August 22, 2003 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: Chris Gilman 206-789-2241, 206-217-9644 x 218 E-mail: cgilman@cultural.org Nichi-Bei Productions introduces the world premiere of Up Your Head!, written by Chris Gilman, directed by Caitlin Gilman Performances: September 20 - September 27, 2003 Opening and Press Night, Saturday, September 20, 2003 at 9:15 pm SEATTLE - Nichi-Bei Productions presents a cross-cultural one-person show, Up Your Head!, performed in both English and Japanese at the Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival. This show is adapted from a novel of the same name, also written by Chris Gilman about the tribulations of an American expatriate in Japan. Scenes from this show have been performed at Freehold Theatre’s Original Works showcase at the Union Garage, The Annex Theatre’s revue, Spin The Bottle at the Rhino Theatre, and Printer’s Devil’s revue, Squatter’s Rights, at the Little Theater. The full production opens on September 20, 2003 at Union Garage 2 at 7:30 pm. Up Your Head! is set in Kobe, Japan in 1989 at the height of the Japanese "Bubble economy" when Japanese business seemed poised to take over the world. American ex-pat Marcus, dreams of romance with the lovely Watanabe, and struggles to satisfy the imperious demands of his boss, the power-hungry Chairman Uchida. When Uchida makes a strange deal with a fast-talking American college President, Marcus senses disaster. Chris Gilman lived in Japan from 1990 to 2001 during which time he worked for an American Branch campus in Kobe, Japan, and for the Fulbright Commission in Tokyo. He is fluent in Japanese and the author of numerous short stories and one full-length novel about Japan. Caitlin Gilman is a senior at Cornish College of the Arts. She grew up in Japan between the ages of 8 and 18. She has appeared in television and on stage in Kobe and Tokyo, and is the author of a one act play, JD Salinger is My God. Tickets may be purchased from Seattle Fringe Theatre website www.seattlefringe.org, or over the phone from the Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival Office at 206.322.2018 or in person at the Central Box Office: the CHAC, Capitol Hill Arts Center, 1621 12th Ave, opens Saturday, September 13th, at noon. - 206.322.2018 Tickets to Up Your Head! are $12, $8 students and seniors, $6 Fringe Artists. For more information, visit the Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival at www.seattlefringe.org or www.upyourhead.com