News and About Me
Current/Upcoming:
- November-December: Performing with the professional holiday caroling group Manhattan Holiday Carolers - available for corporate events and private parties in NY & NJ (reference my name when inquiring)!
- December 23: Directing a new short play reading "Hours to Live" by Nathaniel Blake Johnson for PlayGround-NY's Monday Night PlayGround - in person and streaming
- January 11: Directing a new play reading - NYC - more details to come
- Spring 2025: Supporting role in an upcoming major NETFLIX feature comedy film - stay tuned for more details!
Recent:
- December 13-15: Our comedy short series "Problematic" (Series Regular) plays at Stareable Fest 2024 - Los Angeles, CA - won Audience Award and Best Writing!
- December 6: Performing in a reading of new musical Shoe Story - LAByrinth Theater Company, NYC
- November 19: Performed a lead role in a concert reading of new musical L'art Reste - The Green Room 42, NYC
- October 27: Directed a virtual reading of new play Who You Kiss For Fun for The Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop - FREE on Zoom
- October 18: Our comedy short series "Problematic" (Series Regular) plays at the 25th Annual Woodstock Film Festival - Woodstock, NY
- October 14: Directed a new short musical for National Asian Artists Project's "DISCOVER: New Musicals" concert - Midtown, NYC - SOLD OUT
- October 12: Our comedy short series "Problematic" (Series Regular) plays at the Buffalo International Film Festival - Buffalo, NY
- Summer-Fall 2024: Recorded an audiobook for Scribe Media - NYC - more details to come...
- September: Directing Observer for Yellowface play revival on Broadway - NYC
- August 3: NYC premiere of our comedy short series "Problematic" (Series Regular) at the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) - NYC and streaming
- Summer 2024: Directing Observer for Oh, Mary! on Broadway - NYC!
- Summer 2024: Co-Directed the new play Parity (by Howard Ho) Off-Broadway for Pan Asian Rep's NuWorks Festival 2024 (Program A) - Off-Broadway, NYC
- Spring 2024: World premiere of our comedy short series "Problematic" (Series Regular) at SeriesFest (digital short series: block 2) - Denver, CO - UPDATE: We won BEST DIGITAL SHORT SERIES!
- Spring 2024: Standby for Noguchi/Payne in the world premiere Off-Broadway musical Dead Outlaw - NYC - The most acclaimed NYC show of the season: NY Times Critic's Pick, "Best Theater of 2024" and "9 Best Theater Moments of 2024"; 11 Drama Desk, 9 Outer Critics Circle, 6 Lucille Lortel and 2 Drama League nominations - won OCC Best Off-Broadway Musical, Off-Broadway Alliance Best Off-Broadway Musical, Drama Critics' Circle Best Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) and more!
- Spring 2024: Professional directing debut with a staged reading of Howard Ho's new short play "Jie JIe" as part of the 2024 PlayGround(NY) Monday Night PlayGround series - NYC & streaming (FREE, RSVP required) - Winner, People's Choice Award; selected to Best of PlayGround(NY) '24, and Best of the Best of PlayGround (National) 2024!
Past Highlights:
- Winter 2022: Recurring role ("Michael Xufu Huang") in Shonda Rhimes' Netflix series "Inventing Anna" (episodes 103 & 104)
- Spring 2020: Performed in the star-studded virtual concert Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration - Our "Someone in a Tree" quartet (1:40:55-1:48:28) was named one of the New York Times "Best Performances of 2020"!
- Fall 2019: Played the principal role of "Bobby Bob" (the good-hearted sidekick) in the new musical Soft Power (Pulitzer Prize finalist) at The Public Theater (Off-Broadway) - watch the MUSIC VIDEO and get the ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM (for which I was nominated for a Grammy Award as a principal soloist, Best Musical Theater Album!)
About Me
Hi! I'm an NYC-based, Grammy Award-nominated actor, director, and new works enthusiast. I work primarily on stage (plays & musicals) and on camera (TV & film). I'm also an experienced audiobook narrator and voice actor, print and hand model, and classical violinist.
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I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, where I played a lot of violin as a kid and then got more into school choir and drama as a teen.
I went to Rice University, where I majored in Asian Studies (Chinese History, Culture and Language, magna cum laude) and also studied Vocal Performance (Opera Performance) at Rice University's prestigious Shepherd School of Music; I also began to act and model professionally in the Houston area.
Seeking a "practical" career in the arts, I then went to the UC Berkeley School of Law and began to work in entertainment law in the Bay Area.
However, I was still drawn to performing and continued to act and model on the side; after attaining membership in AEA & SAG-AFTRA (professional arts unions), I left law and decided to finally pursue a career in the arts.
I went back to school (again) for a Master's Degree in Musical Theater from The Boston Conservatory (at Berklee), while also acting and modeling in the Boston area.
After obtaining professional representation from the BoCo graduation showcase, I moved to NYC and began auditioning. Over the past few years, I've been steadily climbing the industry ladder, and am having the time of my life acting, singing, modeling and (more recently) also directing!
I still play the violin every now and then.
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I also love cooking and all things food-related. ...My dream job might actually be hosting or judging a cooking show!
Awards
- Nominee, Grammy Award - Principal Soloist, Best Musical Theater Album
- Nominee, Barrymore Award (Philadelphia area) - Supporting Actor in a Musical
- Nominee, IRNE Award (New England area) - Supporting Actor in a Musical (Large Theater)
- Nominee, BroadwayWorld Boston Award - Lead Actor in a Musical (Medium Theater)
- Recipient, Dean Goodman Choice Award (S.F. Bay Area) - Supporting Actor in a Musical
Quotable Quotes
- "It is Austin Ku who steals the show" - Jan Nargi, BROADWAYWORLD.COM
- "He's the funniest thing onstage" - Louise Kennedy, BOSTON GLOBE
- "A find" - David C. Nichols, LOS ANGELES TIMES
- "It's refreshing to hear Austin Ku's natural voice" - Steven Winn, SF CHRONICLE
- "An expert storyteller" - Madeleine Marshall, DC METRO THEATER ARTS
- "A standout" - Deb Miller, DC METRO THEATER ARTS
Copyright © 2024 Austin Ku - All Rights Reserved.