Ken Narasaki
Encyclopedia
Ken Narasaki is a Sansei
(third-generation Japanese American
) playwright and actor. He is the former Literary Manager at East West Players
theatre company in Los Angeles
. He is the twin brother of Karen Narasaki
.
including Jon Moritsugu
's Terminal U.S.A. (1993), Chris Chan Lee
's Yellow
(1998) and Lane Nishikawa
's Only the Brave
(2006). Narasaki learned to speak German when he was cast in the German television series, Zwei Profis in 2002. He has appeared in over 50 plays.
in 2008, as part of the "Day of Remembrance" of Executive Order 9066
. The Mikado Project, co-written with Doris Baizley, was produced by Lodestone Theatre Ensemble
at the Grove Center Theatre in Burbank, California
in 2007. No-No Boy
, adapted from the novel "No-No Boy
" by John Okada
, received its world premiere at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica, California
in 2010.
Sansei
Sansei is a Japanese language term used in countries in South America, North America and Australia to specify the children of children born to Japanese people in the new country. The Nisei are considered the second generation, grandchildren of the Japanese-born immigrants are called Sansei and...
(third-generation Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
) playwright and actor. He is the former Literary Manager at East West Players
East West Players
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As one of the nation's first Asian American theatre organizations, East West Players today continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American...
theatre company in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He is the twin brother of Karen Narasaki
Karen Narasaki
Karen K. Narasaki is a nationally renowned civil rights leader and human rights activist. She is the president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center , formerly known as the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium...
.
Actor
Narasaki has appeared in a number of independent featuresIndependent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
including Jon Moritsugu
Jon Moritsugu
Jon Moritsugu is an American underground filmmaker.Jon Moritsugu started filmmaking in 1985 when he went to school at Brown University. His Thesis film "Der Elvis" was called by critic J...
's Terminal U.S.A. (1993), Chris Chan Lee
Chris Chan Lee
Chris Chan Lee is an Asian American filmmaker.After graduating from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California, Lee wrote/directed Yellow, an independently financed feature film about the harrowing grad night of eight Korean-American teens in Los Angeles that culminates in a...
's Yellow
Yellow (1998 film)
Yellow is a 1998 film directed by Chris Chan Lee. The film is about the harrowing graduation night of eight Korean-American high school youths in Los Angeles that culminates in a violent crime that will forever change their lives....
(1998) and Lane Nishikawa
Lane Nishikawa
Lane Nishikawa is an American actor, filmmaker, playwright and performance artist. He is Sansei ; and his work often deals with Asian American history and identity issues. He is widely known for a series of one-man shows, including Life in the Fast Lane, I'm on a Mission From Buddha, Mifune and...
's Only the Brave
Only the Brave
Only the Brave is a 2006 independent film about the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated World War II fighting unit completely made up of Japanese Americans, which for its size and length service became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history...
(2006). Narasaki learned to speak German when he was cast in the German television series, Zwei Profis in 2002. He has appeared in over 50 plays.
Playwright
Narasaki's Ghosts and Baggage was produced at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in 1998. Innocent When You Dream was produced in 2007 at the Electric Lodge in Venice, California and was performed at the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in 2008, as part of the "Day of Remembrance" of Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066
United States Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones...
. The Mikado Project, co-written with Doris Baizley, was produced by Lodestone Theatre Ensemble
Lodestone Theatre Ensemble
Lodestone Theatre Ensemble is a non-profit Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1999. It is a membership-driven organization....
at the Grove Center Theatre in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
in 2007. No-No Boy
No-No Boy (play)
No-No Boy is a play written by Ken Narasaki adapted from the novel of the same title by John Okada, originally produced at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica, California, in association with Timescape Arts Group. It is a drama in two acts...
, adapted from the novel "No-No Boy
No-No Boy
No-No Boy is the only novel published by Japanese American writer, John Okada. It deals with the aftermath of the Japanese American internment during World War II. The novel begins as Ichiro Yamada is returning home from prison, and follows him as he struggles to come to terms with his decision of...
" by John Okada
John Okada
John Okada was a Japanese-American writer. Born in Seattle, Washington, he was a student at the University of Washington when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Okada and his family were interned at Minidoka in 1942...
, received its world premiere at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
in 2010.
Plays
- Ghosts and Baggage
- The MikadoThe MikadoThe Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
Project - (co-written with Doris Baizley) - Innocent When You Dream
- No-No Boy
Awards
- 2007 Kumu Kahua TheatreKumu Kahua TheatreKumu Kahua Theatre is a community theater located in the city of Honolulu on the island of O'ahu in the state of Hawai'i. Kumu Kahua Theatre is best known for producing plays by local Hawaii-based playwrights, especially plays featuring themes and stories of the people of Hawaii. Kumu Kahua...
Pacific Rim Playwrights Award - Innocent When You Dream - 2008 Pacific Rim Playwriting Award - The Mikado Project