Meet Naomi Townsend

We had the good fortune of connecting with Naomi Townsend and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Naomi, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
Listening, patience, and empathy has been crucial to navigating the ups and downs of an artistic career. I think all three of these come hand in hand, but the one that can lead to the other two is listening. Listening, not just to people, but to the rhythms of the world, allows me to be grounded. Whether I’m sitting in a cafe, observing the conversations of daily life, or riding the subway, tuning into the sounds and stories of strangers, I find that listening just helps me stay connected to the world.

And as an actor, I am responsible for depicting life in its most truthful form. In Meisner training, we were told to listen to your scene partner, allowing your emotional or physical response to develop as a result of the other actors, not because of yourself. This speaks to how we respond in life, to the ups and downs of a normal conversation. André Gregory says in his book that ‘the actor’s instrument is the self, the body and the voice, the depth of emotional expression.’ And so in order to tap into the depth of our instrument, we must listen and observe life, which gets us as close to portraying truth as possible. I feel that my habit of listening to life outside of art actually makes me a better artist, and also makes me a more empathetic person. This is when I find that my art is at its most successful.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a multidisciplinary artist, I’m drawn to art that explores the complexities of identity, empathy, and the human experience. My work spans film, theater, musicals, dance, and fashion, with a focus on spotlighting underrepresented voices and subversive narratives. I’ve found that each art form informs and enriches the others, allowing me to approach storytelling from multiple angles. Recently, I’ve focused heavily on acting, but the other art forms continue to ruminate in my head, influencing my approach to character development and storytelling.

Even growing up, I didn’t have a clear roadmap, but I said yes to opportunities that excited me, and each experience shaped my creative perspective. I began winning international awards in dance at a young age, including multiple awards at The American Dance Awards, Taiwan Grand Prix, and American Dance Competition. These achievements opened doors to prestigious opportunities, such as a scholarship to the Vienna Opera Ballet short program and acceptance into the Birmingham Royal Ballet. I also modeled for luxury brands like David Charles and Cissonne, and starred in a headlining commercial for China Pacific Insurance Group, one of China’s top three insurance companies. Onstage, I performed the titular role of Alice in Alice in Wonderland at the Shanghai Children’s Arts Theatre, and on screen, played Lena in the pilot Orange Cube Project, which premiered at the Shanghai Film Group cinema.

When I was accepted to train at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for acting, I dove right in, despite having no prior acting training. My study of the Meisner technique at the Meisner Studio, which emphasized acting as “behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances,” cracked something open in me. I realized how a truthful performance can create a powerful sense of relatability, even transformation, in an audience. During my time at Tisch, I was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) Shakespeare Program, where I discovered my love for classical work and explored the emotional depth of Shakespeare’s language. I was stunned when I made the Tisch Dean’s list two years in a row.

Since graduating, my career has taken off in exciting ways. I’ve signed with my current manager at Authentic Management, an incredibly rare opportunity for an international actor before graduating. I’ve recently wrapped American Girl at A.R.T. New York, and I’m now playing the lead in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a sharp and timely play about cultural identity and corporate PR disasters. Two films I shot last summer are also premiering soon: Each Solitary Moment, a Chinese-language film by Cannes-screened director Jing Wen Fang, and Going Dark, a psychological thriller set in an all-girls Catholic school. Last week, I just wrapped Harriet, Lylah and The Spider, a film set in New York’s Chinatown—a place that holds deep meaning for me personally.

The journey to becoming a professional actor hasn’t been easy, with its share of rejection and uncertainty. But as I mentioned earlier, the habit to help success is patience and listening to the world around me. You need to remind yourself that success is different for every person and rejection doesn’t define talent or potential.

I’m drawn to the freedom of being a multidisciplinary artist, where each discipline informs and enriches the others. There’s not just one straight line path for me, it is just a continuous flow of creative exploration and expression. As I look to the future, I’m excited to see where this journey takes me, and how I can continue to grow as an artist.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There is honestly never enough to see in New York. I feel like even though I have lived here for 5 years, I am constantly discovering new places… A close friend of mine actually just visited so I might recap a bit of what we did!

So for restaurants some of my favourites at the moment are Win Son, Soothr, Wen Wen, Thursday Kitchen, Cafe Himalaya, Huda Levantine Bistro, Llama Inn, Her name is Han, Rule of Thirds, Raku, and Claud. There are so many more but these are just off the top of my head! For a drink my go-to is The York for a pub vibe drink and Spes for a wine night – both in the East Village.

I always plan a day in Chinatown to walk around. Grab some Cantonese style brunch at Kong Shik Tong, go to East Broadway mall for some vintage shopping then grab an Asian dessert on the way out. It honestly feels like I am transported to a different world in Chinatown and I love it.

Of course, when visiting New York, seeing some art is an absolute must, especially when you are with me. I went to the Noguchi Museum in LIC with my friend for the first time two months ago and it was incredible. A little out of the way from downtown Manhattan but so tranquil and absolutely worth the trip. You get to see beautiful sculptures, read about Noguchi’s fascinating life stories, then sit in the garden he built — just relax.

Now, for the theatre!!! Watch a show at an off-broadway theatre: New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights, Atlantic Theatre, Roundabout, and more. Ask around town for recommendations on what is exciting. I love going into a show, not knowing too much, not reading the reviews, because then I leave with fresh thoughts and opinions. There’s something special about the buzz of a live theatre experience – a collective silence where everyone’s thoughts are separate yet breaths seem in sync. It is a rare calm in the midst of New York’s hustle and bustle.

I think my biggest recommendation for someone visiting New York is to just walk around. This might sound boring, but trust me, that is how you will get the most out of the city. I always like to say, life is movement, literally. And as humans we have been walking for centuries. Through walking we are observing new things, developing thoughts, and sparking conversation. The walk from my subway stop to my apartment is one I take twice or more a day and it really is never the same. I love to walk everywhere but New York is especially a place to do that. It is grounding to take in life, in its most simple form, which can lead to the most unexpected discoveries.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I must shout out my family and friends first and foremost. I truly would not be where I am without their support. The arts is an industry that requires patience and trust, so having people that believe in your success is so important. There have been countless moments where my faith in myself has wavered, where I have experienced rejection again and again, and that is when your closest support circle is crucial. Even though both my parents are not actors and honestly know nothing about the arts industry, they have always been my biggest pillars of support. From my career as a dancer to my first time acting on screen, they have never fully understood what the journey is but they trust that I am on the right path and that greater things are always just around the corner. It is this trust and love that continues to nurture my passion.

Next I need to shout out Dr. Flora Zeta Cheong-Leen. She was the person who made me fall in love with dancing and, more importantly, performing. Miss Flora, as I would call her as a naive 8 year old, was my first mentor. A legendary ballet dancer, fashion designer, and renowned actress from Hong Kong, Miss Flora founded the dance school CISCA that would go on to profoundly impact China’s youth dance scene. When I joined her studio in Shanghai, she took me under her wing, recognizing my love for ballet and encouraging my parents to nurture it further. Throughout my journey, from gaining acceptance into prestigious ballet schools to starting at Tisch, Miss Flora has been a constant source of wisdom and guidance. Her impressive achievements, including the Ten Most Outstanding Young Persons Award in Hong Kong, the French Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Women of the 21st Century’ award, and several others, speak to her innovative spirit and artistic prowess.

I believe Miss Flora’s influence has instilled in me an openness to multidisciplinary approaches. As an artist, I’ve found that creativity can flow into various areas. For instance, my fashion sense, though never formally trained, has taken on a life of its own – my outfit images went viral on Pinterest, inspiring others. This experience reinforced my conviction that artists can tap into their creativity across different disciplines. Miss Flora taught me to embrace every artistic aspect of myself, and her legacy continues to inspire me.

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Image Credits
Stills from ‘Going Dark’ and ‘Untitled Relationship Film’. Justin Chauncey Photography