Jeffrey Omura Discusses Arena Stage's Change Agent & Not Waiting For the Gatekeepers to Deem You Worthy!

I would like you to meet the oh-so-talented Jeffrey Omura. Jeffrey is currently making his Arena Stage debut in their production of Change Agent (Recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award) which is written and directed by Craig Lucas. Jeffrey is known for his work onstage in New York with the Public Theater, Playwrights’ Realm, Ma-Yi Theater Company, and National Asian American Theater Company and around the country with Weston Playhouse, St. Louis Rep, Hartford Stage, and many more. He was recently seen on television in Hawaii Five-0, Succession, Elementary, Limitless, The Blacklist, The Interestings, and High Maintenance. His voiceover work can be heard in more than 50 films and television shows.

Jeffrey is also a founding member of Fair Wage Onstage, Be An #ArtsHero, and an elected member of Actors’ Equity’s National Council. He was a recent candidate for New York City Council and named to city and state's 2021 Labor 40 Under 40. He’s a proud graduate of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama.

I will always admire to the highest regard any artist who uses their platform for a bigger message. I am very thankful to feature Jeffrey!

How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a performer? 

I was raised by television. TGIF, SNICK, Nick at Nite, Hey Dude, Salute Your Shorts, Saved by the Bell, Friends, Seinfeld, countless sitcoms that lasted only half a season that still have a special place in my heart, action movies, horror movies. I watched everything and way too much of it, and I wanted to do what the actors I watched did. With the recent passing of Betty White, I’m reminded of how she and the other three Golden Girls gave me daily masterclasses on intention, comedic timing, and line delivery. I was 12 when I started performing in community theater shows and knew I would pursue it professionally. 

Where did you study? Do you have any mentors that truly help make you the wonderful artist you are today? 

Carnegie Mellon. My first mentor was Todd Heywood, an openly gay and HIV-positive theater director and political activist in Lansing, Michigan who not only cast me in Shakespeare at the age of 15 but showed me how to live courageously and be a leader in my community by inviting me to testify in support of anti-bullying legislation being considered by the state legislature. As an adult, I’m generally terrible at cultivating mentors. It’s a love language thing: I would much rather offer help and advice than receive it. So, I jump at opportunities to mentor, teach, and coach others to make it, I hope, just a little bit easier for them than it was for me. 

Congratulations on making your Arena debut with such a powerful piece of theatre in Change Agent. How has your time been with the show and in DC? And what do you hope the audiences will take away from this? 

It’s an honor to originate a role in a new Craig Lucas play, and I’ve had a wonderful time working with this extraordinary cast and creative team. I’ve always wanted to work in D.C., but the Omicron surge makes it difficult to fully explore the city (though the Hirshhorn Museum was a real highlight!). I hope audiences come away from this play and want to take a more critical look at our nation’s history, how we receive information, and the assumptions we make about our culture. 

Are there any roles, shows, or performances you have done in your career that stick out and will always be near and dear to you? 

I originated the titular role in Lloyd Suh’s Charles Frances Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, a play loosely inspired by political activist and pioneer of the Asian-American theater Frank Chin that brutally examines how Asian-Americans have been portrayed in popular media throughout American history. It was called one of the most important plays of 2016. It’s a beast of a play that should be produced everywhere, and it’s a crime that it’s not. If you are a literary director or artistic director, or in a position to produce theater, find yourself a copy of this play. 

What advice would you give any young aspiring BIPOC artists who want a career in the performing arts? 

It’s so much easier to put yourself out there today than it was when I was first starting out. Don’t wait for the gatekeepers to deem you worthy for a job. Create your own art. Put it out there on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Build your following. Say yes to social invitations. Go to parties and gatherings. Meet as many people as you can. When someone invites you to their cabaret or Blackbox theater performance, go to it. Show up for people and they’ll show up for you. Write hand-written notes. Stay in touch with people. That’s how you network. Be kind to everyone. You never know who will be in a position to offer you a job. Find your collaborators—the people who inspire you to create—and stick with them. Build yourself a community. And always ask for more money. You might not get it, but you definitely won’t get it if you don’t ask.

Change Agent opens on January 21st and will be running until March 6th. For more info please visit - https://www.arenastage.org To learn more about Jeffrey make sure you follow his Twitter and Instagram: @jeffreyomura and visit his website at www.jeffreyomura.com