It used to be that Chase Nakayama’s more than 20 life-threatening food allergies were at the center of his life. Now, his life is blossoming as community outreach and acting have taken center stage.
Just last month, the Los Altos resident and 14-year-old incoming Mountain View High School student attended the Cannes Film Festival in France after appearing in two short films with the Young Actors’ Theatre Camp. Both were screened at the festival.
“One of them I’m a star in – it’s called ‘Hiccup.’ It’s about this young boy (and) … this person who’s, like, giving people hiccups – and I got them,” Chase said. “And it’s about all his friends that help him overcome the hiccups – it’s very disruptive to his daily life. So, they’re able to overcome that together.”
The film’s theme of perseverance and support runs parallel to real life for Chase, who was really ill at a young age.
“We couldn’t figure out why,” said his mother, Teresa Long. “When he was a toddler, he picked up a pair of sunglasses his older sibling had been wearing and immediately broke out in a rash that made his eyes swell shut and had trouble breathing. His sibling had been eating pistachios nuts and touched the glasses. Thankfully, a dose of Benadryl kept him breathing until we reached the hospital, where he received life-saving epinephrine. From that moment on, we have been on the allergy roller coaster.”
Childhood was tough as Chase adapted to a strict food regimen and emergency plans, and people around him had to be educated on what kinds of food represented potential threats.
“The stress was nearly unbearable,” Long recalled. “A simple outing to a movie, a play date or even a trip to a playground was fraught with potential life-ending, cross-contact situations.”
Stage-struck
But around age 8, Chase auditioned for Peninsula Youth Theatre’s “The Hobbit.” He caught the acting bug.
“I always love to perform,” he said. “It’s always kind of been one of those things that I really enjoyed.”
More film work lies ahead for Chase, as well as the Young Actors’ Theatre Camp. He’ll be attending the three-week summer camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains, working on “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”
“With theater, he really found his voice,” Long said. “He learned how to put himself out there and take risks.”
Last year, Chase appeared in three musicals, three plays and five short films.
“This camp has enabled him to experience overnight camp in an allergy-safe environment,” Long said. “For the first time, he was able to attend an overnight camp without a food chaperone. The experience truly changed his life.”
“Chase and his family worked with YATC diligently through basic education and wonderful advocacy, and we made Chase’s experience one of complete safety for his health and his artistic soul,” said Shawn Ryan, YATC co-founding director. “It takes a special kiddo like Chase to create this amazing world of the Young Actors’ Theatre Camp, and we are so grateful to have Chase and the Nakayama Family as part of our CampYATC family.”
Helping others
Chase also enjoys volunteering. He volunteers at farms, feeding horses. He is currently making friends with a recovering racehorse, building trust with a rescue animal that is not used to trusting many people. Over the course of a year, he has helped transform the horse into a happy, healthy animal.
“Volunteering has taught him how it feels to be part of something collaborative, focused on a common goal and how important it is to be kind,” Long said.
Since he was 8, Chase has raised money for hurricane victims, sent letters of support to natural disaster victims and packed food boxes for the homeless. The Town Crier ran a story in 2019 about Chase collecting toys for a holiday fundraiser for 500 kids who were victims of Northern California wildfires.
“There was an issue, and I just thought of ways to help,” he said. “We can’t fix everything in the world, but we can definitely help others.”
The food allergies have been a struggle, but they’ve helped Chase become stronger in other ways.
“Chase had to mature much earlier than he should have to have any autonomy over his life,” Long said. “Chase has had a good deal of therapy to deal with the stress, fear and anxiety that goes along with such severe allergies. His therapy was not limited to working with a therapist, but also included volunteering to help others, equine therapy and acting.”
“There are times when everyone else gets to be eating the best croissant I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’m over here having my banana,” Chase said. “But, you know, am I going to eat a croissant and die, or do I just want to eat a banana and live? (It’s about) balancing out my choices, just understanding what the reality would be, just knowing to make the right decisions for myself.
“In the end, I try to do the right thing. And like to help people. And, you know, self-care is key, for sure. Taking care of yourself is very important because you have to be in a (condition) where you can help others.”
