Aoki's work combines Eastern and Western narratives and theatrical traditions such as noh, kyogen, commedia dell'arte, modern dance, Japanese drumming, and American jazz.
[7] Aoki and her husband Mark Izu, an Emmy-winning jazz music composer, are the founders of First Voice, a San Francisco-based nonprofit arts organization.
[8] Brenda Wong Aoki was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up in Long Beach, California.
[16] Aoki sought to trace her family history by consulting with relatives and finding information from archived newspapers at the San Francisco Public Library.
[9][18] The engagement incited public outcry and resulted in Californian legislation adding Japanese immigrants to the list of races banned from marrying white citizens; a law that remained in effect until 1948.
[22] Additionally, Aoki studied with Mansaku Nomura and completed an apprenticeship with Yuriko Doi's Theater of Yugen in San Francisco in the 1970s.
[3] Jael Weisman, an early member of the San Francisco Mime Troupe and Dell Arte Player's company directed the majority of Aoki's works.
[13][26] Her first play, Obake, came directly out of her Nohgaku training and was based on Japanese ghost stories[27] In Noh, the dead are more important than the living.
[34] Aoki's monodramas have been commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts,[15] Japan Foundation, Asian Cultural Council, U.S. Congress, State of California and the City of San Francisco.