Sam Hamashima

Sam Hamashima

​Described as “serious whimsy” in the Washington Post, Hamashima creates theater with an emphasis on spectacle, surprise, and design.Full-length plays include: American Spies (Washington, D.C., The Hub Theatre, Helen Hayes Recommended, Winner of the 2018 Kennedy Center Undergraduate Playwriting Award and the University of Michigan Hopwood Award in Drama, Dennis McIntyre Prize, and The Roy Cowden Fellowship),...
​Described as “serious whimsy” in the Washington Post, Hamashima creates theater with an emphasis on spectacle, surprise, and design.Full-length plays include: American Spies (Washington, D.C., The Hub Theatre, Helen Hayes Recommended, Winner of the 2018 Kennedy Center Undergraduate Playwriting Award and the University of Michigan Hopwood Award in Drama, Dennis McIntyre Prize, and The Roy Cowden Fellowship), Supposed Home (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Seattle Public Theater), Shoyu Tell (Lexington Children’s Theatre), Possessing the Resurrected (San Francisco Playhouse). Hamashima’s work has been presented or developed by the Kennedy Center, Stanford University, National Queer Theater, Lyric Stage Boston, the Workshop Theater, and the Japanese American Citizens League. They are the 2nd recipient of Seattle Public Theater’s $10,000 Emerald Prize and are currently under commission from Chicago Children's Theatre. Hamashima is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Musical Theatre Program. Rep: DGRW & United Talent. @samhamashima

Plays

  • BANANA by Sam Hamashima
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: biography, comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: Asian American, mixed race + 4 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, experimental, movement/physical, romantic comedy
    Keyword: Asian American, mixed race, mixed identity, biracial, Contemporary gay male life, gay romance
    Rated PG 13. Local banana makes you laugh until you don't.
  • AMERICAN SPIES by Sam Hamashima
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    6–8
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 4 more
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    Keyword: Japanese, American history + 6 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy
    Keyword: Japanese, American history, Japanese American, anime, video games, slam poetry, concentration camp, internment
    Rated PG. News travels across the Pacific on Dec. 7 resulting in foolhardy claims of Japanese sympathizers. As calls for war perpetrate a nation, The Ishii Family undertakes radical assimilation to calm the local police and fearful neighbors. Mixing family testimony and cartoon charm, the Japanese Americans’ response to national disaster develops into a sparkling fable on what it means to be family.
  • SUPPOSED HOME by Sam Hamashima
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    6–8
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    Genre: adventure, biography + 6 more
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    Keyword: Japanese, Japanese American + 3 more
    Genre: adventure, biography, docudrama/historic, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, movement/physical, young audiences
    Keyword: Japanese, Japanese American, internment, concentration camp, American history
    Rated PG. Shiyoko left the Japanese American Concentration Camps a long time ago , or so she thought. Faced with questions from a curious grandson, Shiyoko's world becomes both what had happened and what was wanted. Past and present become one landscape for this anime adventure as enemies are revealed, companions are found, trauma is unpacked, and what was only thought becomes (un)spoken word. A poetic...
    Rated PG. Shiyoko left the Japanese American Concentration Camps a long time ago , or so she thought. Faced with questions from a curious grandson, Shiyoko's world becomes both what had happened and what was wanted. Past and present become one landscape for this anime adventure as enemies are revealed, companions are found, trauma is unpacked, and what was only thought becomes (un)spoken word. A poetic impression from the Yonsei perspective, Supposed Home brings a new piece of the puzzle that is the Japanese American experience.
  • ROLE FOR INITIATIVE by Sam Hamashima
    Cast: 
    5–6
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 8 more
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    Keyword: LARPing, nerds + 6 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, experimental, fantasy, farce, movement/physical, mystery/thriller, parody/spoof, satire, science fiction
    Keyword: LARPing, nerds, larp, videogames, garage, biblically accurate angels, cartoon, adventure
    A Dungeons and Dragons Party waits for the start of the Pokémon and Animal Rights Panel in their first trip to Comic Con when a Biblically Accurate Angel grants them their tabletop-game powers IRL and sends these Certified Nerds on a Crude and Quirky Quest(TM). Demons, Biblically Accurate Angels, and Sheet Monsters Oh My! (George Takei voice) This raucous garage-theater piece leans into the absurd and invites...
    A Dungeons and Dragons Party waits for the start of the Pokémon and Animal Rights Panel in their first trip to Comic Con when a Biblically Accurate Angel grants them their tabletop-game powers IRL and sends these Certified Nerds on a Crude and Quirky Quest(TM). Demons, Biblically Accurate Angels, and Sheet Monsters Oh My! (George Takei voice) This raucous garage-theater piece leans into the absurd and invites you to adventure into the 7 Rings of Hell and back!
  • SHOYU TELL by Sam Hamashima
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: tya, Asian American + 4 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, fable/folktale, fantasy, young audiences
    Keyword: tya, Asian American, Japanese, Sushi, Show and Tell, diversity
    Rated G. Shoyu Tell is a bite sized TYA piece looking at a young student's decision to bring "Family Food" to "School Lunch". Mixing the Japanese word for Soy-sauce and the Elementary School "Show and Tell", this script will let audiences in on the importance of food in Japanese American culture and the courage it takes to be different.
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  • GARDEN STATE by Sam Hamashima
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    4–6
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    Genre: fantasy, young audiences
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    Keyword: magic bees, bumblebees + 2 more
    Genre: fantasy, young audiences
    Keyword: magic bees, bumblebees, magic, insects
    Rated G. *TYA* After being trapped in a glass jar, Polly must find her way home before nightfall. Unfortunately, knowing your way around the forest isn’t something every busy-bee knows! With the help of two fireflies, Polly must see how she can get home, and how she must listen to more points of view. / created for the Play At Home project
  • BAPTISM by Sam Hamashima
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, experimental + 1 more
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    Keyword: gay, Club + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, experimental, romantic comedy
    Keyword: gay, Club, Initiation, fetish, kink, Asian American, belonging
    Rated R. A Daddy and a Son meet at NYC's The Eagle. For one of them, it's a first time.
  • UPSTREAM/DOWNSTREAM by Sam Hamashima
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    1–3
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 8 more
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    Keyword: New York City, riverside park + 3 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, holiday, movement/physical, radio drama
    Keyword: New York City, riverside park, magical realism, nature, existential
    Rated PG. An unlikely interaction between strangers in a park. Sometimes the most welcoming interaction in a city comes from an unexpected place. 10 Minute Play.