2014 / Karate Chop Teriyaki Comedy Show, June 7 – 28 in Hollywood
June 7, 13, 15, 20, 28
The Karate Chop Teriyaki Comedy Show
Traditional and Modern Japanese Style Comedy in English
Featuring Kazumi Kusano and Michael Naishtut
6470 Theatre @ The Complex, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90038
June 7 (Sat) 7:30 pm, June 13 (Fri) 7:30 pm, June 15 (Sun) 1:30 pm, June 20 (Fri) 9:00 pm, June 28 (Sat) 6:30 pm
Tickets are $12
http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/1602?tab=tickets
Two performers, Kazumi Kusano, a Japanese female stand-up comic and Michael Naishtut, an American actor who has lived and studied traditional Japanese performing arts, join forces and perform a series of comic scenes incorporating traditional Rakugo storytelling and the 600 year old Kyogen theater, to the more modern 2 person Manzai stand-up and short Konto sketch comedy.
The style is broad, physical and ridiculous, but also makes fun of our cultural differences and basic human foibles that all people share. We will meet an exotic Geisha, a strict Karate master and his student, Samurai, Sumo, a thief, detective, conman, old woman and even a monkey!
KAZUMI KUSANO, born and raised in Japan, is a sketch comedy writer & performer, and a stand-up comedian, living in Los Angeles.
She is 3rd winner of stand-up comedy competitions, Walk the Plank 2013 and Flappers/Indi.com Comedy: Grand Finale Live Show 2014.
Also she is the undefeated champion of Joke-E-Oke, the joke karaoke contest at San Francisco Sketch Festival in 2010 & 2011. She performs stand-up comedy all over in L.A. such as the Ice House, Flappers, and Comedy Store.
MICHAEL NAISHTUT has performed at the NY Public Theater, and the Florida Shakespeare Festival as well as at EPCOT center in Walt Disney World.
In Los Angeles, he graduated the Second City Conservatory and has performed in several sketch and improv shows there, as well as appearing on TV, film and theater.
Michael lived in Tokyo for 19 years and he has performed in major theaters throughout Japan. He was also frequently seen on television starring in popular children’s programs and was active in computer game narrations, movie dubbing, and animations.
Recently, he completed the audio book narration for the novel “The Arrow Catcher” by Jim Mather. Michael was a founding member of the Tokyo Comedy Store, which was instrumental in bringing improv comedy to Japan and he also enjoys playing and teaching Japanese Taiko drumming.