Susan's City Scene

RF: I grew up in San Mateo, went to school at St. Tim’s and then Mercy/Burlingame. My mom still lives in the house I grew up in, my aunt’s and uncle’s down the block still live in their houses as well. I always look forward to running on the levee. I love the ramen in downtown San Mateo, driving on 280, going to Half Moon Bay. The Fish Market on Norfolk has become my favorite restaurant, but I also love the veggie banh mi from Mordisko Cakes, and I will definitely drop into Millbrae House of Pancakes at least once.

DJ: Did you always like to perform?

RF: I took dance classes at Schumacher’s Dance Studios when I was 5 or 6, so I guess I started performing for strangers in their end of the year recitals at that age, but my mom said I started singing before I started talking. I volunteered to sing a solo at school when I was in first- or second-grade.

DJ: Was there a particular teacher who encouraged you?

RF: My piano teacher, Carmelita Oano, was a tremendous influence. She knew I loved to sing, so when there was about five or 10 minutes left of our lesson, she would say it was time to sing. She would ask what I wanted to sing. It was always “Fame” or “Out Here On My Own.” When I was a junior in high school, I was no longer taking piano lessons, but she called my family’s house and left a message about the producers of “Les Misérables” holding auditions for a new musical called “Miss Saigon,” and they were looking for Asian singers/dancers between the ages of 18 and 30. That audition was what changed my life.

DJ: Tell us … what happened?

RF: I was doing Serra High School’s production of “West Side Story.” I hadn’t been planning on studying acting or music in college since my parents didn’t support it, but thanks to Ms. Oano I went, and my parents drove me there. The idea was “just see what the experience was like.” I prepared one of my favorite songs, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” from my favorite musical at the time, “Jesus Christ Superstar.” When I showed up where the auditions were being held, I could hear a woman singing in the background. A young man by the door asked for my resume and headshot, and, of course, I had no idea what he was talking about. But he seemed unfazed and simply said: “You’re next.” There were about five men sitting behind a folding table. They asked if I was Filipino, if I had taken voice lessons before, and would I please come back and sing for them again on a later date. They said I should prepare a couple songs, ones that were in a pop style. They suggested Whitney Houston or maybe something from “Les Misérables.” “Les Misérables?” I must have lit up. I had been singing the music from that show for years already. “Yes, do you know it?” “Yes.” “Do you know ‘On My Own’?” “Yes.” One of the men went to the piano to play the song for me and I was astounded that he could play without any sheet music in front of him. I sang the song for them. Throughout, they would lean into each other and whisper. They seemed very excited about me. Afterwards they repeated what they’d said before, that they’d like to see me again and wanted a couple songs, one of them “On My Own” and the other a pop song. After a string of auditions over the next few years, I was offered an ensemble part in the First National Tour of “Miss Saigon.”

PLAY PARTICULARS: Eugène Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros” runs at A.C.T.’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary St. in San Francisco, through June 23. Tickets at the A.C.T. box office, 405 Geary St., at (415) 749-2228 or at www.act-sf.org.

Susan Cohn is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and the American Theatre Critics Association. She may be reached at susan@smdailyjournal.com.