Writing Awards

• Second Prize in the Edward Seidensticker Award for Best Graduate Student Paper on Japan for “Thy Name is Woman: Performing the Feminine Ghost in Japanese Theatre and Cinema” at the SPAS Graduate Student Conference in Asian Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (2015).
• Regional finalist for Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival 49 for one-act play “Fire Horse” (2016).
• James R. Brandon Award for Excellence in Asian Theatre from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Department of Theatre and Dance (2022).

Publications

Book Reviews

• (2018) Edo Kabuki in Transition: From the Worlds of the Samurai to the Vengeful Female Ghost, Japanese Studies, 38:1, 130-131.
• (2021) Conor Hanratty, Shakespeare in the Theatre: Yukio Ninagawa, Asian Theatre Journal, 38:2.

Articles

• (2023) “Dead Wet Girls versus Monstrous Mothers: The Female ‘Monster’ in Japanese Horror Cinema”, International Institute for Asian Studies The Newsletter, Vol. 94, Spring, 4-5. (Also Online)

Newspaper Articles

• “Shall We Dance? A glimpse into the traditional Japanese art of Nihon Buyo“, Shizuoka Chronicle, Volume 26, Spring Issue (Print, 2013)
• “Conquering Thanksgiving dinner in a dorm or apartment“, Ka Leo (Online, November 2014)
• “Turkey and gravy, fresh from your dorm hall or apartment oven“, Ka Leo (Online, November 2014)
• “Thanksgiving sides for your dorm or apartment feast“, Ka Leo (Online, November 2014)
• “‘Save room for dessert’: dorm- and apartment-friendly Thanksgiving dessert recipes“, Ka Leo (Online, November 2014)
• “No snow but plenty of cheer: songs to get you in the mood for Christmas” Ka Leo (Online, December 2014)
• “Microwave meals: salmon and eggs two ways“, Ka Leo (Online, January 2015)
• “Cooking with mugs: Quiche, mac and cheese, French toast and vegetables“, Ka Leo (Online, January 2015)
• “Baking with mugs: Chocolate cake and coffee cake“, Ka Leo (Online, January 2015)
• “The Samurai Warrior on the Noh Stage: An invitation to dance with ghosts and dreams on the Noh stage“, Ka Leo, Issue 32 Volume 109 (Print, February 2015)
• “Eat your heart out this year: Homemade Valentine chocolates“, Ka Leo, Issue 33 Volume 109 (Print, February 2015)

Playwriting

For more detailed descriptions of written plays and for script requests, please visit Jennifer’s New Play Exchange Profile.

Fire Horse (University of Hawai’i at Mānoa)

Playwright/Dramaturg (Spring 2016)

About this Work: Fire Horse explores themes of cultural superstitions, feminism, relationships, and generational conflicts between mothers and daughters.  This original work was inspired by the Chinese zodiac superstition regarding the Fire Horse.  It is believed in several Asian countries that women born during the year of the Fire Horse will bring increasingly bad luck, spell nothing but devastation for their families, and bring about the premature death of their fathers and/or their spouses.  Fire Horse tells the story of three generations of women whose lives are affected by superstition’s ill omens.

The initial one-act version of the script was produced as part of the student-run Late Night Theatre series 2015/2016 at the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre, directed by MFA Theatre for Young Audiences Aubrey Grace Watkins.

The Thin Man on the Ladder (University of Hawai’i at Mānoa)

Writer/Script Consultant (Fall 2016)

About this Work: Based on the life of Charles Hatfield, specifically the Great San Diego Flood of 1916, using various theatrical styles The Thin Man on the Ladder seeks to explore the question: what happens when one decides to “play God?” Charles Hatfield was a “rainmaker,” or someone who claimed to have the techniques and abilities to draw water from the atmosphere in the form of rain. Hatfield, a successful rainmaker in 1915, was commissioned by the San Diego city council to fill the Morena Dam reservoir with rainwater. He mixed and released a secret concoction of 23 different chemicals believed to bring rain from the atmosphere. Shortly after, on January 5, 1916, great amounts of rain began to fall, flooding huge swathes of the city and breaking dams, causing 3.5 million dollars in damage, and claiming over 20 lives. 

This collaborative devised theatre piece was produced as part of the student-run Late Night Theatre series 2016/2017 at the Kennedy Theatre Studio S, directed by MFA Theatre for Young Audiences Nathaniel Niemi.