Cold Tofu, also known as Cold Tofu Improv, is a
non-profit organization and
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
improvisation
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
and comedy group based in
Los Angeles.
History
Cold Tofu was founded in 1981 and is the first and longest running Asian American improvisation and comedy troupe in the United States. For its 35th anniversary, Cold Tofu was featured in ''American Theatre'' magazine's list of "theatrical milestones". Though reputedly an Asian American comedy group, Cold Tofu's roots are multi-cultural. Early members included
Amy Hill,
Phil LaMarr, Jim MacNerland,
Jerry Tondo
Jerry Shigekazu Tondo (born October 10, 1950) is a Japanese-American actor and voice actor. He is known for providing the voice of the character "Chien-Po" in the animated film ''Mulan''. Other titles Tondo has contributed to include '' Gung Ho' ...
, Geoff Rivas,
Joey Miyashima,
Glen Chin
Glen Chin (January 27, 1948 – August 16, 2018) was an American actor of Chinese descent who starred in film and television.
Background
Chin was born in Stockton, California on January 27, 1948. He was the eldest of eight children. His father o ...
and Robert Covarrubias.
In its early years, the group trained with Stephen Book (founder of Improvisational Acting Technique and a co-worker of
Viola Spolin
Viola Spolin (November 7, 1906 — November 22, 1994) was an American theatre academic, educator and acting coach. She is considered an important innovator in 20th century American theater for creating directorial techniques to help actors to be ...
),
Gary Austin (creator of ''
The Groundlings'') and Andy Goldberg (director of ''Off The Wall'' at
The Improv).
Pat Morita was one of Cold Tofu's first sponsors. During the 1980s, Cold Tofu produced comedy shows that tackled issues of race, diversity and inclusion. Cold Tofu expanded its efforts in the late 1990s to service the community by providing improv workshops where actors and non-actors explored improv techniques to enhance performance and interpersonal skills.
Marilyn Tokuda and Denice Kumagai led Cold Tofu and shared the role of artistic director. In 1993, Robert Covarrubias and Helen Ota took over as co-artistic directors and served the organization until 2000, when Ota continued as the sole artistic director. In 2013, Jully Lee was appointed to the position.
Operations
Cold Tofu's performing cast performs improv shows regularly in Little Tokyo and throughout Los Angeles. Cold Tofu also continues to provides student workshops through its Training Center for actors and non-actors.
Awards
* "Heritage Award" -
Aquarium of the Pacific (2014)
* "Excellence in Community Service Award" - Asian Professional Exchange (APEX) (2014)
* "Visionary Award" -
East West Players (2013)
* "Parade Marshal of Grand Parade" -
Nisei Week Festival (2013)
* "Sen. Daniel Inouye Leadership Award" - Southern California Cherry Blossom Festival (2008)
* "Community Service Award" -
Nisei Week Festival (2005)
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References
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American comedy troupes