Emily Kuroda News

Yale Repertory Theatre opens its 2022 Season with Today is My Birthday by Susan Soon He Stanton, directed by Mina Morita. The critically-acclaimed comedy about loneliness in the age of connectivity will be performed January 28–February 19 at Yale Repertory Theatre.

Good news! The Marsh will soon be once again presenting live, in-person performances at their San Francisco location with Marga Gomez's 'Spanking Machine' running September 17 through October 23. BroadwayWorld speaks with Gomez about her hilarious and heart-rending new memoir piece about growing up brown & queer in Washington Heights.

Tony Award-nominated and five-time Obie Award-winning theater company Clubbed Thumb has announced an extension for the world premiere of The Woman’s Party. Originally scheduled to stream through August 31, The Woman’s Party will now be available through Thursday September 23.

Pulitzer winners Paula Vogel, Katori Hall, Annie Baker & Sam Shepard are just 4 of the many celebrated playwrights whose work was developed in the Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF). Established in 1976 and currently led by Playwrights Foundation’s Executive Artistic Director Jessica Bird Beza, this year’s BAPF runs July 16-25, featuring 5 very different new works. Casts include acclaimed actors such as Emily Kuroda. BroadwayWorld recently caught up with Beza to talk about the festival.

The casts for BAPF’s live streamed readings spotlight acclaimed actors including TV/film actor and theatre mainstay Emily Kuroda, known for her role as Mrs. Kim in “Gilmore Girls,” as well as Bay Area theatre veterans Halili Knox, Tasi Alabastro, Keiko Shimosato Carreiro and Michael Ray Wisely, plus many others.

The Award-Winning Chalk Repertory Theatre with funding from L.A. City's Department of Cultural Affairs announces the launch of its new audio play series Chalk Lines. Five short plays using immersive audio storytelling will bring to life unsung landmarks in Los Angeles City Council districts 8, 9, and 10 including the Metro Expo Line, Leimert Park, Historic West Adams, and Exposition Park.

Chalk Repertory Theatre launches their new audio play series CHALK LINES June 19, 2021. The series of five short plays can be accessed for free either to be experienced online or on location at each site with a mobile device. Chalk Rep’s artistic producing director Jennifer Chang directs the cast of Xan Churchwell, Gregg Daniel, Tonatiuh Elizarraraz, Veralyn Jones, Emily Kuroda and Emily Stout.

Jeffrey Lo seems to be just about everywhere these days. As if his day job as TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s Director of Community Partnerships / Casting Director weren’t enough, he is also enjoying quite a successful career as a director and playwright. With the recent, tragic spike in prejudice and violence toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, Lo decided to take action by calling on his own Filipino American heritage. He spearheaded TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s efforts to stream a benefit reading of his play Writing Fragments Home to raise funds to support and uplift the AAPI community. The comedic play is an unapologetically Filipino American story about art, family, and culture. The top-flight cast includes stage veteran Emily Kuroda, perhaps best known for playing Mrs. Kim on TV’s Gilmore Girls. Co-presented by more than 40 leading theatres and arts organizations in the Bay Area and beyond, the reading will benefit Compassion in Oakland, a nonprofit formed in response to the surge of anti-Asian attacks and dedicated to promoting safety and community in Oakland Chinatown and beyond. Writing Fragments Home will be streamed live at 7pm PDT, Saturday, June 5, 2021 (with streaming on-demand access available June 6 to June 9). For more information, visit TheatreWorks.org.  BroadwayWorld with Lo last week about his impetus to write the play, how the benefit reading came together, his thoughts about Asian American representation in the theatre, and his experience working with some of his personal heroes. Lo is very easy to talk to – laid-back, thoughtful and self-effacing with an underlying gentle humor – all qualities which likely serve him well in his roles at TheatreWorks. At the same time, I got the impression he is someone who knows how to step up to the plate and get the job done.

In a time where the manifestation of prejudice and violence toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has reached an extreme high, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will stream a benefit reading of Writing Fragments Home to raise funds to support and uplift the AAPI community.

The Award-Winning Chalk Repertory Theatre with funding from L.A. City's Department of Cultural Affairs announces the launch of its new audio play series Chalk Lines.

In sync with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, L.A. Theatre Works will be releasing two audio theater recordings about the horrific Japanese American experience during World War II - Jeanne Sakata’s FOR US ALL and Ken Narasaki’s NO-NO BOY. FOR US ALL’s available for purchase now, with NO-NO BOY on May 15, 2021. Anna Lyse Erikson directs both show’s large ensemble casts, with Greg Watanabe voicing the lead characters in both.

The Huntington announces the launch of four additional titles to its series of short audio plays by local playwrights entitled Dream Boston.

L.A. Theatre Works has announced two new state-of-the-art audio theater recordings about the Japanese-American experience.

Clubbed Thumb has announced the world premiere of The Woman’s Party. Originally slated to premiere as part of the 2020 Summerworks Festival, the piece will now premiere virtually. The Woman’s Party has been divided into three 30-minute episodes, which were filmed over the course of four weeks remotely from each actor’s home.

Minnesota’s Theater Mu's first mainstage production since the pandemic lockdown - playwright Susan Soon He Stanton's TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY  - will be live broadcasted February 5 through February 14, 2021, with video-on-demand available February 15 through February 21, 2021. In support of Theatre Mu, East West Players is including BIRTHDAY in its 55th anniversary season as a part of an East West Passport membership.

East West Players presents Theater Mu in its production of Susan Soon He Stanton's comedy Today Is My Birthday, directed by Theater Mu Artistic Director Lily Tung Crystal. The play stars Katie Bradley, China Brickey, Eric Sharp, Jomar Tagatac, and features East West Players' veteran actors Emily Kuroda and Greg Watanabe.

The Homebound Project has announced that it will return on January 27–31 with its sixth edition. Music icon Sting and actors Paul Sparks and Eden Malyn join the previously announced team of actors, playwrights, and directors.

At this time of national trauma and unrest, The Homebound Project has decided to temporarily postpone the Sixth Edition of its online theater initiative, which was scheduled to stream online January 13–17, 2021.

Following its debut on May 6, 2020, The Homebound Project has announced the lineup for a surprise sixth edition airing January 13–17, 2021. Co-creators Catya McMullen and Jenna Worsham, along with their all-volunteer team, have also announced that this online theater initiative brought together 137 artists, and premiered 56 new theater works.

Emily Kuroda, who played Mrs. Kim, remembers her favorite scenes and how grateful she is to be able to play a well-rounded Asian American character.