Who I am
I was trained as an actor and performance maker in the most renowned drama school in Japan, Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music, for four years. After graduating, I co-founded theatre company Ti-pos and created performances as a director, writer, producer and actor. But then, after four years of running the company, I decided to be an educator. I wanted to be an innovative teacher who supports students in their agency and autonomy because they are often oppressed in a conventional education. After studying pedagogy and acting practice in MFA Actor Training and Coaching course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD), I conducted numerous workshops for varied age groups of actors (20s to 60s) in Japan about multiple acting skills. I also started my doctoral research and work as a visiting lecturer at RCSSD.
Researcher (2023-present)
I am currently working on my doctoral research titled ‘Queering the Queer Race: British East and Southeast Asian Queer Performance’ at RCSSD. My research is situated in the field of Performance Studies in the intersection of Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race Theories and Queer Theory. In thesis, I argue that ESEA (East and Southeast Asians) in the UK is attributed to what I call Queer Race, which indicates the segregated colonized racial sexuality, entangled with the slur use of the word Queer as “illegitimate” and “perverse” sexuality. ESEA or their racial category in Britain ‘Chinese’ (neither nationality nor ethnicity, but race) has been associated with the Queer Race in the linear history and present of being desired and feared by white-supremacist and hetero-patriarchal UK. I examine ESEA’s queer performance as their means to disidentify the dominant and poisonous identification of their Queer Race. I watch and analyse performance practices mainly independent theatre and Drag Performance and narrate how I, myself, part of ESEA and queer person experience possibility of better future when and where ESEA people will not be associated with Queer Race.
Conference
Intersection2025 in RCSSD (Organising and curating the conference 2025)
TaPRA 2024 postgraduate symposium (Presenting paper “They are too different (from us)”: East and Southeast Asian queer racial formation in the UK)
Intersection2024 in RCSSD (Presenting paper A queer BESEA researcher and drag king show King Dynasty: experiencing present and futurity at the same time)
I teach various subjects, including racism in theatre, devising skills and acting by using dialogic pedagogy and queer pedagogy.
About the racism, I thought ESEA racial stereotypes and material inequality in British theatre and performance in the unit of Performing Race at BA Creative Performance Practice, where students from BA Drama, BA Applied Theatre and Education, Experimental Arts and Performance and BA Writing for Performance attended. I introduced what the race and racial stereotypes are, starting from narrating my own experience of being racialised in the UK and connected to the stereotypes and Orientalism. I included many activities for students to be able to be immersed in the contents, for example, discussion, creating a mind map and watching and analysing performances. Students were very engaged with the content, such as confidently stating their thoughts from their own social position and asking questions. They gave me very positive feedback saying “I want to learn more about this topic” and “I very appreciated your perspective on sexuality because it’s not really talked about”.
I also have taught devising skills in BA Applied Theatre and Education at RCSSD and in my workshops in Japan. I use writing and movement-led autobiographical devising skills, which I intend to enhance performers’ or workshop participants’ agency and autonomy in the making of performance. The set of practice was initially produced for actors in Japan who experience abuse from directors in rehearsal rooms. As they experience it while being prescribed by the directors, I created the practice for them to be able to create performance from the beginning to the end by themselves. I also use the intersectional feminist approach for enhancing equity among differently socially positioned actors in the collaborative process. Students gave me feedback on how they enjoyed it, and the practice inspired them to get back their ability to more creatively engage with performance making. Also, students of applied theatre and education told me it was relaxing and therapeutic and makes them think of how they want to use it for their own practice.
For actor training, I have conducted multiple workshops relating to skills of removing tensions in bodies, moving with impulse, reactions, ensemble creation, understanding the relation to movement and inner sensation and many more. I use practices of Jerzy Grotowski, Viewpoints, Eugenio Barba, Butoh and Michael Chekhov. Their feedback was positive, saying ‘You created a very safe environment for me to explore the theme. It is really rare and makes me want to learn more,’ and ‘I felt I was moved by something, not pushing myself while moving’ and ‘ I wish I had learnt this sooner’.
Current post
Visiting Lecturer at RCSSD (BA Drama, BA Applied Theatre and Education, Experimental Arts and Performance, BA Writing for Performance)
Academic Tutor at RCSSD (Creative Producing 2024 and MA/MFA Advanced Theatre Practice)
Educator (2021-present)
Contact me!
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