As part of its 2024 national tour, the profound and beautiful 2022 Obie Award-winning The Nosebleed makes its West Coast premiere Feb. 1 to 3, 2024, at Downtown L.A.’s Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in English and Japanese without supertitles. Additional tour dates include the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jan. 25 to 27 (co-presented with Theater Mu and The Great Northern) and the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 8 to 10. On Friday, Feb. 2, the program at REDCAT will include a post-performance talk with writer and director Aya Ogawa (she/they), who won an Obie Award for the conception, writing, and direction of The Nosebleed.  The Nosebleed Drae Campbell and Ashil Lee (DJ Corey)
Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of our parents? Through a series of absurd, autobiographical vignettes, The Nosebleed irreverently and boldly delves into what it takes to forgive. A trip to Ogawa’s home country of Japan, a child’s nosebleed, and the reality TV show The Bachelor come together in this darkly comical and psychologically insightful theatrical tribute to Ogawa’s father. The play explores the seemingly insurmountable cultural and generational gap between Aya and their father, and the questions they face in their own parenthood today.  The Nosebleed (DJ Corey)
Four actors play “Aya” while the playwright plays Aya’s own 5-year-old son and father. The multiple Ayas in each scene offer layered and at times contradicting perspectives on the story. Through moments of direct address and interactions, the audience is drawn deeper into the experience. Part theatrical memorial, part healing ritual for the audience, this humorous, tender, and inventive work considers how we inherit and bequeath failure. See American Theatre Magazine‘s Rob Weinert-Kendt’s interview with Ogawa here.  The Nosebleed (DJ Corey)
The Nosebleed had its world premiere in the fall of 2021, co-presented by Japan Society and The Chocolate Factory, in New York City. It was also presented at New York’s Lincoln Center Theater in 2022 and the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C. in 2023. Along with Ogawa’s Obie, the ensemble was nominated for a 2023 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Ensemble.  The Nosebleed (DJ Corey)
Aya Ogawa (she/they) is an award-winning Tokyo-born, Brooklyn-based writer, director, translator, and performer whose work centers women/non-binary perspectives and utilizes the stage as a space for exploring cultural identity and the immigrant experience. Cumulatively, all aspects of Ogawa’s artistic practice synthesizes their work as an artistic and cultural ambassador, building bridges across cultures to create meaningful exchange amongst artists, theaters and audiences both in the U.S. and in Asia. Ogawa challenges traditional notions of the American aesthetic and identity by creating performances infused with a multiplicity of perspectives and languages, and by incorporating influences from outside the U.S. – of style, form, and content. As a theater-maker, Ogawa frequently uses a collaborative creative process with performers and designers and pushes the form with an eye not only on spoken text, but physicality, musicality, and interactivity. Ogawa has written and directed many plays, including: A Girl of 16, oph3lia (HERE), Journey to the Ocean (Foundry Theatre), and Ludic Proxy (The Play Company). Along with The Nosebleed, Ogawa directed Haruna Lee’s Obie Award-winning Suicide Forest (The Bushwick Starr and Ma-Yi Theatre Company), and Maiko Kikuchi and Spencer Lott’s 9000 Paper Balloons (HERE and Japan Society). Ogawa has also translated numerous works of contemporary Japanese playwrights into English, including plays by Toshiki Okada and Satoko Ichihara. Creative Team
Created and Directed by Aya Ogawa
Scenic and Costume Design: Jian Jung
Lighting Design: Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew
Sound Design: Megumi Katayama
Production Stage Manager: Alejandra Maldonado Morales
Associate Lighting Designer/Production Coordinator: Vittoria Orlando
Production Assistant: John Del Gaudio Cast
Aya 0: Aya Ogawa
Aya 1: Ashil Lee
Aya 2: Kaili Y. Turner
Aya 3: Saori Tsukada
Aya 4: Drae Campbell
White Guy: Miles Crawford
Understudy Aya 0~4: Manatsu Tanaka Tickets and Info:
Aya Ogawa The Nosebleed
The Walker, Minneapolis (Jan. 25-27);
REDCAT in L.A. (Feb. 1-3, 2024) (in association with East West Players)
The Wex, Ohio State (Feb. 8-10, 2024)
for more info, visit Aya Ogawa | 
