Daisuke Tsuji: The Art of Being a Clown

Daisuke Tsuji is more than an actor, he’s a beautiful spirit, a dedicated artist, and a true practitioner of craft. He’s a clown, not the red-nose, ha-ha kind, though we learn he knows a bit about that as well, but the kind that sees the world for what it is and meets it with curiosity, vulnerability, and play. Whether on stage, in motion capture, or in the rehearsal room, he is an explorer of life, always searching for truth in the work.

Right now, he’s stepping into one of the most complex roles of his career: Duch in Cambodian Rock Band at East West Players. The play is a collision of history, music, and memory, demanding its performers to move between humor and horror, joy and devastation, often in the same breath.

You may know him as Jin Sakai in Ghost of Tsushima or from his years at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, but this conversation is about something deeper. It’s about what it means to hold history in your body, to wrestle with the weight of storytelling, and to find lightness even in the heaviest of roles.

Daisuke shares how Cambodian Rock Band has shaped him, the philosophy that guides his work, and how being a clown, an artist fully present in the moment, has helped him navigate a career that spans Shakespeare, Cirque du Soleil, video games, and beyond.

This one’s special. Tap in.

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Credits:

📍 A production of Outside In Theatre in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles

🎭 Created by Alex Ubokudom & Tobie Windham

🎧 Edited by Brianna Seamster

🎚 Recorded & Mixed by Arlo Sanders

🎵 Theme Song by Arlo Sanders

🎬 Produced by Brianna Seamster & Jessica Hanna

🎙 Executive Produced by The Frogs & Outside In Theatre

🎤 Recorded at Outside In Theatre