About

Storyteller at Heart...

Connie Shirakawa was born at the Mary Thompson Chicago Hospital on Ashland Avenue in the near westside neighborhood where she grew up. Her parents Lily Ota Shirakawa and Ichi Shirakawa met in the Jerome Arkansas concentration camp for Japanese-Americans, in the 1940’s.  She received a degree in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago and then worked as a copywriter at several major Chicago ad agencies including J. Walter Thompson, Foote, Cone & Belding, and Leo Burnett. Her major accounts  included Kraft Foods, Sears, and United Airlines. Today she writes and performs stories for Goodman Theatre's Education & Engagement GENarrations program, Free Street Theatre and 2nd Story. She recently completed a writing residency at the Ragdale Foundation. 

She began working with Sharon Evans as a director in 2021 - on “ Ghost” for Lifeline Theater’s Fillet of Solo Festival. In 2022 They worked together again on “Connie’s Covid Adventures” for the festival via zoom. This past year they created Shirakawa’s longest story to date “ Warrior Women” which has been presented at the Chicago History Museum as part of Asian History month and The University of Illinois Champaign. She most recently performed a shortened version of “ "Woman Warrior ” entitled “Rice Land” for the Japanese-American Jerome Concentration Camp conference, in Little Rock. Arkansas.

She is excited to be performing a double bill featuring “Riceland” with fellow GENarrations writer, Nancy Solomon. 

Her story “Knock, Knock” was featured on NPR's “ Snap Judgement” SPOOKED podcast. “ Snap Judgment” airs on over 500 NPR stations.