I love Theatre. 

I love stage.

I love to perform.

I love to dance.

I love to sing.

  I love to laugh.

 I love to dream.

I love to feel.

I love to create.

I love to imagine.

I love to think.

I love to do.

I love to tell.

I love to share.

I love to learn.

I love to grow.

I love to try.

I love to be here.

I love to be there.

I love to be.

I love what I am.

I am what I am.

I am what I love.

My motto as an actor; sincerity. No exaggeration, simple and clear, honest and sincere. It doesn't matter what character I play, as I am a medium delivering messages to you, I want my words to reach you as honest and sincere as possible. 

My goal as a performer is to be a great clown, to be the Fool. I think everybody is his own King, Queen and Fool. I want to be a humble King and a generous Queen. And I want to be a purest Fool. I want to be an artist who, with fool’s purity, innocence and trust, can open up to you to show what I really am. Simple yet complicated task that is, I want to be a mirror on the stage, be the reflection of you to let you see yourself in it and laugh and cry. 

As an artist, I don't have a set goal. I don’t know what kind of art I am here to create. There is no one thing I stick with and I think that’s okay. It can be anything. Sometimes something inspires me just out of nowhere, something, as simple as a line from a book, a dream I woke up from, snowflake that landed on my eyelashes, full bloomed lily in a vase on my bedside table, cooing pigeon on the AC outside of my bedroom window. It can be the moon of any shapes, the sky of any colors. It can be a doll in an antique store. It can be a paper bag. Little things interest me and move me and there, I create and recreate little things and I call them my art. For some people maybe they are worthless and that's okay too. I want to do art like I breathe. It doesn’t mean I want to do it so intensely like “without air (art), I die!”. I want it to be simple and easy, like breathing. I want my art to be so very simple. 

I want to live well to be a strong, healthy and generous performer who has stories to share. I want to and am trying to bring my Japanese origin, the rich culture and the old, beautiful traditions into my work. I believe that everything happens for a reason and I meet who I meet for the same reason. And I believe I am here, this monstrous city of New York for the reason to create something only I can create as a Japanese, as a stranger in America, as a woman, as a daughter, as a sister, as a friend to share stories with you. 

I do art to prove myself who I am, for searching to understand what I am. I am still learning. I am still growing. My art is growing with me. My art is changing with me. Art for me is something like that.                                   

December 24, 2013   Yuki Kawahisa

A little bit more about myself and my work.

I enjoy learning, trying new things. Even though, I am kind of antisocial introvert person, I enjoy meeting creative souls and being exposed to new ways of thinking and doing stuff. I enjoy expanding my artistic field by working with creative people. I learn things not so much by reading or talking about it but a lot by doing. Working with professionals, creating things with my hands, creating something special (especially theatre, for me is very magical) with people who share the same interests is always a pleasure. I feel this is the most natural way for me to “get it”. I am still learning. I am always trying. And I enjoy that a lot.

1998, I originally went to Vancouver, Canada to study English at ESL school and to experience living abroad. I planed to stay in Vancouver for 3 months and go to San Francisco for another 3 months then go back to Japan. My plan got quickly changed and I didn’t make it to the U.S because I fell in love with the city of Vancouver and my new life there. Learning new language to communicate with others, I felt like I was a new-born. It was beyond exciting. I also rediscovered my love for theater. I was a poor English speaker and hated studying grammar. I never thought I would perform or write a play in English until I met my teacher (and now my very dear friend and a mentor) Maureen Robinson. I took her theatre classes and went on to perform and to write plays. I extended my stay in Vancouver quite bit. Traveled a lot, drove across Canada, all the way to Newfoundland, and across back. My original one woman-show “The Kimono Loosened” (of which Maureen directed) was born while I was crossing the country alone. Later I toured with the show across Canada accompanied by my special doll Sakura. I consider Vancouver my second hometown. I was so fortunate to be giving the chance to explore my life there and discover something special in me.

December 2004, I moved to New York. I never thought about or never even wanted to but somehow ended up coming here. At first I wasn’t sure but I’m beginning to like this city and kind of feel home now  (well, after more than 10 years…). I know there’s no city like New York where I can find so many opportunities to do things what I want to do. I feel hopeful here in New York. Of course there are times I get disappointed but almost always I feel hope-full here. I started late. I don’t have a degree. I am not well educated. I don’t know names of those famous artists and can't participate in conversations about people or styles too well. I have this heavy Japanese accent and stereotypical Asian look. But I have survived, here, in New York, and am moving forward, slowly but steadily, step by step, walking forward. 

I am an admire of Noh Theatre (Japanese traditional theatre) and deeply inspired by it. Also Butoh has been a great influence on my physical work. I see great beauty in stillness and silence. I dance still. I tell story in silence and I believe those are my uniqueness and strength. I hope to continue to create pieces that represents my cultural background and to bring both traditional and modern stories internationally.