SALT LAKE CITY–Plan-B Theatre Company’s KILO-WAT, written by playwright Aaron Asano Swenson, is more than a biographical drama-it is an interrogation of memory, history, and the complexities of legacy. Presented in collaboration with UtahPresents as part of the Stage Door Series, the production explores the life of Wataru “Wat” Misaka, a second-generation Japanese American born in Ogden, Utah, who became the first person of color to play professional basketball for what would become the NBA. Through a fusion of traditional Japanese storytelling techniques and modern media, KILO-WAT challenges audiences to consider what it means to “make history within history.”
Swenson’s script weaves together past and present, blending personal narrative with larger cultural and political events. The play follows the fictional character Kenji “Ken” Kushida, a Japanese American podcaster, as he attempts to reconstruct Misaka’s story, confronting the gaps and distortions in historical memory. This layered structure not only underscores the fragility of recorded history but also invites audiences to question how narratives are shaped, who controls them, and what is left unsaid.
An Archival Act: Swenson’s Personal Connection to KILO-WAT
KILO-WAT is not just a historical narrative—it is deeply personal for Swenson. As a Japanese American playwright, Swenson is not merely recounting history; he is engaging in an act of archival storytelling, reclaiming a narrative that is as much about his own family as it is about Misaka.
Ken, the podcaster searching for fragments of the past, is Swenson’s stand-in. His obsession with getting the story “right,” his frustration with the gaps in historical records, and his realization that memory is shaped by those who tell it—all mirror Swenson’s own journey in writing this play. This is what makes KILO-WAT so compelling: it is not simply a recounting of Misaka’s life, but an exploration of how personal and collective histories intersect.
Swenson’s commitment to telling the entirety of the story reminded me of Gail Y. Okawa‘s Remembering Our Grandfathers’ Exile: US Imprisonment of Hawai‘i’s Japanese in World War II. Like Okawa, Swenson engages in a process of recovery, illuminating the overlooked and often deliberately obscured experiences of Japanese Americans during and after World War II. The act of remembering becomes an act of resistance, ensuring that these histories are neither sanitized nor forgotten.
By positioning Ken as the narrative frame, Swenson underscores how historical storytelling is often an act of reconstruction.
“To tell this story, I had to tell my own — how I found my connection with Wat Misaka, and how he reconnected me with my own family.”
~Aaron Asano Swenson, Quoted in Salt Lake Magazine~
A Masterful Blend of Form and Function
Under the direction of Jerry Rapier, KILO-WAT balances multimedia storytelling with theatrical tradition. One of the most striking elements is the incorporation of Kamishibai—Japanese paper theatre technique—where images are revealed and replaced in a wooden frame (Butai), mirroring the way Ken sifts through archival materials and personal reflections. This technique, combined with projections and live sound design, gives the play a dynamic rhythm to show that guides the audience along Ken’s journey as he discovers Misaka’s story as a person of color living in Utah, traveling to Madison Square Garden, and later to post-war Japan.
With a minimalist yet evocative scenic design by Janice Chan and immersive lighting by David McKain, KILO-WAT ensures that the focus remains on storytelling. The sound design by Cheryl Ann Cluff is minimal yet effective when it needed to be, seamlessly integrating podcast sound effects, music of the era, traditional Japanese percussion, and of course thunder, to create a layered soundscape.
Bryan Kido delivers a compelling performance as Ken in this one-person play, capturing the character’s obsessive drive to uncover the truth while also grappling with his own place in the story. His interactions with the Butai and podcast recordings highlight the tension between historical fact and personal experience, making the audience complicit in the act of remembering.
As both playwright and projections designer, Swenson seamlessly integrates visual storytelling into KILO-WAT, creating a fluid interplay between past and present. The projections serve as more than just background—they act as an evolving archive, shifting between documentary footage, stylized historical imagery, and Ken’s digital research. The transitions are deliberate and deeply affective, underscoring the tension between memory and erasure.
The most powerful moments come when history begins to overtake the present. Newsreel clips and basketball highlights are gradually layered with static, war propaganda, and Hiroshima survivor testimonies, reflecting Ken’s growing awareness of the gaps in recorded history.
Swenson’s ability to merge traditional Japanese aesthetics with modern digital storytelling is a triumph. The Kamishibai sequences, where printed illustrations seamlessly interact with projected images, reinforce the play’s central themes of storytelling as both a personal and communal act. The effect is immersive and deeply moving, transforming the stage into a living, breathing memoryscape.
Lightning as Legacy: The Motif of Connection
One of the most powerful motifs in KILO-WAT is lightning. The play repeatedly draws connections between lightning, luck, and lineage—suggesting that history, like a lightning bolt, is unpredictable yet leaves a visible path in its wake. Misaka’s nickname, “Kilo-Wat,” evokes both his electrifying presence on the court and the unseen forces that shaped his life.
The theme is introduced early in the play through a stylized retelling of Misaka’s birth: during a storm, his mother, Tatsuyo, ties a silk thread around his umbilical cord just as lightning strikes, symbolically containing its power within him. This story is echoed in the way the play conceptualizes legacy—not as a straightforward progression, but as something fractured, charged, and constantly rediscovered.
The Importance of Names: Wataru vs. Wat
Names carry weight in KILO-WAT, shaping identity and perception. The play makes a distinction between “Wat”—the name he was known by in American sports culture—and “Wataru,” the name given to him by his family. In the final scene, Ken reflects on the kanji of Misaka’s name, which can mean “bridge” or “connection”—a fitting tribute to a man who navigated multiple worlds: Japanese and American, war and peace, sports and survival.
By restoring his full name, the play symbolically returns Misaka to himself, honoring not just his public achievements but the personal struggles and cultural history that defined his journey. It’s a small but profound act of reclamation—one that resonates beyond Misaka’s story and into broader questions about whose names are remembered, whose are erased, and how history can be rewritten.
Beyond the Court: A Story of War and Silence
KILO-WAT foregrounds Misaka’s athletic achievements—his role in Utah’s 1944 NCAA Championship win, his historic signing with the New York Knicks— yet it does not shy away from the darker realities of the era. The play explores the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, the racism Misaka and his family faced even in moments of triumph, and his military service in post-atomic Hiroshima. In one of the most haunting sequences, Ken uncovers transcripts of Misaka’s interviews with Hiroshima survivors, forcing him (and the audience) to confront the cost of war.
Swenson’s script resists mythologizing its subject. Instead, it acknowledges the limitations of historical recovery. Misaka himself downplayed his significance, often describing his success as mere luck. But as KILO-WAT suggests, this humility is as much a product of internalized survival strategies as it is a reflection of historical erasure.
Ultimately, KILO-WAT is not just a biography; it is an act of reclamation and resistance. It acknowledges Misaka’s achievements while also critiquing the ways in which history is recorded, remembered, and retold. In doing so, it invites audiences to reflect on the stories that have been lost and those that still need to be told. Swenson’s KILO-WAT reminded me of the sacrifices made when the horrors of war are glossed over—how citizens of a democracy in their silence become complicit in the harm inflicted by their nation’s leaders. It’s a powerful reminder of how far removed we can become from the realities of history when uncomfortable truths are omitted or softened for the sake of national pride.
Swenson’s KILO-WAT reminded me of the sacrifices made when the horrors of war are glossed over—how citizens of a democracy in their silence become complicit in the harm inflicted by their nation’s leaders.
~Rhetorical Review~
KILO-WAT does not allow for such distance. Instead, it demands that we reckon with the weight of memory, the cost of erasure, and the responsibility of storytelling. By illuminating Misaka’s journey—one shaped by resilience, loss, and perseverance—Swenson compels us to consider our own roles in preserving and confronting history.
Plan-B Theatre Company’s KILO-WAT runs February 14–16, 2025, at Kingsbury Hall.
Feb. 14 performance includes ASL interpretation.
Feb. 16 performance is sensory-friendly.
50 minutes, no intermission, No Late seating.
Dates: February 14-November 10 2025
Tickets: General Admission: $30, Youth: $10, ARTSPASS: $5 https://artstickets.utah.edu/events/kilo-wat/
Venue: UtahPresents Kingsbury Hall, 1395 Presidents’ Cir, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Contact: Please call 801-581-7100 to be placed on a wait list.
Venue: UtahPresents at Kingsbury Hall, 1395 Presidents’ Cir, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
- ‘A WEEK WITH A PLAY’ FREE STUDENT MATINEES
- Limited seating is still available for free student matinees February 11-14. Please email Melissa Salguero, Community Engagement Manager, UtahPresents for more information.
- KILO-WAT will also tour to three high schools February 18-21: Davinci Academy in Ogden, City Academy in Salt Lake City, and Utah Arts Academy in St. George.
CAST & CREATIVE
Playwright: Aaron Asano Swenson
Cast: Bryan Kido
Director: Jerry Rapier
Lighting Designer: David McKain
Projections Designer: Aaron Asano Swenson
Scenic Designer: Janice Chan
Sound Designer: Cheryl Ann Cluff
Stage Manager: Maisie Bunker Nelson
Scenic Builder: David Knoell
Photography: Sharah Meservy
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