{"id":2486976,"date":"2026-07-03T19:14:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2486976"},"modified":"2026-07-03T19:14:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:14:51","slug":"comedy-saved-teruko-nakajima-her-made-in-america-is-saving-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/comedy-saved-teruko-nakajima-her-made-in-america-is-saving-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Comedy saved Teruko Nakajima. Her \u2018Made in America\u2019 is saving others"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Comedy saved Teruko Nakajima\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Nakajima received psychiatric care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, diagnosed with depression, PTSD and suicidal ideation. Her doctors searched for ways to manage her stress by exposing her to various activities, including video games, serene Icelandic landscapes and an aerial silks performance. The last brought her anxiety down, revealing that the arts were the answer. Her doctor prescribed the arts, comedy specifically, so she went to the Upright Citizens Brigade for class.<\/p>\n

She found a calling and a safe space in comedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know I was born a comedian,\u201d Nakajima said. \u201cFinally, I really felt I was accepted as a comedian, validated for who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nakajima shares her healing journey to the stage in \u201cMade in America,\u201d which just had an encore performance at UCB on Tuesday after its award-winning run in 2022 (it is also available for streaming on UCB\u2019s website through Tuesday<\/a>). The one-woman show arrives in time for the United States\u2019 250th anniversary on Saturday,<\/a> documenting Nakajima\u2019s search for the American dream as a first-generation Japanese American woman. \u201cMade in America\u201d premiered in 2022 at the Hollywood Fringe Festival<\/a> during Joe Biden\u2019s presidency and following the Jan. 6 United States Capitol attack. In 2026, its musings on identity and belonging pierce through today\u2019s political landscape shaped by Donald Trump\u2019s second presidency.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to let people know this is an American story,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMade in America\u201d is about Nakajima\u2019s life. It begins in her mother\u2019s womb. She felt so safe there, she yearned to return. Growing up, she experienced an emotionally and physically abusive life at home, recalling her father breaking furniture and her mother\u2019s alcohol-induced belittling comments. But her name, Teruko, translates to a \u201cshining child.\u201d Thus, she proclaims in the show, \u201cI\u2019m a superstar!\u201d<\/p>\n

The beauty in \u201cMade in America\u201d is Nakajima\u2019s ability to find the humor in her trauma. When the show transitions to her life in America, she talks about her life as a dominatrix in New York City and her struggles with romance in Los Angeles. Her comedic jabs at the American economy and humorous reflections juxtapose somber moments of stillness in the midst of her struggles. This balance puts her life into perspective, revealing a positive personality beneath a dark saga.<\/p>\n

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Nakajima performs \u201cMade in America\u201d at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater.<\/p>\n

(Nick Rasmussen)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cI look very happy-go-lucky and cheerful, but actually, I am a very dark person because I have a dark history,\u201d she said. \u201cI always wanted to leave my story behind. I wanted to leave my mark in this world before I died, so I needed to make something.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first class Nakajima took at UCB was John Flynn\u2019s storytelling course. There, she started building pieces of the show without realizing it. As they added up, the idea for a show surfaced. After class one day, she asked Flynn to direct it. Flynn, who has been teaching at UCB in New York and L.A. for about 20 years, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe disarms people,\u201d Flynn said. \u201cThere\u2019s something about her that is just so unique and so delightful that you won\u2019t forget her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flynn first met her at his storytelling open mic. She walked in with her emotional support dog Titi (also known as Tiny Teruko), wearing her signature red heart-framed glasses, without lenses. Soon, these glasses would make him double over in laughter when she performed and cried, dabbing her eyes with tissue through the frame.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you start to learn her story and the experiences she\u2019s had, it is amazing that she is so positive,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s such a sort of undeniable positive energy that she just radiates all the time, which is so compelling and why people are so drawn to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Woman <\/picture>\n
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Revived at UCB amid Trump\u2019s second term and the nation\u2019s 250th birthday, Nakajima\u2019s show doubles as a defiant immigrant love letter to America \u2014 and a refuge for audiences feeling alone.<\/p>\n

(Nick Rasmussen)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Nakajima puts all of herself into the show. Aside from comedy, she has been a cheerleader in Japan, a salsa dancer in New York and a sculptor on the side \u2014 she loves sculpting MLB players\u2019 butts; Derek Jeter is her favorite. In the show, she folds these aspects of her life into a single story, dancing from section to section. Comedy is more than just laughs; it\u2019s storytelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so good at cheering people up, since I was very little,\u201d she said. \u201cI had no competition with others because I\u2019m the one and only. Nobody looks like me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, Flynn and Teruko parsed through her life stories to give the show an arc. For Flynn, it\u2019s like carving away at what is already there to create something fun and cohesive, like a sculpture. \u201cWhat\u2019s fun about directing one-person shows like this is that it\u2019s usually just two people in a room putting something together,\u201d Flynn said.<\/p>\n

Bringing the show back this year, the work gets sharper and tighter, but the biggest shift is in its conclusion. Once optimistic about the future of life in America, the show now has a stronger desire to make change. There was a sense of hope in 2022 for women like Nakajima, an immigrant who sought safety in a new country and struggled with abuse from her family and strange men. Today, as Trump\u2019s immigration policies lean on deportation and discrimination, she simply wants to be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerica, thank you for not giving up on me,\u201d Nakajima said toward the end of the show. She is proud to be American, not just because she gets to have the same nationality as her dog Titi, but primarily because of the new life it offered her. America promised happiness. Whether it actually comes is another story, but in this one, the promise itself gave her a sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the show, people come to me in person and through messages,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of people said, \u2018I felt like I am not alone.\u2019 That gives me so much hope and unity. I feel safe and like I have something to look forward to because I\u2019m not the only one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flynn realized how much he took for granted while working on the show with Nakajima. \u201cI think, even though these are scary times and things seem to be going in directions that aren\u2019t the best, there are still great people, and there\u2019s something that is still there and is not dying and is still fighting,\u201d Flynn said.<\/p>\n

When she began her acting journey, Nakajima thought she\u2019d turn to drama, but there\u2019s something more unguarded in comedy.<\/p>\n

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\"Nakajima <\/picture>\n
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Nakajima holding up her dog Titi during a performance of \u201cMade in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Nick Rasmussen)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very authentic and invincible through comedy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

By the end of \u201cMade in America,\u201d Nakajima is no longer trying to find her way back to her mother\u2019s womb. She is confident in her place in the world. She remembers that she is a star. She brings out her dog Titi, who was hidden on stage throughout the entire performance, and shares that UCB gave her a new outlook on life. Comedy breaks away her stresses and allows viewers to be vulnerable with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted to feel safe,\u201d she said. \u201cI never had that. Finally, I found a safe space, and then I realized that I\u2019m actually important. I\u2019m actually worthy. I\u2019m so happy right now to be able to express myself through comedy because it\u2019s the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Comedy saved Teruko Nakajima\u2019s life. In 2016, Nakajima received psychiatric care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, diagnosed with depression, PTSD and suicidal ideation. Her doctors searched for ways to manage her stress by exposing her to various activities, including video games, serene Icelandic landscapes and an aerial silks performance. The last brought her anxiety down, revealing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2486977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2486976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Comedy-saved-Teruko-Nakajima-Her-\u2018Made-in-America-is-saving.com2F8d2F102F0f78f8f945ba960759b49f06.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2486976"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2486978,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486976\/revisions\/2486978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2486977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2486976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2486976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2486976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}