Izumi Ashizawa has been an artistic director of Izumi Ashizawa Performance since 2002. Her original plays have been performed in various countries. The second part of her Neo-Noh trilogy, The Blue Rocks , was presented at the International Arts and Ideas Edge Festival in New Haven, CT (2003), New York International Fringe Festival, NY(2004), Man In Fest Festival in Romania(2005), Fajr Theatre Festival in Tehran, Iran(2006), Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Romania(2006), and Arion Tokyo Summer Music Festival, Tokyo, Japan(2006). The intensive documentary of the Tokyo production has been broadcasted through the National Public TV of Japan(NHK). The first part of trilogy, Medusa, has been performed in 2002, and has won the Puffin Foundation Award and Gritchen Johnson Award. In 2006, Ashizawa has trained young Iranian actors in Tehran, and has selected 11 actors to pursue collaboration for her world premiere play, Minotaur, which was performed in April, 2006. This entire production process was acclaimed for both educational and aesthetic values, thus her play was awarded for the Best Performance Award. In 2006, Ashizawa was selected as a recipient of the UNESCO artist grant for her residency at Institut International de la Marionnette in France. During her residency, she wrote a play based on one chapter of Persian mythology; and in July 2007, she flew back to Iran to collaborate with 10 Iranian actors for the world premiere of her new play, Zahak. The goal of this Persian project is to transcend cultural and political boundaries, and seek a peace mission through art. Her project has received numerous awards including Tehran Municipality Culture and Arts Organization Award. Ashizawa has taught performance techniques and theory in various countries including University of Babes Bolyai, Romania, Tehran University and Art University, Tehran, Anadolu University and Selçuk University, Turkey. Ashizawa has an experience of traditional Noh theatre training with a Kanze Noh School Master in Tokyo, Japan. She served as an assistant director of Tadashi Suzuki in 2005. She holds an M.F.A. from Yale University School of Drama. © 2008 USF School of Theatre & Dance