Ken Narasaki (born April 4, 1958) is an American playwright and actor. He is the former Literary Manager at

East West Players East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give v ...

theatre company in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He is the twin brother of civil rights leader

Karen Narasaki Karen K. Narasaki (born April 4, 1958) is an American civil rights leader and human rights activist. She most recently served as a Commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights after President Barack Obama appointed her in July 201 ...

Actor

Narasaki has appeared in a number of independent features including Jon Moritsugu's '' Terminal USA'' (1993),

Chris Chan Lee Chris Chan Lee (born in San Francisco, California) is an American filmmaker. After graduating from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, Lee wrote/directed ''Yellow (1998 film), Yellow,'' an independently fin ...

's ''

Yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...

'' (1998),

John Huckert John Huckert (born June 26, 1954) is an American filmmaker. Partial filmography Created by *''SWEAT (TV pilot 2013)'' Director *''The Passing (1983 film), The Passing'' (1983) *''Hard (1998 film), Hard'' (1998) *''Garden of Dreams'' (2005) *'' ...

's ''

Hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock super ...

'' (also in 1998) and

Lane Nishikawa Lane Nishikawa is a Japanese American actor, filmmaker, playwright and performance artist who was born in Wahiawa, Hawaii and is ''Sansei'' (third generation Japanese American).Kim, Esther. (2006). His work often deals with Asian American histo ...

's '' Only the Brave'' (2006). Narasaki learned to speak German when he was cast as the lead in the German television series, ''Zwei Profis'' in 2002. He has appeared in over 65 plays in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York's

Lincoln Center Theatre The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broad ...

in the world premiere of Samuel D. Hunter's " Greater Clements", for which he was nominated for a

Lucille Lortel award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...

for featured actor in 2019.

Playwright

Narasaki's ''Ghosts and Baggage'' was produced at the

Los Angeles Theatre Center The Los Angeles Theatre Center is an institution in Los Angeles, which is operated by the Latino Theater Company. In January 2006, the Latino Theater Company won a lease to operate The Los Angeles Theatre Center for 20 years and got a $4 millio ...

in 1998. ''Innocent When You Dream'' was produced in 2007 at the Electric Lodge in Venice, California and was performed at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in 2008, as part of the "Day of Remembrance" of

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the secretary of war to prescribe certain ...

. ''The Mikado Project'', co-written with Doris Baizley, was produced by

Lodestone Theatre Ensemble Lodestone Theatre Ensemble was a non-profit Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1999. It was a membership-driven organization. The ensemble disbanded in 2009. History In 1995, following the 1992 Los Angeles riots, v ...

at the Grove Center Theatre in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

in 2007. ''

No-No Boy ''No-No Boy'' is a 1957 novel, and the only novel published by the Japanese American writer John Okada. It tells the story of a Japanese-American in the aftermath of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Set in Seattle, Washing ...

'', adapted from the novel "

" by

John Okada John Okada (September 23, 1923 – February 20, 1971) was a Japanese American novelist known for his critically acclaimed novel ''No-No Boy''. Biography Born in Seattle, Okada was a student at the University of Washington during the attack o ...

, received its world premiere at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

in 2010. It went on to be produced by the

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre The Pan Asian Repertory Theatre is a New York City-based theatre group that explores the Asian-American experience and provides professional opportunities for Asian-American artists to collaborate. Pan-Asian was founded by Tisa Chang and Ernest A ...

at Theatre Row in 2014, and in Washington D.C. in 2016.

, directed by Anna Lyse Erikson was produced and recorded for broadcast for Los Angeles Theatre Works https://latw.org/ 2020-2021 Digital Season https://latw.org/digital-season

Plays

* ''Ghosts and Baggage'' * ''

The Mikado ''The 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 Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

Project'' - (co-written with Doris Baizley) * ''Innocent When You Dream'' * ''No-No Boy''

Awards

* 2007

Kumu Kahua Theatre Kumu Kahua Theatre is a community theater located in the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii. Kumu Kahua Theatre is best known for producing Play (theatre), plays by local Hawaii-based playwrights, especi ...

Pacific Rim Playwrights Award - ''Innocent When You Dream'' * 2008 Pacific Rim Playwriting Award - ''The Mikado Project''

References

External links

*
No-No Boy play site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narasaki, Ken 1958 births Living people American twins American dramatists and playwrights of Japanese descent American writers of Japanese descent Male actors from Seattle People from Los Angeles County, California American male actors of Japanese descent American film actors of Asian descent American male film actors American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers