Shinsai [SHEEN-sigh] means great quake in Japanese. Sunday, March 11, is the  one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Japan.

Last spring, shortly after the quake, actor James Yaegashi, whose family is from a nearby area, called friends in the New York theatre to say, "We as a theatre community have to do something to help our fellow artists on the other side of the world." Six months later, a friendly consortium of over a dozen organizations came together and now a remarkable nationwide event is underway: SHINSAI: THEATERS FOR JAPAN.

A menu of 10 minute plays and songs has been commissioned from major American and Japanese artists, including Edward Albee, Philip Kan Gotanda, Richard Greenberg, John Guare, Oriza Hirata, Naomi Iizuka, Shoji Kokami, Tony Kushner, Toshiki Okada, Yoji Sakate, Kumiko Shinohara, Toshiro Suzue, Suzan-Lori Parks, Doug Wright, John Kander, Fred Ebb, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman. (Read more about the SHINSAI contributing artists here.)

They have donated their work for this one-day only event. Audiences everywhere on this day can donate relief funds to the Japan Playwrights Association to disburse to the Japanese theater community affected by the disaster.

The SHINSAI Steamboat event was spurred by last month's community talk by NYC's Lincoln Center Theater Dramaturg Anne Cattaneo, who is contributing to the SHINSAI event in New York.in the Great Hall at Cooper Union. SHINSAI Steamboat will be structured as a reader's theater featuring local actors and musicians  who have generously volunteering their time and talents to share the work of many of these great artists with our community.

Directed by Stuart Handloff
The Players: Sherry Benson, Nick Demarest, Claudia Droel, Laurie Edwards, Mike Forney, Jan Dring, Sally Frostic, Judy Gunthorpe, Marilyn Harris, John Morrison,  Erica Olson and Patty Zimmer.

Attending SHINSAI in Steamboat is free. During the performance you can donate via text, online or the donation jar at the door. 100% of the funds donated through SHINSAI go directly to the Japan Playwrights Association for distribution to help restore the conditions that surround the Japanese theater, i.e. theatrer buildings, companies, rehearsal spaces, education and audiences. No donation is too small!

• To text donations: Text JAPAN with donation amount to 27138 (i.e. “JAPAN 100”=$100 pledge)
• Online donations, go here and click DONATE.
• Donations will be collected by the Dramatists Guild Fund until May 1, 2012. DGF is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible.