Meet Resa Mishina | Actor, Dancer, Singer, Gymnast

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

Hi Resa, what role has risk played in your life or career?
This business is full of taking risks, and I believe that nothing substantial comes from a safe choice. It was a big risk for me to move from Japan to America for college and to stay in order to pursue a career as an actor. Every time that I audition, I consider it as taking risks. You have to be so vulnerable to do the work and put yourself out there for people to judge your performance. All you have is your training and instincts as an actor, and you just hope that your interpretation somehow aligns with the casting’s or director’s view. Even taking a job involves risk taking. You don’t know how well you’re going to work with your director or co-stars, or if the audience is going to enjoy the show or your performance. I learned that you have to simply accept that this career is full of unknowns and taking risks. It allowed me to stop asking unanswerable questions and instead focus my time and energy on doing the work and bettering myself as a a performer.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I first came to America to study musical theatre. I trained in singing, dancing, and acting in college, but my forte was always in dance. Towards the end of my studies, I realized that I enjoyed acting as much as dancing and decided to pursue acting based opportunities as well, because why limit myself? After graduating with my bachelors degree in musical theatre, I got hired to dance professionally in several musicals, and in 2019 I was cast in my first professional play, which was “White Pearl” at Studio Theatre in DC. “White Pearl” was a special show for me since I got to play a Japanese character. The role was written with depth and not based on stereotypes and I was surrounded by fellow Asian artists in the cast and creative team. I loved the intricate story we were telling and how unapologetically Asian I could be, and for the first time in my career, I felt like I was being a part of the change I wanted to see in the industry. The show I did after “White Pearl” was “A Chorus Line” at The Wick Theatre in Florida. “A Chorus Line” is the quintessential “dancer’s musical” and I even got to work and dance alongside Jessica Lee Goldyn, a Broadway dancer I’ve looked up to since high school. I loved getting to play my role, Connie, and utilize all the “triple threat” skill sets. I hope I get to play her again sometime in the future.
I think what sets me apart from others, is that I don’t limit myself to one speciality. Sometimes dancers in the musical theatre world can get pigeonholed as just a dancer, but I’ve managed to establish myself as much more. I’ve danced in musicals, I’ve acted in plays, and I’ve even been hired as a singer for a concert. My training in musical theatre also came in handy in a play I did earlier this year too. In “John Proctor is the Villain” where I played high school girl Ivy Watkins, I had to sing a little snippet of a Taylor Swift song in a scene, and I was assigned to be dance captain for the production due to my experience and training. I also grew up as a competitive gymnast, and I absolutely love it whenever I get to showcase my tumbling skills in productions. I got to shoot a short film last year in LA where I got to tumble and do my own stunts like Tom Holland in Spiderman, and it was thrilling to get to marry my background as a gymnast and my current career as an actor.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’ve lived in big cities my whole life, so New York City feels very familiar to me and I love living here. I enjoy taking long walks through Central Park, especially on a nice sunny day with a smoothie or a coffee in hand. One of my favorite spots is the The Drama Book Shop on 39th street. As someone who spent a lot of her lunch break in the school library reading through the limited selection of plays in high school, I was thrilled to learn that there was an entire book store dedicated to play scripts and theatre books! In case you couldn’t tell by now, I am a huge theatre nerd, so of course one of my favorite things about New York would have to be Broadway. Growing up in Japan, Broadway only existed within the confines of my small laptop screen, so I love that now I get to take a quick 30 minute subway ride to see the very best of live theatre.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the love and support of my parents. It can’t be easy for them to have their only child travel to the other side of the globe to pursue her dreams in such an unstable career field, but they have always been my biggest cheerleaders. I also have to give a shoutout to my found family that I’ve gained since coming to America. As an immigrant artists, I’ve had to go through so many extra hurdles to get to where I am today in an already competitive industry, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my close friends and mentors.

Website: https://www.resa-mishina.com/

Instagram: @resacurly

Image Credits
Margot Shulman, Anthony Joseph Photography, Teresa Wood