'Mum was worried about acting as a career': This Singaporean kept her dream alive, now cast in Miss Saigon

Ever since she was a young girl, Louisa Vilinne had been into the arts and wanted to pursue a career in performing. 

However, her mother was not too keen on her turning this dream into a full-time career. 

Despite this, she supported her daughter all the way, Louisa told AsiaOne in an interview. 

"While my mum was worried about the instability of acting as a career, she generously paid for my musical theatre degree in Australia, which I will forever be grateful for," Louisa shared.

And now, the 27-year-old is an alternate for the role of Kim in Miss Saigon, the latest musical at Marina Bay Sands which will run till Sept 29. 

It also happens to be her professional musical debut. 

Speaking with AsiaOne in an interview, Louisa shared that she "couldn't believe it" when she was selected to play the part. 

"Kim is the first role that made me feel that there was a place for Asian people in Musical Theatre.

"It has always been a dream of mine to play this role in a Cameron Mackintosh production," said Kim.

She added that when the brief came out for an Australian revival, she just knew that this was her chance. 

A childhood dream come true

Louisa, a Singapore citizen, was born in Indonesia and moved here when she was 18 months old. 

As a kid, she, like many others her age, would spend hours watching Glee.

Little did she know that her obsession with the television series would be a catalyst for her career as a musical actress.

From young, she had been very involved in the arts.

She started taking piano lessons when she was just four years old and later on performed with her primary school's Chinese orchestra and joined the choir in secondary school.

When she was in her late teens, she also joined the Singapore Repertory Theatre’s The Young Company. 

Prior to her professional music debut on Miss Saigon's international tour in 2023, Louisa sang at Universal Studios Japan and was cast as the cover for the role of Zoe/Mei in the Australian play, Single Asian Female, put up by the State Theatre Company South Australia.

Acting on stage in front of a large audience can be daunting to many.

So, some may wonder if Louisa had ever experienced stage fright. 

"No, I might feel nervous about doing a good job but once on stage, I forget about the nerves and focus on the task at hand," she revealed. 

But this doesn't mean her job comes without challenges.

Louisa told us that one struggle is being brave enough to be vulnerable on stage eight times a week.

"Sometimes, hardships in personal life make me clam up but I feel very fortunate to have my work as an outlet for catharsis," she added. 

Getting ready for her role 

To properly immerse herself in the role of Kim, Louisa did a little studying of her own. 

And not just of her script—she made an effort to learn more about the Vietnam War. 

To do so, she watched documentaries and pored over memoirs and novels written by Vietnamese women who lived in Saigon during the war. 

These, in turn, helped to create "a rich, fictional backstory for Kim". 

Her favourite memoir out of the lot was When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, by Le Ly Hayslip. 

"[It was] extremely useful in understanding both the Northern and Southern perspectives of the war," said Louisa. 

It also helped that Louisa could personally resonate with her character. 

"I find the themes in Kim's journey as a young woman trying to make the best out of her terrible life circumstances very relatable," she shared.

Naturally, Louisa's loved ones have been very supportive of her journey. 

"My family and my fiance, Ryan, and his family, are extremely proud of me and have watched the show multiple times," she shared. 

"Ryan has seen it eight times. My extended family in Indonesia have also flown to Singapore to watch my performance!"

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melissateo@asiaone.com