EMI YASUO
Emi Yasuo is a Japanese theatre artist currently living in Toronto, Canada. Her main work includes theatre, musical theatre, film, commercial and voice-over. Emi was born in Yokohama Japan, but also spent several years of her childhood in Puerto Rico. Her experience living abroad gave her a taste of adventure! That adventure led her to experience her first Broadway musical and from that moment on, she knew she had found her passion. For Emi, it was the emotional impact of hearing the performer’s vocal quality and story-telling ability that made her realize that she wanted to be a performer.
Since then, Emi followed her passion and laid the foundation to become a theatre artist. She joined drama clubs at school and within her community after returning to Japan where she expanded craft in writing, directing, and producing plays. Although she loved all forms of theatre, she soon realized her ultimate goal was in musical theatre.
Emi enrolled in the Musical Theatre program at the prestigious Butai Geijutsu Gakuin to learn the fundamentals of musical theatre performance. It was during this time at University when Emi fully immersed herself in musical theatre with performance, Directing, teaching and even landing the lead roles in many original musicals such as: “Dream Drop” and “OVER”.
She started her professional career while she was in university. She worked in a variety of capacities in theatre such as experimental theatre, straight play, and musical theatre. After graduating, Emi worked as an Assistant Director alongside with Tony nominee director, Amon Miyamoto and both an Assistant Director and translator in opera theatre division of New National Theatre Tokyo. As a performer, she also toured Japan as a chorus singer to Japanese actor/ singer, Keiko Matsuzaka.
After building her career in Japan, she realized that in order to deepen her knowledge as an actor and expand her skill set, it was necessary to train outside of Japan. While considering options such as New York and other international hubs, she ultimately chose Canada, where she had the opportunity to work and continue pursuing her long-term goal of building a career overseas. Along the way, she formed meaningful connections and was fortunate to collaborate with inspiring artists, gaining valuable experience as a performer.
Motivated to further immerse herself in the North American musical theatre landscape, Emi entered the Randolph College for Performing Arts in Toronto. During her time there, she underwent intensive training, refining her skills in acting, voice, and movement while developing a stronger artistic voice. Now a graduate and permanent resident, Emi is excited to continue growing her career in Canada, which she proudly calls her new home.
After graduation, in addition to theatre, she has also ventured into new fields such as voiceover, TV, and film. Her own podcast, Oyasumi Story, which Emi both wrote and voiced, received significant attention and led to the creation of two seasons. Her dream of becoming a cruise performer—an aspiration that first sparked her passion for musicals—was realized at Disney Cruise Line. Alongside her performance career, Emi is deeply passionate about sharing her knowledge and experiences with the next generation of artists, particularly those coming to Toronto from abroad to study acting. She feels grateful to support and guide them as they navigate their own artistic journeys. Emi feels blessed to be on this journey, adventuring through life guided by her passion for the performing arts.