Tora Kim-Lake

Tora Kim studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City when she was 17, thinking acting might be something she'd pursue, when life had other plans for her. After her second year at Barnard College where she studied Art History and Sociology with a Minor in Studio Art, she founded the seminal New York rock band Xtatika, dropped out of school and went on to become a singer, songwriter and musician. In between touring four continents and recording albums, an unusually high rate of productivity led her to earn her BA in Performance Art and Writing with honors at New York University, where she won awards for prose and fiction writing. Miss Kim continued her career in music while writing and performing in one-woman and ensemble shows that were well-received at venues such as The Public Theater and PS 122 in New York City. She still made time for legit theater, performing Shakespeare and Brecht, before moving to Los Angeles in 2010. Tora Kim has worked with a diverse range of artists from Sean Lennon to John Zorn, Marina Abramovic and Academy Award-winner Dustin Lance Black. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Tora lived in Panama City, Panama; Queens, New York; and northern New Jersey; all before the age of 6. Growing up in northern New Jersey, Tora trained in classical piano, viola, voice and ballet, and continued traveling and backpacking worldwide throughout her teens. Her music years saw her living a rock and roll lifestyle of extremes. Living a much saner life these days, the actress and writer recently wrote, directed and starred in Half/Life, a dark fantasy short inspired by those years of fertile turmoil.