Multi-award winning playwright, director, and translator, Aya Ogawa knows what it's like to live in many worlds and in between.

Born in Tokyo and based in Brooklyn, their work centers women and non-binary perspectives and uses the stage as a space for exploring cultural identity and the immigrant experience.

In this conversation, Aya opens up about the deeply personal journey behind their Obie Award-winning play The Nosebleed — and the profound emotion of bringing that story back to Tokyo.

They talk candidly about motherhood as a glorious, chaotic shitshow, the inspiration behind their latest work Meat Suit, and what it truly means to translate — not just words, but entire worlds — from Japanese to English.

Recipient of the 2025 Doris Duke Artist Award, the 2023 Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting, and the 2023 Obie Award  ...