an original play by Chris Collins
Ayano
2022
A young Japanese actress pursuing her Hollywood dreams finds her ambition and unresolved past pulling her toward devastating consequences.
Preview the script
Preview the first ten pages to experience the story, characters, and dramatic style of the play:
About the play:
Ayano is a young Japanese actress who immigrated to America to make it in Hollywood. Bored and stifled by her 6 year marriage to a Marine vet, she throws herself into her theatrical dream-passion to become a successful actress. Haunted by the death of her father in Japan, the psychological and practical obstacles to her ambition overwhelm her leading to ruinous events.
"When I act, I'm calm... like when I'm sitting next to my father in the theater."
- AYANO
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Ayano
Premiere Production
Black Bough Productions
World Premiere
The Other Space @ The Actors Company, West Hollywood, California
Performance Run
Preview: July 8, 2022
Run: July 9 – August 7, 2022
Cast
Ayano — Kazumi Aihara
Carl — John-Peter Cruz
Julie — Bara Kim
Charlie — Carlo Mancasola
Father — Hiro Matsunaga
Tom — Gabriel Pranter
Peter — Glenn Ratcliffe
Creative Team
Playwright — Chris Collins
Director — Kiff Scholl
Scenic Designer — Kiff Scholl
Costume Designer — Shon LeBlanc
Lighting Designer — Azra King-Abadi
Projection Designer — Christopher Jerabek
Sound Designer — Bill Froggatt
Graphic Designer — AFK Design
Production Stage Manager — Angelica Diaz Estevez
Publicity — Philip Sokoloff
Production Staff
Scenic Builder — Brad Bentz
Scenic Crew — Cody Andersen, Alexander Hathaway, Pete Ruhl
Crew — Erica Ammerman, Gregory Crafts
Box Office — Bonnie Bailey-Reed
Press Photography — Jenny Graham
Key Art Photographer — Tadashi Tawarayama
Setting
Time: Contemporary
Location: Hollywood, California
Chris Collins
Chris Collins is a Los Angeles playwright whose character-driven dramas, inspired by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov, and August Wilson, explore family, love, betrayal, and personal transformation across diverse cultural landscapes.