Atsuko Okatsuka
Comedian, Actress and Screenwriter
Atsuko Okatsuka, an immigrant to the U.S. from Japan, has really achieved that old-fashioned “American Dream” via “pulling herself up by her own bootstraps” in comedy. She has performed stand-up around the country and acts, writes, dances, often altogether in her woke live-show take on a game show, Let’s Go Atsuko. Her stand-up is a…
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Full Bio
Atsuko Okatsuka, an immigrant to the U.S. from Japan, has really achieved that old-fashioned “American Dream” via “pulling herself up by her own bootstraps” in comedy. She has performed stand-up around the country and acts, writes, dances, often altogether in her woke live-show take on a game show, Let’s Go Atsuko. Her stand-up is a pretty perfect distillation of the Japanese-American experience delivered as succinct observations in a cool, calm, collected manner. Thus, Hulu gave her an hour stand-up special that premiered this year, and she got to consult on Jena Friedman’s masterfully dark Adult Swim special Soft Focus. On top of all of that, she has found a way to make twerking on Instagram an expression of living free in a time of uncertainty and divisiveness.
Okatsuka’s comedy has been described by Margaret Cho as “a silent slow fart that fills up a room with laughter.” She tours around the U.S. with Dis/orient/ed Comedy, the first ever all Asian, mostly female stand up comedy tour at colleges as well as various organizations that foster diverse voices.
She uses her whimsical sense of humor to comment on social and political issues through personal stories, and can often be found performing at comedy festivals such as Laughing Skull, Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, and Laugh Your Asheville Off.
She most recently filmed her first ever hour special produced by VIVA Pictures and Comedy InvAsian and is a 2017 Refinery29 Riot Comedy Lab participant.
When she’s not telling jokes on stage, she writes, produces, and acts in sketch videos that have been featured on Elizabeth Banks’s digital platform, WhoHaha, Buzzfeed, and MOCATV.
Testimonials
Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!
LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!
MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!
SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
American Experience: Breaking the Narrative
Atusko will share her personal experience as an Asian American in the entertainment industry and help facilitate a deeper understanding of what evolving from the traditional stereotype of a young Asian American is like
What was it like to come to the U.S. What is your story?
What were the difficulties of being undocumented as a child?
What is life like as a Japanese American
How has Atsuko’s cultural background influenced her success?
What drove her to create Dis/orient/ed Comedy?
Videos
Atsuko Okatsuka on Comedy Central Presents: Stand Up Asia! Promo
Adventures in Japan with Atsuko Ep. 1: Love Hotels!
Comedy InvAsian: Atsuko Okatsuka - Trailer
Books
News
Testimonials
Everything was great! Atsuko was great, our students were happy! We were very happy with the event and Atsuko.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Everything went great! We really enjoyed having Atsuko with us here at UMD and all of our members really enjoyed her as well. Thank you for your tremendous help in bringing her to our campus.
University of Minnesota Duluth
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future.
Central Michigan University
Our Asian awareness event with Atsuko was great and the all the students has a blast and she’s very funny! Thank you for all your help!
Ferris State University
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!
Baylor University - Asian Student Association (ASA)
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