TETSURO SHIGEMATSU

tshigematsu@gmail.com      

818.224.9787

 

2006                             YELLOW FELLAS Independent Feature Movie

                                    Writer, Director, Producer, Actor

I have just completed post-production on my first feature-length movie. This ethnically militant comedy has been written about extensively in newspaper and magazine articles.

 

2004-2006                     CBC NEWSWORLD MORNING National Canadian TV News Show

                                    Pop Culture Critic

Live from Los Angeles, I share my provocative take on the very latest in Hollywood news & gossip. This morning segment is broadcast live all over Canada.

 

2004-2005                     THE ROUNDUP National Radio Show on CBC Radio One

Host

The Roundup was a coast-to-coast two-hour radio program featured on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Every week, I would conduct several half-hour feature interviews with high-profile guests; astronauts, authors, adventurers. Preparation for these interviews involved in-depth research and composing lines of questioning. An oft heard refrain from guests was; “best interview I’ve ever had.” (Although, this may well be something many hosts hear from guests who have product to flog.)

 

June 2003                     THE ART OF THE INTERVIEW, The Sawatsky Method

Course Graduate

I was one of a few CBC reporters selected to receive an intensive week-long workshop given by Canadian investigative reporter John Sawatsky, creator of the Sawatsky method. Sawatsky trains investigative journalists all over the world on how to conduct revealing interviews. He also teaches at the Poynter Institute.

 

2004                             WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL

Comedian

 

Fall, 2003                      MADLY OFF IN ALL DIRECTIONS, Live Touring CBC Radio Show

Writer & Performer

I wrote, performed and directed original radio sketch comedy enacted before a live theatre audience and recorded for radio broadcast. Myself and two other writer/performers toured all over Canada with this show.

 

June 27, 2003                I DIG BC, CBC TV

Comedy Special, Actor

Myself along with my sketch comedy group Hot Sauce Posse, were hired as performers in this half-hour CBC comedy special, which was broadcast nationally several times.

 

2003                             RTNDA National Award Winner

Radio Television News Director Association

Recipient of the ‘Sam Ross Award’ for Best Editorial Opinion; "Saddam vs. Bush." In order to gain insight into Saddam and Bush, I returned to childhood and revisit the original battleground; the schoolyard.

(In other words, I’m also very deep, and politically astute to boot.)

 

2003                             VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL

Comedian

 

2001-2003                     HOT SAUCE POSSE, Sketch Comedy Group (now defunct)

Director/Writer/Performer

I founded Canada’s only full-color sketch comedy troupe. Our innovative material explored racial and sexual politics in a racy and sexy way.

 

2002                             VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL

Comedian

 

2002-2003                     CBC RADIO ONE

National Radio Columnist

I wrote and performed radio commentaries that explored world events through the lens of personal memory, for which I won two RTNDA awards.

 

2001-2002                     PASS THE MIC

Writer/Performer/Producer

By identifying and training the very best comedic talent at CBC Radio Vancouver, I helped revive the art of sketch comedy for the entire network. We were a crack team of writer/performers that were capable of ripping a story from the headlines and then producing a tight, polished five-minute sketch ready for broadcast in less than four hours. Pass the Mic was featured in the New York Times, November 26, 2001.

 

2001                             CBC Radio One, The Afternoon Show

Show Reporter/Writer/Broadcaster/Editor

I provided levity and comic relief for BC’s drive-home show by collecting stories from the city and feeding live hits into the show. I also served as an on-air sidekick to the show’s host.

 

2001                             THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES, Satirical Political TV show

Writer/Performer

Out of several thousand applicants, I won a nation-wide talent search to replace national treasure, Rick Mercer for a TV program that is the Canadian equivalent of The Daily Show. As a writer, I read dozens of newspapers per day, and wrote jokes based on current events. I also wrote and performed political rants.

 

 

 

 

2001                             LATHE OF HEAVEN, Television movie for A&E

Principal actor

Also starring James “Sonny Corleone” Kahn and Lisa “Huxtable” Bonet. Proving, I’m a good enough thespian to hold my own in the company of B-list movie actors.

 

May 2001                     VANCOUVER HERITAGE FESTIVAL

Featured Performer

I was invited to write and perform a 45-minute original comedy show performed at the Norman Rothstein Theatre.

 

May 2000                     WHO'S ALBERT WOO? National Film Board documentary

Featured Subject

Jackie Chan and myself, along with several other Asian males, were interviewed on issues germane to Asian male identity.

 

June 2000                     THE WORST WITCH, British television program

Principal Actor

Played a guest role on the top-rated children's program in the United Kingdom.

 

1999                             MOONS OF TOKYO, theatre play

Performer/Writer

Wrote and developed a one-person show, with funding by the Canada Council for the Arts.

 

1998                             THE MONTREAL MIRROR, Montreal Weekly Newspaper

Subject

Profiled as an up-and-coming artist in the annual "Noisemakers" issue.

 

1997                             LA LA PAN-ASIA, TV pilot

Producer/Host

Created and produced a half-hour TV program showcasing Asian youth culture.

 

1996                             THE BEST BAD THING, RINKO, TV movie

Principal Actor

Played Kosuke in a film produced by PBS and NHK, based upon the novel by Yoshiko Uchida (also starring George “Sulu” Takei and Kiki Kirin, the Meryl Streep of Japan).

 

1993-1994                     RISING SON, One-man theatre show

Performer/Writer

Wrote & performed an autobiographical one-person show which was mounted in Montréal, Boston, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

 

1991                             ANGELO DELLA MORTE, Theatre play, Centaur Theatre

Director/Playwright

Youngest playwright to compete in the history of the Quebec Drama Festival.

 

1990                             FOOLHOUSE THEATRE COMPANY

Playwright-in-Residence

Conducted playwriting workshops and developed plays for production.

 

1988                             YOUNG MONTREALER Newspaper column, Montreal Gazette

Panelist

As a capricious teenager, I was entertainingly impertinent and eminently quotable on a variety of topics relevant to young people.

 

 

EDUCATION

2003                             The Art of the Interview, The Sawatsky Method

                                    Course Graduate

 

2002                             Robert Mckee Story Seminar

                                    Course Graduate

 

1995-1996                     Butoh (contemporary Japanese dance form)

                                    Student

Studied Butoh with the founding master and dance god, Kazu Ohno in Yokohama, Japan.

 

1991-1994                     Bachelor of Fine Arts (with Distinction)

Majoring in Inter-Related Arts, with concentrations in Video, Film & Performance.

Concordia University, Montréal, Canada

 

1992                             Syd Field's Screenwriting Seminar

Course Graduate

 

1990-1991                     Diplôme d'Etudes Collegiales des Beaux Arts (Honours)

Majoring in Studio Arts.

Dawson College, Montréal, Canada