Toshiki Okada was born in Yokohama in 1973. While attending Keio University, where he graduated with a business degree, he developed an affinity for theater and began writing and directing his own plays. Today the 38 year old playwright, who cites Oriza Hirata und Bertold Brecht as major influences on his work, is considered the most important and influential Japanese theater director of his generation.In 1997, he established his own company, chelfitsch, taking the name from a child’s mispronunciation of the English word ›selfish.‹ He has since written and directed all of the company's productions and become known for his use of hyper-colloquial Japanese and unique minimalistic movement language which reflects the youth culture in modern Japan.The chelfitsch company has been invited to appear at renowned international festivals and venues including, among others, the Festival d’Automne Paris, the Wiener Festwochen (Vienna), Kaaitheater (Brussels), the Maison de la culture du Japon (Paris) and Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin).Toshiki Okada has received numerous awards for his work including the ›49th Kishida Drama Award‹ for Five Days in March (2005), the ›Yokohama Cultural Award/ Yokohama Cultural for Art and Cultural Engagement‹ (2005) and the ›Kenzaburo Oe Prize‹ for The End of the Special Time We Were Allowed (2008).