Haruna Lee, formerly Kristine Haruna Lee, is a Taiwanese Japanese American theatre maker and writer.
Early life and education
Lee was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Japan. They moved from Japan to the United States when they were eight. They did an undergraduate degree at NYU.
Career
Inspired by a myth about Sedna, Lee wrote War Lesbian. The musical, composed by Katie Hathaway, who Lee met at New Dramatists, premiered at Dixon Place in 2014, co-presented by Lee's company, harunalee. Lee appeared in the show playing Ellen DeGeneres. In 2016, Lee performed Communing with You with their mother, Aoi Lee. The 30-minute Butoh piece was performed at Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Lee played Jackie in The Offending Gesture at the Connelly Theater in 2016. They played Meryl Streep as Francesca from The Bridges of Madison County in STREEPSHOW! in 2017.
Lee's play, Suicide Forest, premiered in 2019 with Ma-Yi Theater Company and directed by Aya Ogawa. Lee played the schoolgirl, Azusa, in this production. Lee's mother, Aoi, also appeared in the show, which Ma-Yi remounted in 2020.
In 2023, Lee was invited to join the New Dramatists' resident playwright company until 2030.
Personal life
Lee is half Japanese and half Taiwanese.
Plays
- Suicide Forest
- plural (love), with Jen Goma and Morgan Green
- Communing with You
- Memory Retrograde
- to the left of the pantry and under the sugar shack
- War Lesbian
- Drunkfish Oceanrant
- Plum de Force
- Troika
Filmography
Television
Awards and nominations
References
