Our next guest is the extremely funny and awesome Atsuko Okatsuka! Montreal’s fan favorite arts and entertainment podcast is bringing you our annual series of mini episodes celebrating many of the talented performers at this year’s Just for Laughs festival in Montreal!

I got a chance to talk to Atsuko Okatsuka about how she manages to thrive in chaos and dire circumstances (she once performed comedy during an earthquake), connecting with her fanbase during the pandemic by doing standup on Zoom, using her experiences to fuel her comedy and hustle, visiting Taiwan and so much more!

Atsuko is a stand-up comedian, actor, and writer based in LA. Atsuko made her late night stand-up debut on THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN. Atsuko is starring in the new Comedy Central animated series, FAIRVIEW and the Paramount+ feature film, WASHINGTONIA from EP, Stephen Colbert. She’s written for Adult Swim’s THE ERIC ANDRE SHOW & SOFT FOCUS WITH JENA FRIEDMAN. Atsuko’s on-screen credits include, season 3 of the HBO series, ROOM 104, THE SHOW NEXTDOOR with Randall Park on ROKU+, and HULU’s latest project with ATTN: Mom & Pop. Atsuko was named a ‘Comedian To Watch’ by Vulture & ‘Top 10 Comedians to Watch’ for TimeOut LA. She is also fluent in Japanese and Mandarin.

You can catch Atsuko in both her show “Intruder” and as a part of the Chelsea Handler gala. For more information, tickets and showtimes check out her artist page on Just For Laughs official website.

*EDIT: This episode was previously published with a typo in Atsuko Okatsuka name – it has since been edited.

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Credit Where Credit is Due

As always, a big thank you to the providers of our theme song: Leighland Beckman and Aural Turpitude!

Keith does all sorts of things here on 9to5.cc, he works with the other founders on 9to5 (illustrated), co-hosts our two podcasts: The 9to5 Entertainment System and Go Plug Yourself and sometimes blogs here as The Perspicacious Geek.