Standup Comic Kuzu Kusano to Perform at SF Sketchfest

Kazu Kusano

SAN FRANCISCO — Kazu Kusano (www.kazukusano.com) is among the comedians taking part in the 16th annual SF Sketchfest, which runs through Jan. 29 at four San Francisco venues.

Kusano will perform on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28, from 9 to 10:30 p.m. at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema-New Mission, 2550 Mission St.

She will appear on Friday with Shanti Charan, Spencer Latham, Chad Opitz, Jules Posner, Aviva Siegel and Ta’Vi, with Phil Griffiths as host; and on Saturday with Lauren Davis, DNA, Andrew Johnston, Tommy McNamara, Kwasi Mensah, Aaron Naylor and Prateek Srivastava, with Nicole Blaine as host.

Kusano drops a bomb on the status quo of the perception of Asian women. Through her quirky humor, you will witness the odd experiences of a Japanese woman in 21st-century America. With her jokes and comedic characters like Hiyayakko the Geisha and Sumo Girl, she shares culture clashes, interracial marriage, and lifelong challenges with her schizophrenic family.

Her recent appearances include Fox’s “Good Day L.A.,” the feature film “The Bandit Hound,” and Melbourne Australia’s SBS radio. She is the undefeated champion of Joke-E-Oke, the joke karaoke contest at the SF Sketch Fest. She has been invited to perform at Cape Fear Comedy Festival (North Carolina), Derby City Comedy Festival (Kentucky), Out of Bounds Comedy Festival (Texas), and many others.

Internationally, Kusano performed her one-woman show, “Kazumi’s Comedy Hour,” and her Japanese-themed sketch comedy show, “Karate Chop Teriyaki Comedy,” at Asiafest in Adelaide, Australia.

As a child, she was inspired by a Japanese comedy troupe, The Drifters. Throughout school life, she was a class clown. Later, she fell in love with improvisational comedy and performed as a main company member of Theater Sports Japan under Australian director Lyn Pierse. After moving to San Francisco, she created and performed her original sketch comedy as part of The Identity Shift at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

For more information and tickets, visit www.sfsketchfest.com.