Julia Izumi

Julia Izumi

Julia Izumi (she/her) is a writer and performer who makes plays, musicals, theatrical nonsense, and everything in between. Her work has been developed and presented at MTC, Clubbed Thumb, Bushwick Starr, WP Theater, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Barn Arts Collective, NNPN/Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights' Workshop, Great Plains...
Julia Izumi (she/her) is a writer and performer who makes plays, musicals, theatrical nonsense, and everything in between. Her work has been developed and presented at MTC, Clubbed Thumb, Bushwick Starr, WP Theater, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Barn Arts Collective, NNPN/Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights' Workshop, Great Plains Theatre Conference, Williamstown Theatre Festival, CAATA’s National Asian-American Theatre ConFest, and Pork Filled Productions. Honors for her work include the OPC Dr. Kerry English Award, O’Neill Theater Center’s NPC Finalist, Kilroys List Honorable Mention, and KCACTF’s Darrell Ayers Playwriting Award. She is a 2020/2021 New Georges Audrey Resident and an upcoming New Dramatists member. MFA: Brown University

Plays

  • (An Audio Guide for) Unsung Snails and Heroes by Julia Izumi
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–8
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    Genre: adventure, dark comedy + 4 more
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    Keyword: Japan, World War II + 8 more
    Genre: adventure, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, fable/folktale, period
    Keyword: Japan, World War II, Manchuria, China, family history, Female heroine, snails, Sisters, family, war
    In 1945 Japan, right before World War II comes to an end, the Tazwa family receives word that the patriarch has died overseas in Manchuria, but his bones are not sent home. The local town take this to mean he has done something dishonorable so Atsuko, second daughter of the family, decides to go to Manchuria alone and find her father’s bones so she can clear her family’s name and properly bury him. Inspired by...
    In 1945 Japan, right before World War II comes to an end, the Tazwa family receives word that the patriarch has died overseas in Manchuria, but his bones are not sent home. The local town take this to mean he has done something dishonorable so Atsuko, second daughter of the family, decides to go to Manchuria alone and find her father’s bones so she can clear her family’s name and properly bury him. Inspired by a true story from the playwright's family history, (An Audio Guide for) Unsung Snails and Heroes is an epic yet personal tale about discovering truth and discovering self.
  • miku, and the gods. by Julia Izumi
    Recommendations: 9
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–100
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 4 more
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    Keyword: heroism, siblings + 5 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy
    Keyword: heroism, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren's bond of love, religion, grief, coming to terms with death, Female heroine
    Miku wants to be a god. Ephraim wants to be an Olympian. Grandma wants to remember. And Shara wants people to just include him in the conversation, you know? miku, and the gods is an epic and small adventure that braids together friendship, death, memory, time, rhythm and power beyond what one could ever desire.
  • Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea by Julia Izumi
    Recommendations: 7
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    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: adaptation, biography + 7 more
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    Keyword: identity, environment + 3 more
    Genre: adaptation, biography, comedy, dark comedy, fable/folktale, fantasy, farce, romantic comedy, young audiences
    Keyword: identity, environment, fairy tale, LGBTQ, hans christian andersen
    The Little Mermaid is Hans Christian Andersen’s most beloved and well-known fairy tale, which is why it’s not the story our friend, Dolan, is going to tell you today. No, he’s going to tell you the story about a Little Rain Cloud who falls in love with a human. They are not the same story at all, he swears.
  • Meet Murasaki Shikibu Followed by Book-Signing, and Other Things by Julia Izumi
    Recommendations: 13
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: Japan, Japanese American + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: Japan, Japanese American, stand-up, bookstore, audience engagement, Asian American, identity, female pioneers
    Tonight we welcome Murasaki Shikibu in conversation to kick off the book launch of The Tale of Genji, one of the first novels ever written. Like, in the whole world. Granted, the event is over 1000 years late, but to make up for lost time, Lady Murasaki has a lot to say. If you’re lucky, she might even talk about the book. She will take questions and give autographs following the discussion. Priority seating...
    Tonight we welcome Murasaki Shikibu in conversation to kick off the book launch of The Tale of Genji, one of the first novels ever written. Like, in the whole world. Granted, the event is over 1000 years late, but to make up for lost time, Lady Murasaki has a lot to say. If you’re lucky, she might even talk about the book. She will take questions and give autographs following the discussion. Priority seating with book purchase. Moderator TBD.
  • Regretfully, So the Birds Are by Julia Izumi
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 6 more
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    Keyword: Asian American, Asian American family + 4 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, farce, melodrama, satire, tragedy
    Keyword: Asian American, Asian American family, identity, American identity, family drama, epic journey
    Illy and Neel fall in love and Mora is so upset she decides to go on a journey to find her birth mother. Meanwhile, Neel discovers he’s tone-deaf and decides to go on a journey to find himself. Meanwhile, Illy doesn't go on a journey because she's bought a part of the sky, so what more does she need? Meanwhile Elinore is in jail and Cam is melting . . .? A farcical tragedy that questions the...
    Illy and Neel fall in love and Mora is so upset she decides to go on a journey to find her birth mother. Meanwhile, Neel discovers he’s tone-deaf and decides to go on a journey to find himself. Meanwhile, Illy doesn't go on a journey because she's bought a part of the sky, so what more does she need? Meanwhile Elinore is in jail and Cam is melting . . .? A farcical tragedy that questions the destructive nature of the American need for identity and the murky waters of Asian-American-ness.
  • Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!) by Julia Izumi
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: biography, comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: cultural identity, culture + 6 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, drama, experimental, movement/physical
    Keyword: cultural identity, culture, Japanese, Japanese American, Asian American, filmmaking, film, art
    Tonight we welcome Akira Kurosawa, the internationally acclaimed Japanese filmmaker, who will give us an exclusive peek into his brilliant mind and the thrilling world of his movies. But, you know, it’s so weird, every time he talks about his films, it kinda sounds like he’s talking about yogurt? Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!) is a fantastical lecture/...
    Tonight we welcome Akira Kurosawa, the internationally acclaimed Japanese filmmaker, who will give us an exclusive peek into his brilliant mind and the thrilling world of his movies. But, you know, it’s so weird, every time he talks about his films, it kinda sounds like he’s talking about yogurt? Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!) is a fantastical lecture/performance hybrid about identity, cultural imperialism, and “healthy” consuming.
  • Hot Cross Buns (musical) by Julia Izumi
    Cast: 
    8–14
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 7 more
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    Keyword: Bunnies, Dystopia + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, horror, musical, romantic comedy, satire
    Keyword: Bunnies, Dystopia, Asia, Asian American, satire, musical, Fantasy, Pop stars, revolution, government oppression
    CO-WRITTEN WITH GRACE OBERHOFER
    Welcome to Bunny Isle, home to the happiest bunnies! And when they’re at their happiest moment in life they do the only logical thing: they end it. Speaking of life, pop superstar bunny, Mayda, loves hers. So when her fiance, Duane, proposes to be crushed by the weight of two tons of carrots together at their wedding, she has very, very last minute regrets, hops out of the...
    CO-WRITTEN WITH GRACE OBERHOFER
    Welcome to Bunny Isle, home to the happiest bunnies! And when they’re at their happiest moment in life they do the only logical thing: they end it. Speaking of life, pop superstar bunny, Mayda, loves hers. So when her fiance, Duane, proposes to be crushed by the weight of two tons of carrots together at their wedding, she has very, very last minute regrets, hops out of the way, and causes a Rabbit Revolution. In Hot Cross Buns, a twisted new musical, Mayda is forced to confront the meaning of life and what’s worth fighting for. Nothing fluffy about it.
  • A Likely Pair by Julia Izumi
    Cast: 
    3–4
    ·
    Genre: drama, fable/folktale + 1 more
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    Keyword: siblings, love + 3 more
    Genre: drama, fable/folktale, fantasy
    Keyword: siblings, love, addiction, toxic relationships, family
    A pair of folks, one older, one younger, as often is the case. They grow up together, rely on each other--which is necessary when your Mother has a very, very demanding job. Sometimes they fight, sometimes they don’t,as such a pair often does. And when it seems life may be this way forever, in comes a little Poison. And then they grow apart. And grow back together. And then apart again. Just a story like any other. Sort of.