Hello! It’s me, Erica Ikeda! Welcome to my website
Some cool stuff I have done so far!
-Was in the Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase (previously known as the ABC Showcase)
-Was a member of an Asian Sketch Comedy group, Stir Friday Night. (based in Chicago) Past performers of this group include Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead and Danny Pudi from Community.
-First movie I booked after I moved to LA was with Lee Meriwether and Susan Blakely in the short film Remember to Breathe, written by Tom O'Leary and directed by Marc Saltarelli. Not a bad first gig!! Can you ask for better scene partners for your first experience?
-My first experience performing as a child was with a Bi-lingual (English/Japanese) theatre performance group in Tokyo at a place called Children’s Castle. Isn’t that pretty cool? In Tokyo when you're a child there is a castle… just for you!
Places that taught me some things!
-The Theatre School at DePaul University (BFA)
-IO Chicago
-IO West
-USB LA
-University of North Carolina School of the Arts (summer programs)
-my home… many good lessons in the Ikeda household
Where I came from:
I was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. I am “double” as my mother always told me as a child. A lot of kids in Japan would call people like me “half” or “hafu” because you are half Japanese and half American. To which my mother would always say, “you are not HALF of anything. You are both, you are DOUBLE, you have two cultures, two languages, two countries, you have more than one, not half!” So for that reason I am “double.” I speak both English and Japanese fluently. I am also one of the rare ones among my people with a white American mother and a Japanese father. (I know right, usually it’s those white men marrying those Japanese women…. NOT IN OUR HOUSE! I got a white, blue eyed mom taller than me and a dark brown eyed Japanese dad shorter than me! Breaking molds left and right over here!) I have been to a regular Japanese School, International School, an American School in Japan and attended a University in America.
My Manifesto
When I was as in college I had a professor that told us we all each needed to have a manifesto. Whether we actually shared it or not is irrelevant but we should write one, have one and know what it is while we move through life. I do not remember exactly what I wrote back in college and I’m sure I have that paper some where, hidden deep, deep in one old hard drive or another but this is what I have for now….
Number 1) Get a job… ok ok, JK JK…. I’m kidding, my manifesto is not to “get a job” although if anyone wants to hire me, I’m available! Just hit the contact tab and talk to my people! I know… I have people… Pretty cool, huh?
Growing up I did not see myself on screen or on TV at all. There were no “double’s” that I could see. Maybe if I squinted, I saw one or two, but little to none. I saw a lot of Japanese people on screen and a lot of white American people on screen. And I gotta say, I did not care at the time at all. I think I was so used to not seeing someone who looked exactly like me that I didn’t really pay much attention to that specific detail. All I knew was, “YES! That’s what I’m going to do! I’m going to act! And be funny, and dramatic and amazing and have so much fun when we mess up and create a hilarious gag reel for people to see after our amazing movie!” It wasn’t until I really started to try and do this as an adult in the States that I realized, I’m kind of all alone… there is no obvious path forged before me. There was no map I could look at to see how another mixed race Japanese/American girl with curly hair, who speaks both languages perfectly, who also happens to be dyslexic and is not a size 2 do it!? There was no section on Actors Access to search for that role.
For that reason and many others, I am here to widen the scope of what people see on a daily basis, in the media, in television, in movies, in commercials and streaming services. I will tell meaningful stories, some that make you laugh (I really like to make people laugh) and some that make you cry (maybe cuz your laughing so hard! Or because I am such a good dramatic actor...) I am here to be a part of some stories that bridge my two worlds together, Japan and America. And show stories of people who go seamlessly in and out of each world and also show that world that exists somewhere in between the two. I will tell stories that does not water down one culture in order for the other cultures to understand it easier. We do not need to cut down cultures into bite size pieces for other people to digest it easier. We can just tell our stories, honestly and authentically. I believe when that is done well people from all cultures can see themselves in other people’s stories no matter what the cultural difference is.
And lastly, I’m here to have fun. I am here to have as much fun on this earth as I can while I have the pleasure of being on it. I hope you will join me!!
Erica Ikeda
Some cool stuff I have done so far!
-Was in the Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase (previously known as the ABC Showcase)
-Was a member of an Asian Sketch Comedy group, Stir Friday Night. (based in Chicago) Past performers of this group include Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead and Danny Pudi from Community.
-First movie I booked after I moved to LA was with Lee Meriwether and Susan Blakely in the short film Remember to Breathe, written by Tom O'Leary and directed by Marc Saltarelli. Not a bad first gig!! Can you ask for better scene partners for your first experience?
-My first experience performing as a child was with a Bi-lingual (English/Japanese) theatre performance group in Tokyo at a place called Children’s Castle. Isn’t that pretty cool? In Tokyo when you're a child there is a castle… just for you!
Places that taught me some things!
-The Theatre School at DePaul University (BFA)
-IO Chicago
-IO West
-USB LA
-University of North Carolina School of the Arts (summer programs)
-my home… many good lessons in the Ikeda household
Where I came from:
I was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. I am “double” as my mother always told me as a child. A lot of kids in Japan would call people like me “half” or “hafu” because you are half Japanese and half American. To which my mother would always say, “you are not HALF of anything. You are both, you are DOUBLE, you have two cultures, two languages, two countries, you have more than one, not half!” So for that reason I am “double.” I speak both English and Japanese fluently. I am also one of the rare ones among my people with a white American mother and a Japanese father. (I know right, usually it’s those white men marrying those Japanese women…. NOT IN OUR HOUSE! I got a white, blue eyed mom taller than me and a dark brown eyed Japanese dad shorter than me! Breaking molds left and right over here!) I have been to a regular Japanese School, International School, an American School in Japan and attended a University in America.
My Manifesto
When I was as in college I had a professor that told us we all each needed to have a manifesto. Whether we actually shared it or not is irrelevant but we should write one, have one and know what it is while we move through life. I do not remember exactly what I wrote back in college and I’m sure I have that paper some where, hidden deep, deep in one old hard drive or another but this is what I have for now….
Number 1) Get a job… ok ok, JK JK…. I’m kidding, my manifesto is not to “get a job” although if anyone wants to hire me, I’m available! Just hit the contact tab and talk to my people! I know… I have people… Pretty cool, huh?
Growing up I did not see myself on screen or on TV at all. There were no “double’s” that I could see. Maybe if I squinted, I saw one or two, but little to none. I saw a lot of Japanese people on screen and a lot of white American people on screen. And I gotta say, I did not care at the time at all. I think I was so used to not seeing someone who looked exactly like me that I didn’t really pay much attention to that specific detail. All I knew was, “YES! That’s what I’m going to do! I’m going to act! And be funny, and dramatic and amazing and have so much fun when we mess up and create a hilarious gag reel for people to see after our amazing movie!” It wasn’t until I really started to try and do this as an adult in the States that I realized, I’m kind of all alone… there is no obvious path forged before me. There was no map I could look at to see how another mixed race Japanese/American girl with curly hair, who speaks both languages perfectly, who also happens to be dyslexic and is not a size 2 do it!? There was no section on Actors Access to search for that role.
For that reason and many others, I am here to widen the scope of what people see on a daily basis, in the media, in television, in movies, in commercials and streaming services. I will tell meaningful stories, some that make you laugh (I really like to make people laugh) and some that make you cry (maybe cuz your laughing so hard! Or because I am such a good dramatic actor...) I am here to be a part of some stories that bridge my two worlds together, Japan and America. And show stories of people who go seamlessly in and out of each world and also show that world that exists somewhere in between the two. I will tell stories that does not water down one culture in order for the other cultures to understand it easier. We do not need to cut down cultures into bite size pieces for other people to digest it easier. We can just tell our stories, honestly and authentically. I believe when that is done well people from all cultures can see themselves in other people’s stories no matter what the cultural difference is.
And lastly, I’m here to have fun. I am here to have as much fun on this earth as I can while I have the pleasure of being on it. I hope you will join me!!
Erica Ikeda
- SAG-AFTRA Actor -