Said in a certain tone, these questions might sound confrontational, as they often are for immigrants, people of color, people of non-binary gender, and anyone else whose identity does not fit into the neat picture presented as the acceptable mainstream.

On March 18, 2025, at the Sons of Norway Hall in Petersburg, Alaska, Unit Souzou — a taiko ensemble from Portland, Oregon — confronted these questions head on with a dynamic performance incorporating drumming, singing, choreography, and other musical elements. The volume of the drums, the intricacy of the rhythms, and the plaintive melodies of voice and flute emphasized the intensity and complexity of emotions evoked by the evening’s themes of identity and otherness.

However, by the end of the show, through clever use of audience participation, we were all invited to consider and accept our unique identities and places in the world. The show concluded with a loving send-off, Sayōnara, mataashita, and by this time, the loud drums and singing voices embraced us like a warm hug.

Getting There

Our place in the world is Lingít Aaní (Southeast Alaska), and as the Arts Council in Petersburg we often face unique challenges in bringing arts to the community.

photograph of a boat unloading a uhaul in a remote location — *Petersburg Arts Council presenter Mark Kubo prepares to receive Unit Souzou as they arrive by boat across the Stikine River delta from Wrangell Island to Mitkof Island.*

Unit Souzou’s tour itinerary required moving percussion instruments from Wrangell, to Petersburg, and then on to Anchorage. In addition to the usual challenges of receiving cargo on a remote island Southeast Alaska, the nature of the instruments being transported provided even more challenges. Some of the drums are quite large. Some are extremely fragile and sensitive to environmental conditions. Many are handmade.

people move equipment onto a big truck in a remote location — *Moving drums on a chilly Alaska day in a remote location of rural Alaska.*

Scheduling and planning concerns required the Arts Council to commit to the performance before all logistics were fully in place, but eventually a plan was settled on. The drums were loaded into a moving truck on Wrangell Island, and transported via landing craft to Banana Point, a boat launch almost 28 miles across the ocean from the performance venue. The moving truck needed to be unloaded and returned to Wrangell on a quick turnaround schedule. The drums were unloaded from the moving van and reloaded into another box truck. The box truck was borrowed from the remote Farragut Farm who use the truck to transport produce when in town. The drums were then driven 25 miles across our remote island to the venue, along with a caravan of Arts Council volunteers transporting the drummers in personal automobiles. In a truly Alaskan epilogue to this adventure, the cargo flight scheduled to carry the drums off our island and over to Anchorage was cancelled on the day of the performance. Members of Unit Souzou and the Arts Council were able to scramble and charter a cargo flight to carry the drums successfully to Anchorage the next day.

Japanese drummers in “Little Norway”

photo of a seated crowd in a room with red wainscoting and a man at a microphone who appears to be introducing a group of performers standing behind him — *Mark Kubo presents Unit Souzou to a sold out Sons of Norway audience.*

Finally, a note on the venue: Scheduling conflicts with other venues in Petersburg meant the performance took place at Petersburg’s Sons of Norway Hall. While the capacity was limited at this sold out show, the venue proved to be an ideal setting for this performance. It was great fun to observe the Japanese drums set up amid the woodwork, rosemauling, and Norwegian artifacts of this historic venue, not to mention how well it reflected the shows questions,

Who are you? Where are you from?

Review by Petersburg Arts Council board member Isaac Paulson. Our all volunteer board thanks our season’s sponsors and invites everyone to consider joining us as a member or sponsor. Thank you also to the Petersburg Pilot for covering the event beforehand, the Petersburg Rotary for extending event insurance to our performances, our board members for coordinating food and logistics, and to Farragut Farm for lending their work truck for drum moving. The tour was funded in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Mellon Foundation and support from the Doris Duke Foundation.