Esther K. Chae
Los Angeles, CA
actor, writer
Esther K. Chae has numerous credits as a performer in television as well as theatre stages such as Yale Repertory Theater, La Mama, Mark Taper Forum/Kirk Douglas Theater, and P.S. 122. A protégé of Anna Deveare Smith, she conceived, wrote and performed in So the Arrow Flies, about a North Korean spy and the Korean-American FBI agent who takes her down. The solo show has been featured to outstanding acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Arts Nova Theater Festival (NYC), TED (Technology, Entertainment & Design Conference, CUNY), Martin Segal Theater Center (NYC), and the World Women’s Forum (Seoul). She is currently adapting it into a feature film.
Chae graduated from the Yale School of Drama, and also holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Korea University. Chae lectured at NYU’s Tisch Performance Studies, Yale School of Drama, University of Maryland/Baltimore, and NY Film Academy. She is a certified stage combatant, trained in Korean Drum and Mask dance and is proud to have trekked the Himalayan Mountains – despite the altitude sickness. Her artistic work has been seen and heard in the US, Korea, Ireland, Australia, Canada, and Russia.
This bio/description was originally published in 2009 and updated in 2013. For more current information, please refer to the award recipient's website (if provided).