Daniel K. Isaac

Daniel K. Isaac is a Korean American actor and writer born and raised in Southern California, based in New York City. You can currently see him on the small screen as ‘Ben Kim’ in Showtime's “Billions.”

Daniel co-wrote and stars in the short film/pilot presentation, “According To My Mother.” The project was selected for IFP Film Week and the inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab and was an Official Selection at ITVFest, Newfest, Outfest & Outfest Fusion, CAAMfest, SeriesFest (where it was awarded Best Actress), and New York Television Festival (Best Drama and Best Actor).

Daniel’s full-length plays include FULLERTON (2020 O'Neill Finalist), ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME (2019 O’Neill Finalist), [untitled gay sex and conversion therapy play], and OR OR OR &&& (available as a podcast recording on...

Daniel K. Isaac is a Korean American actor and writer born and raised in Southern California, based in New York City. You can currently see him on the small screen as ‘Ben Kim’ in Showtime's “Billions.”

Daniel co-wrote and stars in the short film/pilot presentation, “According To My Mother.” The project was selected for IFP Film Week and the inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab and was an Official Selection at ITVFest, Newfest, Outfest & Outfest Fusion, CAAMfest, SeriesFest (where it was awarded Best Actress), and New York Television Festival (Best Drama and Best Actor).

Daniel’s full-length plays include FULLERTON (2020 O'Neill Finalist), ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME (2019 O’Neill Finalist), [untitled gay sex and conversion therapy play], and OR OR OR &&& (available as a podcast recording on The Parsnip Ship). Short plays include Batman and Superman Go To Disneyland (F*It Club); Relentlessly Gay Brunch, Homos Away From Home, The First American Chess Congress of 1857, A North Korean Christmas Carol, An Intelligent Woman Does Nothing For Me (EST); A Midsummer Night’s Wall (Leviathan); A Little TV Life (The Tank).

Daniel’s work has been developed at Ma-Yi Theater Company, MTC's Groundworks Lab, New York Theatre Workshop, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Page73’s Interstate73, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Youngblood, Barrington Stage, Queens Theatre, The Tank, TheatreC, Leviathan Lab, and Lambda Literary.

Training: UCSD, BADA.

Scripts

FULLERTON

by Daniel K. Isaac

6

Cast Size

8

Genre

biography,

comedy,

dark comedy,

drama,

faith-based,

romantic comedy

The kids, teens, coaches, and single moms of Fullerton, Conservative Orange County, California are figuring out their *firsts* during the early, early aughts: First day of school, First kiss, First encounters with micro and macroaggressions, you know, no biggie. In this coming-of-age remix, the “minorities” of suburbia take center stage. Hyphenated and homo Americans tread through water polo and locker room talk...

The kids, teens, coaches, and single moms of Fullerton, Conservative Orange County, California are figuring out their *firsts* during the early, early aughts: First day of school, First kiss, First encounters with micro and macroaggressions, you know, no biggie. In this coming-of-age remix, the “minorities” of suburbia take center stage. Hyphenated and homo Americans tread through water polo and locker room talk, drama club and contraception, chatrooms and phone sex, and Disneyland. It’s funny and sad and can you please set the table?

ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME

by Daniel K. Isaac

3

Cast Size

7

Genre

adaptation,

adventure,

biography,

comedy,

dark comedy,

drama,

fable/folktale,

fantasy,

horror,

movement/physical,

mystery/thriller,

period,

political,

tragedy

ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME traces the journey of a Korean family from the wars in Korea to the riots in Los Angeles. Told with great humor, irreverence, and elements of magic, ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME uses traditional Korean fables to examine the thorny legacies of war and trauma.

[untitled gay sex and conversion therapy play]

by Daniel K. Isaac

4

Cast Size

7

Genre

biography,

comedy,

dark comedy,

drama,

faith-based,

movement/physical,

tragedy

[ A ] is an asian american gay man who has lots of sex. Very. Gay. Sex. 
with [ B ] the Bartender and [ C ] the Chorus Boy and 
well, not [ D ]. [ D ] is [ A ]’s brother. and [ D ]’s a pastor.
then there's [ E ] and [ F ] and [ G ] the Gymbro and [ H ] the Hot Guy and and and...
[ A ] used to go to religious conversion therapy. with Rich. his conversion therapist and...?
[ A ] navigates through shame and sex...

[ A ] is an asian american gay man who has lots of sex. Very. Gay. Sex. 
with [ B ] the Bartender and [ C ] the Chorus Boy and 
well, not [ D ]. [ D ] is [ A ]’s brother. and [ D ]’s a pastor.
then there's [ E ] and [ F ] and [ G ] the Gymbro and [ H ] the Hot Guy and and and...
[ A ] used to go to religious conversion therapy. with Rich. his conversion therapist and...?
[ A ] navigates through shame and sex positivity, combatting sexual violence in past repression and everyday microaggressions, maybe seeking intimacy in all the wrong places...or all the right ones.

OR OR OR &&&

by Daniel K. Isaac

7

Cast Size

7

Genre

adventure,

biography,

comedy,

dark comedy,

docudrama/historic,

drama,

experimental,

fable/folktale,

faith-based,

fantasy,

immersive,

movement/physical,

tragedy

Daniel tries to write his first full-length play. He’s only ever written two short plays, which somehow come to life and try to take over his story. Then his mom, Esther, appears and hijacks the narrative. Also, there’s a Dragon. A genre-fucking play about not apologizing, family both born and chosen, and the messiness of intersectional identities, Daniel and Esther and Dragon journey through the Genealogy of...

Daniel tries to write his first full-length play. He’s only ever written two short plays, which somehow come to life and try to take over his story. Then his mom, Esther, appears and hijacks the narrative. Also, there’s a Dragon. A genre-fucking play about not apologizing, family both born and chosen, and the messiness of intersectional identities, Daniel and Esther and Dragon journey through the Genealogy of Imagination, the Korean War, and maybe Disneyland.