NOW PLAYING: Inheritance Kitchen

The story of three families and one magical house, Inheritance Kitchen opened in Denver this past week, making it the latest piece orchestrated by Courtney Ozaki, whose ZOTTO moved Denver audiences back in 2023.

The new show runs in and draws on the history of Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. We checked in with Co-Writer/Lead Producer Ozaki through the magic of email about the show which currently runs through April 27th.

This is No Proscenium’s NOW PLAYING, a look at ongoing immersive experiences & events. To learn more about how your event could be considered for the feature check out How To Get Covered By NoPro.

NoPro is 100% reader & listener supported. Join our Patreon campaign to secure & expand our coverage of Everything Immersive!

NO PROSCENIUM: Tell us a little bit about your experience! What’s it about? What makes it immersive?

Courtney Ozaki: Inheritance Kitchen invites audiences into stories inspired by true events from Denver’s Five Points neighborhood occurring in one (fictional) house across several decades from the 1960’s to the 1980’s. Audiences will arrive during the opening week of a new counterculture cafe in Sakura Square called ‘Block Party’, and they will quickly realize that things there are not quite what they seem. ‘Block Party’ is run by descendants of three families who lived in the same house in Five Points throughout different decades. Audiences will find themselves magically pulled into memories of the house to engage with three families of Japanese, Latine/Chicano, and Black lineage as they navigate social injustices, grief, adversity, and loss while embracing inherent connections through food as a love language, childlike wonder, solidarity and resilience.

NP: What was the inspiration for your upcoming experience?

CO: We all have worked together on various projects these past few years, but we wanted to work together on a project that was unique to us and our different heritages. Courtney (Japanese Arts Network) brought up her previous work on a recipe book and exhibit at History Colorado Center entitled “Inheritance Kitchen” and we all began to connect through sharing stories about the food that our families would make, the recipes that got passed down, and the threads that connected all our shared cultures.

We began looking into Five Points history and historical Colorado events (i.e. Japanese resettlement after WWII incarceration camps, the Crusade for Justice, and the history of Juneteenth). Our hope is for this show to encourage people to look into the past and see connections to our current world and possible future. In a 1960’s kitchen, the character Aya talks about how few people spoke up for Japanese Americans when they were placed into camps, and how we cannot be complacent when people in our community are under attack. The horrific events of the past don’t have to be repeated, and we need to work hard to ensure they don’t. Our hope is that people will come away from our show with a sense of duty to their neighbors and one another, and a seed of hope that we can work together to fight for a better future.

NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this latest experience?

CO: Inheritance Kitchen is a timely show during a moment when being in community and finding resilience in the strength of solidarity is crucial. Immersive fans will enjoy getting to visit memories trapped in time that live in both a realistic and liminal space. The show is rooted in hard truths but also brings to light the joy and possibility of imagination and childlike wonder. A full audience will be split into two different starting points, coming together in the middle, splitting apart again and then ending in a final liminal space. The production has several choose your own adventure moments that lead audience members in different directions, so there will be a lot to talk about with their companions after the show.

The nature of this show makes it accessible for all types of immersive audiences; so whether you’re someone who likes to watch things unfold from a distance, or someone who enjoys jumping in and getting their hands dirty, there is space for all. We understand that food and engagement with it spark and create memory, so we of course won’t leave audience members hanging with a name like Inheritance Kitchen — giving them small bites of food and delicious beverages to taste while also putting them to work prepping food for community along the way.

NP: Once you started designing and testing what did you discover about this experience that was unexpected?

CO: The space was a big challenge for us in that we are using former Dental Suites that had been reformatted for a previous show (JA-NE’s “Zotto”) and turning it into what could look like familial spaces within a liminal house in varying decades. We leaned into the notion of childlike wonder to help us not have to build out every single thing to look photo realistic, taking some artistic liberties and modeling it to look at times like a dollhouse.

Imagining a house from the lens of a child playing in a dollhouse helped us to see the storytelling differently, both from a narrative and design perspective. We also imagined how the attic space that the dollhouse might reside would hold onto memos from all of the house’s residents over time.

It was also fascinating getting to explore parts of Denver’s history that we didn’t all know about — all of the writers/producers are from the Denver area, and some of the events we talk about in the show were previously unknown to us, and to the actors and designers coming into the show as well. These histories hit hard and unfortunately are reflective of many events we are seeing come to fruition today. It’s both humbling, terrifying, and motivating to see these stories in our shared histories playing out again. Inheritance Kitchen encourages building community and working together to not repeat history.

NP: What can fans who are coming to this, or thinking about coming to this, do to get into the mood of the experience?

CO: If you are coming to our show and want to get into the world a bit more here are a few things you can do: follow our Instagram page (@inheritancekitchen), listen to music from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s- specifically protest songs/albums, and feel free to wear clothes reminiscent of these decades as well! And please bring your imaginary friend(s) to the production, they will enjoy it 🙂

If you are in Denver or want to support our Denver community, some accounts you can follow that are in line with the world of the show:

• @HistoryColorado 7 museums, 4 historical sites, the State Historical Fund, and a free research center. We hope you learn something new! https://www.historycolorado.org/
• @JapaneseArtsNetwork: The Japanese Arts Network (JA-NE) is a national resource for artistic collaboration and connection through Japanese cultural arts in America. https://www.ja-ne.org/
• @WarmCookiesRevolution:The world’s first Civic Health Club. Giving a damn and voting every day in Denver, CO and beyond. warmcookiesoftherevolution.org
• @pacificmercantileco: Family Owned & Operated Asian Grocery Store. Open for 80 years and counting! M-Sa: 9:00pm-6:00pm Sun: 9:00am-2:00pm A place to visit for a yummy treat before or after the show!

Discover the latest immersive events, festivals, workshops, and more at our new site EVERYTHING IMMERSIVE, home of NoPro’s show listings.

NoPro is a labor of love made possible by our generous Patreon backers. Join them today and get access to our Newsletter and Discord! You can also GIFT memberships.

In addition to the No Proscenium website and our podcast, and you can find NoPro on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and in the Facebook community also named Everything Immersive.