Nov. 4: Western comedian performs ancient Japanese act
By Linda Weiford, WSU News
PULLMAN, Wash. – Bleached hair, blue-eyed comedian Katsura Sunshine will give a free standup act – while sitting down – of a centuries’ old Japanese tradition at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, in Daggy Hall’s Jones Theatre at Washington State University. The performance in English is open to the public.
Dressed in a kimono and kneeling on a cushion, Sunshine will create a world of zany characters and situations rooted in Japanese everyday life. Called rakugo, it is a 400-year-old comedic form of storytelling, similar to a sitcom where one person plays each role.
The Canadian-born Sunshine studied classics at the University of Toronto before completing a three-year rakugo apprenticeship in Japan. The only professional rakugo storyteller who is a Westerner, he has performed comedy acts to audiences, young and old, in more than 20 countries.
His appearance is sponsored by WSU’s Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures, College of Arts and Sciences, Asia Studies and International Center and the Japan Foundation.
Daggy Hall is located at 1060 NE College Ave. For more details and a map, see https://calendar.wsu.edu/event/katsura-sunshine-performs-rakugo-japanese-sit-comedy-english-2/.
News media contact:
Linda Weiford, WSU News, 509-335-7209, linda.weiford@wsu.edu
