Award-Winning Kazu Kusano is making her Toronto Fringe Festival debut with her solo comedic drama Pretty Beast.

Growing up in a dysfunctional family in Japan, Kazu dreams of escape. Raised by a distant, alcoholic father, and a mother suffering from schizophrenia, Kazu quickly learned to use humor to heal her wounds and process her trauma.

Despite the odds, she discovers her voice and sense of purpose in comedy. Armed with her newfound superpower, she embarks on an internal journey to find self-acceptance—and overseas to find a new life.

As a one-person show, Kazu takes on many characters in Pretty Beast. In it, she introduces to her parents, siblings, grandmother and other people who shaped her life journey. There are equally laugh-out-loud moments as well as dramatic moments to reflect on some of the heavier, perhaps more difficult, moments in the show. Kazu keenly touches on family mental illness, stigma, societal sexism, and what it means to discover your own superpowers while there’s still enough time to use them for good.

After seeing the performance over the weekend, I connected with Kazu to discuss more about Pretty Beast. She graciously shared about her working on the material for the show, her own hero’s journey and many other great insights.

Pretty Beast is a journey that is raw and dark but also inspiring. As Kazu mentioned before we said goodbye, a psychotherapist who saw the show called it a ‘hero’s journey’ type of show. Meaning that a person might have to overcome some obstacles in their life, which lead up to a personal transformation that can benefit society in some way. It is part of Kazu’s mission to use this show as a performance piece that can be an educational tool as well.

Pretty Beast continues at the Toronto Fringe Festival with some limited tickest available for Saturday’s show on July 13. For show times and tickets, visit fringetoronto.com.

Photos by Matt Misisco.