AILEEN KYOKO is a Japanese-American actress, screenwriter and playwright based in Los Angeles and New York City. She was born and raised in Manila, Philippines, where she attended an International School for 13 years.
Aileen began creating her own work in order to bring more nuanced bipoc characters on screen and on stage. Her first starring role was Project Girl, which retells raw moments of girlhood.
Since then, Aileen has performed in and written several plays on Off Broadway stages. She wrote and directed a full-length play The Year of the Solar Eclipse. The show went up at The Planet Connections Theatre Festival in 2018 and was nominated for six awards including Outstanding Production. Aileen remounted a new version at The Wild Project in late 2019 to early 2020. The show was well received with sold out shows and rave reviews.
In October 2020 the play advanced from a record field of 13,175 entries and made it into the second round of The Austin Film Festival Script Competition. It was called a “feminocentric, sex-centered version of Rent”. Coverfly announced that TYOTSE made the RED LIST and was named #8 out of 20 in the top 20 comedy plays in 2020.
In 2022 she played her first series regular role in the new series Outli(a)rs which premiered in competition at the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts, (alongside projects featuring Eva Longoria, Tom Hanks, Queen Latifah) and was mentioned on Deadline here.
She recently played a supporting role in the feature, Triple Threat (Soho International Film Festival) and Deathless. She starred in a film, My Ex-lover is Dead which will be premiering at the International Black and Diversity Film Festival in Toronto, CA this May. Aileen just wrapped a large supporting role on an indie film, That Creep from the Bar Last Night in New York City. Stay tuned for updates!
Aileen is a Groundling alum, and am a graduate of the two-year Meisner program at the prestigious Maggie Flanigan Studios. She currently trains at the Last Acting Studio led by Desean Terry.
Aileen co-wrote More Quiet, More Noise which she will act in Fall 2024 in Los Angeles, CA. Tickets are now available!