Tetsuro Shigematsu
Encyclopedia
Tetsuro Shigematsu is a Canadian
radio broadcaster, comedian and filmmaker. He was the most recent host of CBC Radio One
's former afternoon series The Roundup
, where he replaced Bill Richardson
in 2004, making him the first visible minority to host a daily network radio program in Canada. The show completed its final episode on November 4, 2005. Prior to working for CBC Radio, he was a writer for the Canadian TV show This Hour Has 22 Minutes
.
Shigematsu was born in London, England in 1971. His family emigrated to Canada in 1974. He grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia and studied in Montreal. He has a BFA from Concordia University.
In 1991, at the age of 19, Shigematsu became the youngest playwright to compete in the history of the Quebec Drama Festival.
From 1993 to 1996, Shigematsu wrote and performed his one-man show Rising Son in Montreal, Boston, Los Angeles
, and Tokyo
. In 1994, Tetsuro studied poetry with Allen Ginsberg
. He then spent the following two years in Japan, where he studied Butoh
dance with the founding master, Kazu Ohno in Yokohama, Japan.
In 1996, he starred with George Takei
, (Star Trek
's Sulu
) in the television movie Rinko The Best Bad Thing, based upon the novel by Yoshiko Uchida
. During that same year, Tetsuro began hosting the Montreal Asian Heritage Festival.
In 1997, he created and produced three episodes of La La Pan-Asia, a half-hour TV show showcasing Asian youth culture. In 1998 he was awarded Canada Council
grant to write a new play, The Moons of Tokyo. In 1999, Shigematsu was invited to be artist-in-residence at Technoboro, an artist-run media lab.
His video work has been seen in the Montreal World Film Festival
, the Biosphere
, and won the Prix du Public at the Evénement Interuniversitaire d'Art.
He speaks English
, French
, Japanese
, and Persian
.
In 2007, Tetsuro completed his feature film debut Yellow Fellas, which he wrote & directed.
In 2009, Tetsuro appeared in Episode 2 of the TV series Deadliest Warrior
, as one of the experts for the Samurai team.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
radio broadcaster, comedian and filmmaker. He was the most recent host of CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
's former afternoon series The Roundup
The Roundup
The Roundup was a weekday afternoon program on the Radio One network of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, hosted by Tetsuro Shigematsu and Bill Richardson at different times. It was heard Monday to Friday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. . The show mixed music with calls and letters from listeners,...
, where he replaced Bill Richardson
Bill Richardson (radio)
Bill Richardson is a Canadian radio broadcaster and author.Richardson received his B.A. from the University of Winnipeg in 1976...
in 2004, making him the first visible minority to host a daily network radio program in Canada. The show completed its final episode on November 4, 2005. Prior to working for CBC Radio, he was a writer for the Canadian TV show This Hour Has 22 Minutes
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics, combining news parody, sketch comedy and satirical editorials...
.
Shigematsu was born in London, England in 1971. His family emigrated to Canada in 1974. He grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia and studied in Montreal. He has a BFA from Concordia University.
In 1991, at the age of 19, Shigematsu became the youngest playwright to compete in the history of the Quebec Drama Festival.
From 1993 to 1996, Shigematsu wrote and performed his one-man show Rising Son in Montreal, Boston, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. In 1994, Tetsuro studied poetry with Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
. He then spent the following two years in Japan, where he studied Butoh
Butoh
is the collective name for a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement inspired by the movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally performed in white body makeup...
dance with the founding master, Kazu Ohno in Yokohama, Japan.
In 1996, he starred with George Takei
George Takei
George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
, (Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
's Sulu
Hikaru Sulu
Hikaru Sulu is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by George Takei in the original Star Trek series, Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, the first six Star Trek movies, one episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and in numerous books, comics, and video games...
) in the television movie Rinko The Best Bad Thing, based upon the novel by Yoshiko Uchida
Yoshiko Uchida
-Life:Yoshiko Uchida was the daughter of Japanese immigrants Takashi and Iku Uchida. Her father came to the United States from Japan in 1903 and worked for the San Francisco offices of Mitsui and Company...
. During that same year, Tetsuro began hosting the Montreal Asian Heritage Festival.
In 1997, he created and produced three episodes of La La Pan-Asia, a half-hour TV show showcasing Asian youth culture. In 1998 he was awarded Canada Council
Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts, commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown Corporation established in 1957 to act as an arts council of the government of Canada, created to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. It funds Canadian artists and...
grant to write a new play, The Moons of Tokyo. In 1999, Shigematsu was invited to be artist-in-residence at Technoboro, an artist-run media lab.
His video work has been seen in the Montreal World Film Festival
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
, the Biosphere
Biosphere
The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be called the zone of life on Earth, a closed and self-regulating system...
, and won the Prix du Public at the Evénement Interuniversitaire d'Art.
He speaks English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
.
In 2007, Tetsuro completed his feature film debut Yellow Fellas, which he wrote & directed.
In 2009, Tetsuro appeared in Episode 2 of the TV series Deadliest Warrior
Deadliest Warrior
Deadliest Warrior is a television program in which information on historical or modern warriors and their weapons are used to determine which of them is the "deadliest" based upon tests performed during each episode...
, as one of the experts for the Samurai team.