James Yaegashi

James was born in Yokohama and raised in rural Yamagata Japan He moved to the US after high school and earned a BA in literature from Wheaton College and an MFA in acting and directing from the University of MissouriKansas City James is based in NYC working as an actor director translator and writer Many fans know him as Robert Minoru from Marvels Runaways He has originated many roles on and off Broadway including Sarah Ruhls The Oldest Boy Richard Greenbergs Take Me Out 2003 Tony Award for Best Play A Naked Girl on the Appian Way John Guares A Few Stout Individuals and Julia Chos Durango His credits also include characters in worldpremiere stage adaptations of literary classics such as Yunioshi in Truman Capotes Breakfast at Tiffanys on Broadway and Toru in Haruki Murakamis The WindUp Bird Chronicle at the Edinburgh Intl Festival and the Singapore Arts Festival For the stage he has directed My Friend Has Come for the Asian American Writers Workshop Dancing with the Bird at the Japan Society in New York Clippy and Ms U for MaYi Studios and Ready or Not and Its a Jungle Out There for the 52nd Street Project Playmaking series He made his filmmaking debut in 11 with Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty which won Best Feature in the DIY film competition at Northside Festival a trendsetter art festival in Williamsburg Brooklyn James was the conceiver of the theater benefit SHINSAI Theaters for Japan which took place on March 11 2012 the oneyear anniversary of the disasters in Japan with participation from nearly 100 theaters internationally He also collaborates frequently with Japanese artists translating award winning contemporary Japanese plays and subtitling major Japanese studio films James is also a martial artist with black belts in judo and aikido