Kurt Kanazawa
Kurt is an accomplished actor, opera singer, and playwright.
Trained at Juilliard, MSM, and UC-Irvine, his first solo show "L’OPERA!" premiered off-broadway at Pan Asian Repertory, and was presented by the Japanese American National Museum’s Democracy Center. Born and raised in Los Angeles, of Japanese and Filipino descent, Kurt is also a graduate of Columbia University. Stage credits include East West Players, Edinburgh Fringe and NCPA-Beijing. Film/TV credits include “Grey's Anatomy,” “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “Bosch: Legacy,” "A Life in Pieces: The Diary and Letters of Stanley Hayami,” and "No No Girl.” @kurtkanazawa
L’OPERA!
Kurt Kanazawa is an award-winning actor, opera singer, and playwright.
East West Players’ PACIFIC OVERTURES, directed by Tim Dang
LA Times’ Top SoCal Production 2024
Theatremania Top 5 Production (outside NYC) 2024
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Kurt Kanazawa is an accomplished actor, opera singer, and playwright. Trained at Juilliard, MSM, and UC-Irvine, his first solo show "L’OPERA!" premiered off-broadway at Pan Asian Repertory, and was presented by the Japanese American National Museum’s Democracy Center. He is passionate about Japanese-American and Filipino-American storytelling through a cross-racial lens, primarily in staging AANHPI perspectives in conversation with other BIPOC lives. Born and raised in Los Angeles, of Japanese and Filipino descent, Kurt is also a graduate of Columbia University. Stage credits include East West Players, Edinburgh Fringe and NCPA-Beijing. TV credits include “Grey's Anatomy,” “The Lincoln Lawyer,” and “Bosch: Legacy.” He was the lead of the film "A Life in Pieces: The Diary and Letters of Stanley Hayami" by Sharon Yamato and Nonny de la Peña (Tribeca), and a supporting lead in the feature "No No Girl" by Paul Daisuke Goodman. Kurt teaches "Introduction to Acting" and Voice & Speech courses at UC-Irvine.
BIO
Breaking the Frame:
Two Solo Shows on Art & Identity
Presented by The Democracy Center at the Japanese American National Museum
Featuring Bee Vang’s “Your Movie Guide To Life” and Kurt Kanazawa’s “L’OPERA!”
August 21-23, 2025
at the very bottom of a body of water by Benjamin Benne
❋
Now playing
L’OPERA!
Solo Show
Los Angeles dates: August 21-23, 2025
World Premiered Off-Broadway @ Pan Asian Repertory
Co-directed by Jeff Liu & Kalina Ko
MASTER CLASS
Sierra Madre Playhouse
Feb. 14 - Mar. 9, 2025
RECENT PRESS
EIGHT NIGHTS
As Steven in Jennifer Maisel’s play “Eight Nights” at Detroit Public Theatre
“The dynamic Kurt Kanazawa gets a real scene-stealing moment during the show that draws applause.”
RECENT PRESS
HAPPY FALL: A QUEER STUNT SPECTACULAR
As FELIX in Lisa Sanaye Dring’s world premiere play.
“…such raw vulnerability, grace, charm, and pathos…” - Edward Hong, The Nerds of Color
Rafu Shimpo Feature pt. 1
Rafu Shimpo Feature pt. 2
”Kurt Kanazawa’s body control was as evocative as any modern dance piece I have ever seen.” - Todd Gaebe, Hollywood Revealed
RECENT PRESS
6x AudioFile Magazine Earphones Award Winner
“Kurt Sanchez Kanazawa gives a standout performance as Twitchy, whose liveliness and joyful personality are eventually challenged by horrifying experiences fighting for the U.S. overseas. ”
New 6-part audio drama by Iris Yamashita (Academy Award Nominee - Letters from Iwo Jima)
As SONNY, a nisei soldier from Maui, Hawai’i
Opera Singer
Opera Singer
Hailed by The New York Times for his “smoky-toned” voice and by Opera News for “villainy swathed in velvet,” he has studied with acclaimed singers like Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Spiro Malas, Sherrill Milnes, Thomas Hampson, and Marilyn Horne, amongst others. His misdiagnosis of Vocal Dystonia was also featured in The Juilliard Journal and his off-broadway one-man show “L’OPERA!”at Pan Asian Rep.
CONTACT
THEATRE (NYC + CHI)
Stewart Talent
Theatre: Jim McCaffrey
724-255-8652
TV/Film: Todd Turina
312-943-3131
MANAGEMENT
Black Box Management
point : Lowell Shapiro
424-258-4204
TV / FILM (LA + NYC)
Joseph Le Talent Agency
point : Joseph Le
818-973-2705
COMMERCIAL (LA)
Imperium 7 Talent Agency
point : Steven Neibert
818-940-3588
VOICE ACTING & AUDIOBOOKS
Imperium 7 Talent Agency
point : Steven Neibert
818-940-3588
PRINT (MID-WEST)
Stewart Talent
point: Maher Naser
312-572-6103