Shibuya Junior & Senior High School (Graduated in March, 2010)
School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University (Graduated in March, 2014)
― What is your current career path?
Hi, I’m Alysa Omori and am currently working as an actor and film director. After my first appearance in an independent film whilst a student at SILS, I got into an agent and worked for commercials, theatre, tv drama and films. Last year, my first film that I directed was released at the movie theatres and since then I work freelance.
An actor’s job is different from a lot of jobs because everything depends on yourself. Even if you wait there are no jobs, so it can be a pretty unstable job. When I was in an agent, I used to have 2-3 auditions a week and you won’t get the job or paid until you’re chosen for the role.
I was always passionate about films as an actor so I went to workshops to meet film directors and acted in independent films to make connections. However, from the small opportunities to work with film, I decided to take my own film “My Bitter Sweet Home.” I submitted my film to a lot of film festivals and expanded my career as a film director.
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― How did you come to choose your career path?
For elementary school I went to an international school in Tokyo. It was like an everyday chore to help and think about unprivileged people there. Through my experiences there I became interested in developing countries and wanted to create a sustainable business in the middle east or Africa. I spent my study abroad in Qatar, Doha. However, when I came back to Japan the independent film, I co-starred in was released in theatres, so I began to work officially in the acting industry. I went with the flow, nevertheless, I still think that this job will connect to what I had pursued before. When everyone around me was jobhunting I didn’t feel anxious because I was passionate about my job and I still think that I made the right decision.
―What do you find rewarding about going down that path?
The best part of my job is that everything is up to you. Your performance represents you and your reputation. Therefore, I always push myself to perform my best and I am always looking for more creativity and interesting projects. That`s probably why I’m always filled with excitement.
Moreover, I always loved and love “creating” so I think I’m lucky that I was able to find something that I love and am able to make it into business. Sometimes there are hard times, but I find it amusing to be able to get paid for thinking about something you love all day long.
― How did learning at SILS influence your current academic path?
The biggest influence that SILS had on me was the international environment. I think this leads to the open and flexible way of thinking I use in my art. Also, there are tons of classes on art at SILS and the open classes in Waseda were very helpful. For example, I took classes like “producer theory” and learnt about the industry at an early stage. I also enrolled a film seminar in my third year (Morita Seminar) and saw a lot of old films which has been very helpful. Moreover, I get a lot of help when I make film from friends that I met through this seminar so the people I met was also very helpful.
― What do you think about the appealing point and strength of SILS
I think the international environment was the best thing about SILS for me. I went to a Japanese school for junior and high school, and I felt it was stressful there. At SILS I met a lot of people from various countries and my point of view grew widely. I think this led to my free and creative mind and I’m still close with the friends I met at SILS!
I also recommend the study abroad program. I went to Qatar, Doha for a year over ten years ago. At that time Doha was just a desert on Google map. Alcohol, pork was prohibited, and I had a 10pm curfew, so life wasn’t so easy there. However, I think that experience at that time was really meaningful for me and has impacted on who I am today.
― Any message to our prospective applicants?
For those who already have something you want to do and for those who still haven’t. I think in both ways it will be a good environment to learn from the wide range curriculum at SILS. I think SILS offers you to create an open mind and a broad perceptive.
Also, if I were to give an advice, try to make choices that people are not willing to make. For example, go to a country that not many people would want to go for study abroad. Dynamic changes are happening all the time so the norm or trend will always change. I think it’s interesting to look for something unique which leads to make yourself unique. I hope that you apply for SILS and open your world!
This content is as of the time of issuance.
