Meet Tomoka Takahashi

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tomoka Takahashi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tomoka below.

Tomoka, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

As a person and as an artist, there were many times where I was the only person in the room who was Asian. I have learned to not get silenced, to advocate as much as I can for people who look like me and to step out of my comfort zone, because it’ll be worth it in the long run. I often as a child used to ask the question of, why can’t I play that role? Why can’t I tell my story? And I’m sure that there are children, a young generation out there who have or had the same question.

So, to make sure that they have someone to look up to, to point fingers at a play/movie/shows and say “hey, they look just like me”, I produce, write plays, films where diversity is shown and advocated. I also learned that when people say “You’re writing about diversity too much”, I remind myself, to write more. The world is filled with millions of individuals with different stories and nothing is the same as one another. They can be similar but never the same. Which is why I want to make arts that resonate with many people as much as I can.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am Half Japanese and Half Korean and went to an international school since young age, so with that background, I often was in this middle ground where I was not accepted by many places. I was too Asian for English education, I was too Japanese for Korean, and too Korean for Japanese. With this identity crisis since my childhood, I often felt very unsure of who I was as a person and tended to laugh at unconformable times usually or censor myself a lot. So with this background, I tend to focus a lot on identity, being in a mixed community, and taboo topics in my art. Because I know for a fact, that there’s someone out there going through the same thing I have, and want to make sure they are seen.

I have been acting since I was the age of 10 years old in local theatre, TV shows, and movies, and throughout my experience, I have learned that there are certain ‘rules’. You have to act a certain way, look a certain way, to be cast, to be chosen. I want to challenge that ‘rule’ in my art practices. Currently, I am writing one film and two TV shows that challenge those rules. The film is about a South Korean woman and a North Korean defector woman’s friendship at the age of 60 while facing the reality of aging and social discrimination in their community. When women are in their 60s’ or older, they are told that they are not appealing, and not beautiful enough to be in the media unless they are exceptionally beautiful. I want to disapprove of that. As for the TV shows, I’m doing a comedy show about the Body Scrubbing females in Korean Spa in the US, and another show about underdog ‘misfit’ students in the school trying to find a way to join a ‘popular’ kids. They both fight against the stereotypes, for example, the first show talks about ageism, being American Korean and not being seen as Korean by their own community, and the fetishization of Asians. The second show is about young teens being judged by the expectations of society and has characters being judged by their religion, dress, race, and their body ability. For example, one of the characters uses an Electrolarynx, another wears a Hijab, and another is battling a mental health crisis. These are not just characters, but actual stories from people in the world. I want to make sure they are heard, seen, and have a representation.

While these are going on, I am also a Traditional Japanese Instrument, Koto player. I trained in them from a young age, and decided to have a hiatus after moving to the United States, but was drawn back to it. I am currently retraining and incorporating the traditional side of my culture into my artistry. I also have a background in piano, harmonica, clarinet, and Janggu. So with that being said, I want to make sure my traditional background is seen and preserved, even if that means doing it in traditional ways and also in a very interesting merging into modern artistic ways. In order to make sure I understand Music and theatre, I am learning Opera and recently became Assistant Director for the Mannes School Of Music’s production of Don Giovanni.

I also work on technology and Gaming techniques in my Theatre. I did a VR Theatre project in an organization called OnBoard XR where they gather VR theatre artists and showcase their art to the world. My team and I did a small interactive piece where that was a choose-your-own-adventure gaming style, done with interactive and improv aspects of theatre. I also have been working on integrating dance theatre with shadow, and projections, and am learning how to code and build projectors for interactive projectors and systems.

While all of these are going on, I am also part of the founding team of the Company Della Luna with Edoardo Tesio, Olivia Amicangioli, Bridget Spencer, and Marjorie Murillo. Where we integrate the artistry of theatre, music, storytelling, and dance. Making sure that we have diversity, telling stories that are battling with the stereotypes.

As for the recent projects I have done, I did a devised site-specific piece directed by Irina Kruzhilina, where we did it in a basement that was abandoned for years from a hurricane flooding and was covered with rats, dust, and grime. It was very experimental and was a project that ignited my thirst in me that I want to do more site-specific art. I also participated in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Love’s Concordia Bar, written by Edoardo Tesio, and Marjorie Murillo, with music by Olivia Amicangioli, and choreography by Bridget Spencer.

You can tell I am very greedy with my artistry because I don’t believe that an actor has to be JUST an actor. Movie makers have to be JUST movie-related artists. I believe that anyone can be anything, as long as you have passion.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Personally, three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that really impacted my journey were 1. Do not forget your roots. 2. Being open to many different forms of art. 3. Being open-minded. While these three are really easy to say and might seem obvious, as years go by, and you do something similar or the same over and over again, you sometimes forget. If I kept writing theatre scripts, I’d forget to hone my craft with physicalization. If I keep focusing on physicalization, I’ll forget the importance of stillness. Like that, I have to make sure that these three points are always in my head, to balance myself.

As for the first advice, the path that you are walking on is not just a path. It was either made by your hand, or you strived for it with the support, and care from your loved one, family, or friends. Walk with a meaning. That is what I mean by remembering your roots. For the second piece of advice, Art is something that was crafted from a long long time ago. There was vocal entertainment where people sang. Visual entertainment where people drew on the walls of the cave. Crafting things from a rock and stick to make a sharp weapon. Art went through many evolutions, meaning there are thousands and more ways to be creative, explore, and show art. This leads to my third advice, be open-minded and learn. Some things might not be your cup of tea. That is totally fine, however, you still have to respect or acknowledge the differences as a person and as an artist. Quickly judging and limiting yourself will never be a benefit for your growth. This process is something I am still going through as well and is something I will never stop the journey of till my death. So I advise people, to always explore, to just give it a try, because you’ll never know if something is good for you.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

Definitely. As you can tell, I am very greedy when it comes to my wants to explore the arts. To a point, I overwhelm myself a little too much and am having a hard time saying no to some projects. I fear rejection and I am a huge people-pleaser. So with these two combined, I often find myself juggling 8-9 projects at the same time. I am starting to learn and let go of my fears by telling myself if I overwork myself, I cannot put 100% on every project and that is dishonesty and rude to the people and the art form. As one says, “Slow and steady wins the race”. I try to make sure that I maintain the balance of my thirst for art, my personal life, and even a time when I do nothing. To give space and grace, that even if I stop doing anything productive, the world is not going to explode.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @tomoka_takahashi1018

Image Credits

Photos taken by:
Riccardo Ezzu
Sam Smith
Maria Baranova Photography
Jack Hyler
Renee-Michele