Hosanna Megumi has been a stand-out performer ever since her very first appearance on stage – as a cat in her second-grade school play. As is the tradition with school plays, her mother made her costume… and Hosanna ended up with pink ears and a pink tail, while all her classmates (also cats) had normal-coloured ears and tails.

Luckily, this experience didn’t put her off and she started doing community theatre and musicals every summer from the time she was eight. Her early enthusiasm has definitely paid off, as Hosanna is now a professional actor and voice-over artist who has been working in Finnish theatre, TV, films, commercials and voice-overs. Before coming to Finland, she also worked both in front of and behind the camera in the US and her native country of Japan.

When it comes to her most memorable moments on stage, she lists some of her more non-traditional roles: as a literal baby in Baby Stuff (part of the third instalment of Short ‘n’ Snappy, the Finn-Brit Players’ popular collection of short plays) and as a literal mayfly in Time Flies (one of the short plays in the RStC’s production of It’s About Time).

She has also enjoyed her two forays into devised theatre – Ihmiskohtaloita and inSite – and will most likely be involved in another production later this autumn.

Hosanna has worked with both Adrian Goldman and Stephanie Carlson before on several occasions as an actor, but this her first time as a director for Passport Theatre Company. In fact, it’s also her first time directing a full-length play.

Although Hosanna has previously directed a few short films – and has also been involved in a couple of devised theatre productions in which the group creates the performance together from scratch – directing a full-length scripted play has been a whole new experience.

“But Adrian has taken the time to guide me through the directing process and has been teaching me a lot, so I’m very grateful for his insight and help,” says Hosanna.

Working with such talented people has helped to ensure an excellent first experience in the director’s chair. Stephanie is a very capable professional actor, and Adrian has extensive experience in both acting and directing.

“The two of them have been very patient with me as I’ve navigated my way through this production. I could not have asked for a better couple of actors to direct!” she says.

It’s therefore a pity we didn’t have a fly-on-the-wall camera, as we could have made a complementary documentary called Educating Hosanna ;)

Photo: Boris Mitkov
Text: Zach Chamberlaine

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