Hometown: New York, NY
Education: BA in Drama from Tufts University, about to enter MFA Playwriting Program at Brown University
Select Credits: Performed in all iterations of The Brewing Dept.’s HamletGhosts, Julia in Molly Murphy and Neil deGrasse Tyson On Our Last Day On Earth (Incubator Arts), Suzu in Clare Barron’s Washougal My Heart (Communal Spaces)
Why theater?: Why not?
Who do you play in Meet Murasaki Shikibu?: Murasaki Shikibu (woah!)
Tell us about Meet Murasaki Shikibu: The play is a cross-cultural tragicomedy about a book-signing featuring the world’s first novelist, Murasaki Shikibu, who happens to be a badass Ancient Japanese lady.
What is it like being a part of Meet Murasaki Shikibu?: It’s been insane! This is the first time I am performing in a play I have written, and so the pressure is on! But I have an incredible team of people supporting the work who make me feel as calm as I can be and I am so grateful to them every day. It is very humbling to see all the hard work everyone is putting in around me for a show that feels heavily me-centric. I hope I am paying them back properly by creating a piece that is not self-indulgent or self-serving, but that gives voice to the unheard.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theatre that defies all expectations.
Any roles you’re dying to play?: Jenny in John by Annie Baker
What’s your favorite showtune?: I’m a sucker for anything in the Ahrens and Flaherty catalog.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I would faint with happiness if I got the opportunity to work with Caryl Churchill in any capacity. Even if it would be just to sit in a room with her for a few minutes. She’s my theatre hero.
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I’d like to hope that if I ever get to a point where a movie about myself is to be made, there will be a plethora of established Asian-American actresses to choose from. ☺ My life-story movie would be definitely called “The Bouncing Penguin” though.
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: It would be pretty stellar to go back and see the opening night of the original for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf on Broadway. That would have been so electric.
What show have you recommended to your friends?:Men on Boats at Playwrights Horizons!
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I will watch movie trailers for hours. I probably end up seeing 1% of the films, but I have a strange fascination for watching just movie trailers.
What’s up next?: Grad school! Ahh!
For more on Meet Muraski Shikibu, visit www.MeetMurasakiShikibu.com