Interview: Tamlyn Tomita Springs Into Action With SPRING AWAKENING & All Her Projects

The final production of East West Players’ 57th Season, the Tony Award winning musical Spring Awakening opens October 29, 2023 (with previews already begun). Former EWP Artistic Director Tim Dang directs the cast of Mia Sempertegui, Thomas K. Winter, Marcus Phillips, Madison Grepo, Tamlyn Tomita, Daniel Blinkoff, Jaylen Baham, James Everts, Genki Hall, Sarah Marie Hernandez, Justine Rafael, Eric Renna and Leianna Weaver.

Long-time EWP supporter Tamlyn will be making her EWP debut in this production. Tamilyn sprung into Q&A mode to answer a few of my queries,

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Tamlyn!

Had you seen previous productions of Spring Awakening before? 

No. When the two of us (my husband Daniel and I) were asked if we were interested in doing the piece, we watched the bootleg versions of the original Broadway production with Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele.  Being wowed by those performances, I am sure that Thomas Winter and Mia Sempertegui will leave similar impressions who will see the EWP production.

You play the multiple roles of Adult Women. How would you compare and contrast Frau Bergman, Fanny Gabor and the other women you play?

Women who think they're doing the best for the children in the best way they know how. Taking into account that these are women in 1890's Germany who lived only to provide the structure of the 4 K's - Kirche (church); Kinder (children), Küche (kitchen), and Kleide (clothing). Women who all have a particular and certain point of view of this world in 'Spring Awakening', knowing the rules and who breaks them, and what roles they play in maintaining it.  

Is this the first time you’ve acted together with your husband Daniel Blinkoff? 

Daniel and I had the immense pleasure of working on Chay Yew's "A Distant Shore" for the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre's inaugurual season under Robert Egan in 2005. What a joy, what a privilege to work alongside the one you love best!

Do you two bring your rehearsals home with you in the evenings to continue? Or do you leave your scripts in the rehearsal room? 

We always bring our rehearsals home with us; we can't help it. Our scripts are read and re-read, just to keep absolutely accountable to ourselves, but also to each other and everyone in the cast.  That's the beautiful agony of doing the work - we know there's always more to make a character, to make a relationship, to make a scene more truthful and real. 

Have you worked with any of the Spring Awakening cast or creatives before? 

Never. I have been a fan and supporter and admirer of Tim Dang and Marc Macalintal for many years and will continue to be for many more.  And of this very extraordinary team of creatives and this truly wondrous and electrifying cast.

What originally brought you into the East West Players universe? 

I took an Asian American studies class at UCLA under Bob Nakamura (the Godfather of Asian American Media) who strongly advised, if not making it mandatory, to see a play at East West Players on Little Santa Monica Blvd. in Silver Lake. I had no idea, let alone my parents, that there was a playhouse with all the Asian Americans actors we would see pop up once in a while on television in the 1980's.  Watching a story unfold, literally in front of your face in a darkened theatre, intimacy took on a new meaning - being vulnerable. This kind of storytelling felt different, felt daring, felt doable, because I saw people who looked like me on stage, being fully human.  

Was there a specific incident that influenced you to pivot from wanting a career as a history teacher to that of acting?

 After my very lucky start in movies, I began to work with regularity, again, with luck.  Acting, simply put, is storytelling.  As a history lover, I found that it applied to each and every character I would be lucky enough to portray. Building the history of who this character is, the where, the what, the why, the how of all things in the given circumstances before anything scripted is said or done. Our stories collectively become our histories/herstories, It was a natural and gradual synthesis for me.

You are a self-described activist. What initially sparked your activism?

 My dad was an LAPD cop and gave so much of his own personal time to help Asian American communities and helped co-found the Asian Task Force, the 1st bilingual unit of Asian American police officers in the nation in 1975.  To protect and to serve is the LAPD's motto, but he also made it his own personal mission to connect as well, helping underserved/underrepresented communities and bringing them attention.  

Is there a passion project or organization that you’re currently involved in? 

Daniel and I are founders of a new physical and digital theatre space for untold stories by unheard voices in Highland Park in Northeast L.A. - Outside In Theatre.  We're scheduled to open in the spring/summer of 2024! For more info, go to outsideintheatre.org

What’s in the near future for Tamlyn Tomita? 

I see the future in these castmates: I am just so thrilled and proud to watch and witness and help build this world of Spring Awakening with this particular band of performers, the majority of the 12 of them making their professional debut!  It reminds me of when I was young, remembering the roller coaster of emotions, not knowing that the future, no matter what it brings, will always be bright.  As it will for this cast of "Spring Awakening' at East West Players.

Thank you again, Tamlyn! I look forward to meeting all your Adult Women.

 THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME!!!!!  With love and aloha, Tamlyn!

For tickets to the live performances of Spring Awakening through November 19, 2023; click on the button below;