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Resa Mishina is a New York based dancer, actor, singer, and gymnast. She is a proud native of Yokohama, Japan, and spent her childhood years in Japan and Singapore. She started competing as a gymnast when she was 8 and has placed in several national and international competitions. In 2009, Resa was hand-picked by the Governor of Tokyo to represent the city of Tokyo at the International Olympic Committee session for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games city bid alongside the Governor, the Prime Minister of Japan, and Japanese Olympic medallists. Her speech was praised as the “secret weapon” for the Japanese team and was covered on the front page of every major newspaper in Japan.
After graduating high school, she was accepted to the highly competitive musical theatre program at Rider University in New Jersey. She made her professional theatre debut in America in 2014 and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Rider University with a BFA in musical theatre.
Resa’s professional credits include Ivy Watkins in the World Premiere of John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower and Ruki Minami in the US premiere of White Pearl by Anchuli Felicia King at Studio Theatre, Connie in A Chorus Line at The Wick Theatre, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Holiday Inn at The Fireside Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Connecticut Shakespeare Festival, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Annie, 9 to 5, The Music Man at Flat Rock Playhouse, and Miss Saigon at Interlakes Summer Theatre. She can be heard in AlterTheatre’s radio play Br’er Peach and was a principal dancer in Kenneth Tam’s The Crossing with The Kitchen. Resa is currently performing in a new play: Sunrise Coven by Brendan Bourque-Sheil, “A new comedy about healers and healing and witchcraft and pharmaceuticals in a tiny town that’s barely hanging on”.
Thank you for having me! We had a wonderful opening night of Sunrise Coven. It was a full house of supportive and reactive audience and I was very excited to be a part of The Know Theatre’s 25th season opener. It’s also my first time in Cincinnati so I’ve been using my free time to explore the city.
Sunrise Coven is a new play by Brendan Bourque-Sheil that deals with community and questions the American health care system. I’m very happy to be in a show that covers topics that are incredibly timely and important. I play Annie, a young doctor who comes back to her small, dying hometown. I love that she’s optimistic and has so much compassion and care for her patients and loved ones.
I initially came to America to pursue training as a dancer in musical theatre and during my time at Rider University, I realised that I had a love for acting as well. I’ve been very fortunate to have been cast in both musicals and straight plays, as well as music videos, film/TV projects, and dance performances. And honestly, I enjoy them all, because I just have a deep love for the performing arts in general. But it’s especially exciting to me whenever I get to incorporate my gymnastics training or my Japanese background in my performances.
Those two qualities of mine are what make me a unique performer and I hope I get to showcase them more in future projects.
Recently, I’ve been focused on bettering my skills in acting, but I’m such a big musical theatre nerd, I don’t think I could let musical theatre go any time soon. I love being a multi-disciplined artist because I feel like the possibilities are endless!
Oh gosh, I’ve been so fortunate to have been a part of many wonderful projects that have really inspired me, but two that I think about a lot are the Olympics Bid and White Pearl.
I had the honour of representing my home country at the 121st International Olympics Committee (IOC) Session when I was 15 and that will always be one of my proudest accomplishments. Tokyo was one of the final candidates for the host city of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and I was a presenter for Team Tokyo alongside the Prime Minister of Japan, the Governor of Tokyo, and Olympic Gold medallists from Japan.
I was suddenly a part of this big government funded project and I learned the weight and responsibilities of representing your country, and to always be on my A-game.
White Pearl by Anchuli Felicia King was my first professional straight play in America. I got to play Ruki Minami in the US Premiere of the show at Studio Theatre in Washington DC. Not only was Ruki a Japanese character and I got to speak some lines in my native language, but the play is also set in Singapore, which is where I spent my elementary school years in. So, I felt a deep connection to both the play and my role. In the cast of seven, six of us were Asian women, and we were led by the incredible Desdemona Chiang as our director. I had never been in a rehearsal room or on stage that was predominantly comprised of Asian women before White Pearl, and it was such an empowering experience for me.
For the first time in my career, I felt like I was a part of the change that I wanted to see in the industry.
I’ve learned the importance of having a great support system. This industry is already hard as it is, having family members and close friends who will inspire, listen, and cheer you on is so vital. I’m an only child and grew up pretty independent, so it’s sometimes hard for me to rely on others and ask for help, but I now know that my support system will always be there for me. Especially as an immigrant artist, we have so much additional hurdles to overcome and I simply wouldn’t be here today as a performer in America if it weren’t for my friends, family, and co-workers who offered to write me recommendation letters, introduce me to lawyers, or give me a shoulder to cry on when things get tough.
Imagine you’re a beloved Nurse Practitioner in a tiny Texas town that’s beset by every economic and existential struggle one could think up. Now imagine you turn up in the ER one night after taking enough Oxycontin to kill an elephant. What do you do?
If you’re Hallie Heaton, you just might find yourself forging an alliance between your partner in drug dealing and a practicing witch in a scheme to subvert the medical establishment (and hopefully, save your own skin).
Welcome to Buckstop, Texas. Ask your doctor if Witchcraft is right for you.
Sunrise Coven is a sharp-tongued new comedy that kicks of a six-show season at The Know Theater, that is set to explore “What we owe to each other” from August 2022 through to May 2023.
Sunrise Coven is a sharp and fun adventure that speaks to anyone who’s fought their way back from rock-bottom, who’s longed to subvert exploitative systems, and who believes that compassion and community care have the power to change the world.
As a finalist in Southwest Theatre Company’s “Plays With A Strong Female Lead” competition, Sunrise Coven will also hit a chord with anyone who loves dynamic, flawed, fiercely opinionated female protagonists.
Sunrise Coven runs August 12 – 28, live at The Know, and livestreaming on select dates to your home.
Book tickets to Sunrise Coven
@resacurly
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Michelle is a musician and composer from the UK. She has performed across the UK and Europe and is passionate about arts education and opportunities for women and girls.
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