NYFA Musical Theatre Alum, Miisha Shimizu, Sings for Disney Japan

Many moons ago, actors made the long-awaited move to New York City right after graduating from conservatories, BFA or MFA programs out of necessity. They’d settle into the pace of the city and in between dance classes and voice lesson, they’d scour through the pages of a printed Backstage magazine for upcoming auditions. 

They’d hit the ground running, printed headshot in-hand and race to in-person auditions for regional theaters, festivals, films and TV shows. But for the most part, the days of printed Backstage magazines, printed headshots and spiraling lines are behind us. They’ve been replaced by online audition notices, digital headshots and self-tapes. NYFA Musical Theater Alum Miisha Shimizu spoke with NYFA and affirmed that with good training and a cellphone, you can get far – halfway across the globe.

Miisha says that instead of shuffling to and from auditions immediately after graduating in 2020, she went back home and made up for lost time “I spent a lot of time with my family for that year while preparing to continue my remaining two more years of my college [but] of course my passion for musical theater never disappeared.” She then got wind of a virtual audition for Vanara: The Musical.

Read more here.