HOME / 2023-24 SEASON / THE NOSEBLEED

photos by Brian Rogers (from the 2022 LCT3 production)

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FORGIVE?

Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of our parents? Through a series of absurd autobiographical vignettes, innovative playwright, performer, translator, and director Aya Ogawa’s hit Obie Award-winning show irreverently and boldly delves into what it takes to forgive. A trip to Ogawa’s home country of Japan, a child’s nosebleed, and the reality TV show The Bachelor come together in this darkly comical and psychologically insightful theatrical tribute to Ogawa’s father.

The Nosebleed was co-presented by Japan Society and the Chocolate Factory Theater in October 2021. Produced by Lincoln Center Theater in New York City, 2022.

“The Nosebleed is profound and beautiful live theater. … If another opportunity arises to see this unusual play, I encourage you to take it. Know though, that it is a unique, provocative, and extremely personal work. … It may touch points of vulnerability within your own life experience, but also it also offers an avenue toward replacing those vulnerabilities with newfound strengths.” —Talkin’ Broadway

GENERAL INFORMATION

DATES

Jan 25 - 27, 2024, at 8 pm at the Walker Art Center

Jan 26 features a post-show conversation with Aya Ogawa as well as audio description during the performance.

Content and sensory notes: This performance contains sudden loud sounds, fog, the depiction of a nosebleed, depiction of estrangement with a parent, depiction and mentions of death, use of profanity, microaggressions, and mentions of sexual harassment. 

TICKETS

Tickets for this performance are at $15, $25, and $35 levels, but in the spirit of Theater Mu’s Pay As You Are program, the Walker Art Center is offering Mu patrons a 20% discount on tickets at the $25 and $35 levels. This discount is applied automatically when you go through the ticket link on this website page (it may show up as code 31665. If no promo code is. visible, use code MU24). The discount will be visible when you’re at the checkout portion of the process.

VENUE INFORMATION

The Nosebleed will be at the Walker Art Center’s McGuire Theatre at 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis, MN 55403. Underground parking is available, as well as a limited amount of free street parking. Metro Transit buses 4, 6, 12, and 25 stop near the Walker, and bike racks are available at the Vineland Place entrance and at the corner of Groveland and Hennepin. For more information, visit Walker Art Center’s website.

EXPLORE MORE

Check out our Q&A with Aya Ogawa about why they’re acting in The Nosebleed, what inspired the piece, and how straddling two cultures has affected them. Read more.

Meet the Cast

Understudy: Manatsu Tanaka (Aya 0-5)

MEET THE WRITER & DIRECTOR

AYA OGAWA (they/them) is an award-winning Tokyo-born, Brooklyn-based playwright, director, and translator whose work centers women/nonbinary perspectives and utilizes the stage as a space for exploring cultural identity and the immigrant experience. They have written and directed many plays including A Girl of 16 and oph3lia (HERE), Journey to the Ocean (Foundry Theatre), and Ludic Proxy (The Play Company). They received an Obie Award for The Nosebleed (Under the Radar, Japan Society & Chocolate Factory, Lincoln Center Theater, Woolly Mammoth Theatre). They directed Haruna Lee’s Obie Award-winning Suicide Forest (The Bushwick Starr and Ma-Yi Theatre Company), as well as Maiko Kikuchi and Spencer Lott’s 9000 Paper Balloons (HERE & Japan Society). They have translated numerous works of contemporary Japanese playwrights into English, including plays by Toshiki Okada and Satoko Ichihara. Recipient of a 2023 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant to Artists, the Playwrights’ Center’s 2023 McKnight National Residency and Commission, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's President’s Award in performing arts; and New Dramatists' playwright residency. | ayaogawa.com

Creative & Production Team

*Appearing through an Agreement between Hanaji LLC and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

PHOTOS

IN COLLABORATION

The Nosebleed is co-presented with the Walker Art Center and The Great Northern.

This production was made possible with the generous support of Jeffrey Bores and Michael Hawkins.

Theater Mu season sponsors:

The Walker Art Center’s Performing Arts programs are made possible by generous support from the Doris Duke Foundation through the Doris Duke Performing Arts Fund, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Performing arts programs and commissions at the Walker are generously supported by members of the Producers’ Council; Nor Hall and Roger Hale, King’s Fountain/Barbara Watson Pillsbury; Sarah Lutman and Rob Rudolph; Emily Maltz; Leni and David Moore, Jr./The David and Leni Moore Family Foundation; Jon Oulman; Therese Sexe and David Hage; and Mike and Elizabeth Sweeney.

Walker Art Center Performing Arts 2023/24 media partner:

Artist accommodations generously provided by Canopy by Hilton Minneapolis Mill District and Aloft Minneapolis.