Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!)

by Julia Izumi

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...

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.

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Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!)

Recommended by

  • Conor McShane: Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!)

    This delightful work touches on a lot of things: cultural identity, appropriation, the struggles of the children of immigrants to understand their parents, the ineffable struggle to talk about art, and much more, all wrapped in a playfully experimental package. I loved the use of audience interaction and actors breaking character, creating a space for collective healing.

    This delightful work touches on a lot of things: cultural identity, appropriation, the struggles of the children of immigrants to understand their parents, the ineffable struggle to talk about art, and much more, all wrapped in a playfully experimental package. I loved the use of audience interaction and actors breaking character, creating a space for collective healing.

  • Shaun Leisher: Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!)

    Julia Izumi never ceases to surprise me with their work. A beautiful meditation on art, identity and processing grief.

    Julia Izumi never ceases to surprise me with their work. A beautiful meditation on art, identity and processing grief.

  • Benjamin Benne: Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!)

    Getting to encounter this play at OPC was a pure delight, in addition to being a rigorous dissection/deconstruction of identity. The play made me laugh so hard when reading it on the page -- but watching it performed made me laugh harder than any other play I can remember in years. It's brilliantly constructed by drawing a parallel between the consumption of yogurt and films (as culture), then does another mirror effect between Akira and the playwright in a deeply personal and affecting way. Can't wait to see this play fully produced.

    Getting to encounter this play at OPC was a pure delight, in addition to being a rigorous dissection/deconstruction of identity. The play made me laugh so hard when reading it on the page -- but watching it performed made me laugh harder than any other play I can remember in years. It's brilliantly constructed by drawing a parallel between the consumption of yogurt and films (as culture), then does another mirror effect between Akira and the playwright in a deeply personal and affecting way. Can't wait to see this play fully produced.

Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization Ojai Playwrights Conference, Year 2023
  • Type Workshop, Organization Brown University MFA Programs, Year 2019
  • Type Residency, Organization Berkeley Rep Ground Floor, Year 2019
  • Type Workshop, Organization Strong & Wrong Festival, Year 2019
  • Type Residency, Organization Barn Arts Collective (Hamilton Project), Year 2018