COURTNEY OZAKI
Founder + Creative Producer
"I am passionate about the melding of ideas, and the integration and interdependence of arts sectors.
I am motivated by the impetus that an inclusive arts culture leads to a more productive and empathetic society."
Courtney is the founder of the Japanese Arts Network (JA-NE), a national resource supporting and advancing Japanese artists and culture in America - and is a professional taiko drummer with over 30 years of experience. As an independent creative producer, Courtney creates and develops interdisciplinary narrative-driven original immersive theatre works that uplift stories of marginalized communities and their histories including ZOTTO - A Supernatural Japanese Folktale, and Inheritance Kitchen. She holds a BSM from CU Denver's College of Arts and Media, she received her MFA in performing arts management from Brooklyn College, and has worked as a producer for new and touring works with The Joyce Theater and ADH Theatricals in NYC. She has also held the role of the Creative Producer for Off Center, the immersive theater arm of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts which places audiences at the center of the story, where she was instrumental in presenting programs including DARKFIELD, The Infinite, Monopoly Life Sized Touring Edition, Camp Christmas, and producing Third Rail Project's upcoming Sweet & Lucky: ECHO and An Auraria Parable with the Exposure Project and Auraria Campus.
Courtney serves on the Executive Committee for the Board of Directors of the Western Arts Alliance where she co-founded Hyphen+Asian, a collective AAPINH community space for artists and administrators in the field. She is co-chair of the U.S. Japan Council Mountain Region, and is on the Advisory Board for the Creative Independent Producers Alliance. Motivated by the impetus that an inclusive arts culture leads to a more productive and empathetic society, Courtney was the recipient of the 2024 JEDI Denver Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Arts and Culture, was named a 2025 Asian American Hero by the Colorado Asian Culture and Education Network, was awarded as the University of Colorado Denver's College of Arts and Media's 2023 Distinguished Alumni, and was cited in American Theater Magazine as one of six "Theatre Workers You Should Know".
To learn more:
Role Call: Six Theatre Workers You Should Know - American Theatre Magazine, 2025
Meet Trailblazer, Courtney Ozaki - Voyage Denver, 2019
Meet Creative Producer + Cultural Connector, Courtney Ozaki - Shoutout Colorado, 2021