¡®If I had never left Japan, I probably would not have done theater,¡± says Aya Ogawa, the Tokyo-born Brooklyn-based playwright, director and contemporary drama translator.
¡°I think the things that drew me into theater in the first place and kept me engaged in it were the ideas of fluid identity and translation,¡± she says, appearing relaxed in a cozy Manhattan cafe. ¡°As an actor you¡¯re translating what you¡¯re reading on the page through your body. As a director, you¡¯re translating the visions of the playwright on the stage. If I had not moved so much between Japan and the United States and had been raised in one country, I would have a very different sense of the world, perspectives and interests.¡±
Ogawa¡¯s bicultural upbringing in Japan and the United States, she says, has made her what she is now. Using her linguistic ¡°knife,¡± she has been carving out a unique trajectory while honing her creative skills for more than four decades.
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