Photo by T.A. Yero
FUTABA
actor • singer • dancer • clown
Futaba (he, him) is a NYC (Lenape Land)- based stage, screen, and voice actor of trans and Asian Diaspora experience.
“Nearly stealing the play, Futaba changes accents, hides inside boxes, and runs amok on stage with reckless abandon.”
— BroadwayWorld; Absurdity Abounds In The Rep's The 39 Steps
Futaba is 5 feet tall and can beat you at arm wrestling (no need to test this).
Adept in music, dance, and clown, Futaba brings a sense of play and tenacity to new works and classics alike.
He was most recently seen portraying fourteen different characters in Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes’ Mystery at the Actors Theatre in Louisville, with one reviewer saying, it was “nearly impossible to not laugh at his very essence.”
Other notable performances include: performing in The Drowsy Chaperone: In Concert at Carnegie Hall alongside Laverne Cox and Alex Newell, and directed by L Morgan Lee; leading as dance captain in the world premiere of A Transparent Musical at Center Theater Group under the direction of Tina Landau and James Alsop; singing as a darkly mischievous Feste in Twelfth Night (Helen Hayes nomination) at the Folger Shakespeare Theater under the direction of Mei Ann Teo; and starring in comedy-drama Therapist Crush written and directed by MJ Kaufman (Soho Film Festival, NewFest, Best Film at Seattle Trans Film Festival).
Photo by JMA Photography
“As the musical Feste, Futaba charms with otherworldly presence and vocals.”
— K Street Magazine; Folger Theatre’s ‘Twelfth Night’ Kinks Shakespeare with a Lush, Gender-Bending Reimagining
Futaba as Feste in Twelfth Night (Folger Theatre)
Photo by Erika Nizborski
Straddling multiple identities as a queer, transgender child of immigrants, Futaba is keenly interested in the artist’s role during times of upheaval. He is an Obie Award and a Paul Robeson Award winner for his work bridging art and advocacy, and has worked with various social and economic justice initiatives that strive to empower marginalized communities.
Futaba is a member of Actors Equity Association and a dual citizen of the United States and Japan.