Meet Miyo Yamauchi | Storyteller

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

Hi Miyo, what do you attribute your success to?
Find your tribe! When I started my storytelling journey, I didn’t have any specific goals other than improving my English speaking skills. I didn’t know what I was doing, how well I was doing, or if I was making any progress, but I kept going because of my friends’ encouragement and enthusiasm. They have been supportive of my journey since day one. Thanks to them, I didn’t have to bang my head too much. Instead, I enjoyed the process! Writing, editing, editing, editing, performing, editing, performing – I was persistent. The road wasn’t always smooth for me, but if you pour your soul into what you love, whether it’s big or small, you’ll get the fruits of your labor from time to time. And sharing the tasty fruits with your friends is icing on the cake! Without my friends, my journey wouldn’t have been this much fun. I feel extremely lucky to have such amazing friends.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My friends call me a force because I don’t give up easily. English is not my mother tongue. There are many words and phrases I don’t know or cannot pronounce properly. I still make grammatical mistakes. Because of that, I need to work harder than anybody else.

Last September, I jumped into the standup comedy world. If I were invited two years ago, I would’ve given a hard no. Although most of my stories are entertaining, I’m not a joke writer. Writing jokes constantly sounded daunting to me, but when I saw an open mic at the Crow Comedy (https://www.crowcomedy.com/), something clicked with me. Was it owner Nicole Blaine’s warm energy, her insightful feedback, or the audience’s welcoming atmosphere? I don’t know what it was, but I signed up for Nicole’s standup comedy workshops right away and performed not one but two sets at sold-out showcases. The best part of this challenge was to meet eight dynamic talented funny women. Although the workshop is over, we’re still working together, exchanging new ideas and being inspired by each other. I have a feeling that our collaboration will lead to something magical and I can’t wait to witness it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Of course, I’ll take my friends to storytelling shows and stand up comedy! But the first destination will be supermarkets. When my best friend visited me from Japan, the first place I took her was Trader Joe’s, which was my favorite supermarket at the time. Supermarkets are interesting places to visit because they tell a lot about the culture. If she visited me today, I would take her to the Kosher market, which was my pleasant discovery during the pandemic. I think she will appreciate the quality of their produce and nuts and also enjoy spices and ingredients that we don’t find at Japanese supermarkets. When I have a strong feeling about something, I usually incorporate them in my stories. Both Trader Joe’s and the Kosher market made it into my stories, which shows how much I like them!

If the weather is not too hot, we’ll go for a hike. If it’s summer time, I will definitely plan an outdoor concert. I love a picnic before the concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Also, I want to go back to the Griffith Observatory, not for my friends but for myself. I took some of my friends to the Observatory once. Afterwards, while my friends were praising how fantastic the show was, I had nothing to say because I didn’t watch a thing! Even for a minute! As soon as the lights went out, I fell asleep. What a shame!

Now, what to eat? There are so many choices! The other day, I was invited to perform at Long Beach Community Theater’s Best of the Best. Before the show, I googled dinner spots and found a Colombian restaurant called Selva, which put me in an instant happy mode because the service was great and the food was fantastic. It was a ravishing experience! I like finding little restaurants like that, so most likely, we’ll try different cuisines and bars.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I can’t list everybody and all the organizations that I’m grateful for, so I’d like to dedicate my special shoutout to my mentor, Jane Morris (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0606623/). Meeting Jane was a storytelling game changer for me. I saw her at the Immediate Theater (https://www.facebook.com/immediatetheater/) in 2018. It was the best improv show I’ve ever seen and her presence shined on the stage. As soon as I came home, I googled about her and learned that she leads the Writer, Performer, Artists workshop (https://fanaticsalon.com/workshops/) aka WPA. She took me under her wing, shared abundant wisdom, and gave me my first opportunity and many more to tell a story at the Fanatic Salon Theater. I’ve learned a lot in her workshops and also on the stage. The rest is history. Thanks to her and WPA members, my solo show, “How To Be Japanese: Your Normal Is Not My Normal” (https://howtobejapanese.com/) became a big success in 2022. I’m going to take the show to other cities this year. I’m excited!

Some of other groups I’m also grateful for:
* Long Beach Community Theater (http://longbeachcommunitytheater.com/)
* Revealed (https://ericablumfield.com/)
* Story Salon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/30640214062)
* StoryMasters (https://thestorymasters.org)
* Strong Words (https://strongwordslive.com/)
* The Crow (https://www.crowcomedy.com/)
* Turbine Arts Collective (https://www.turbine-arts.org/)

Website: https://miyo.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miyo.thestoryteller/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miyo.thestoryteller/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@miyo.thestoryteller    

Other: Merchandise: https://shop.miyo.net Solo show: https://howtobejapanese.com/

Image Credits
Anne Carmack (http://www.annecarmackstudio.com/) Anthony Phills (https://phills.com/) Susy Shearer (https://www.susyshearerphotography.com/)