Emma Romasco is a nerd, “and I always have been,” she says. “I’m just a geeky nerd.”
Emma has a very respected educational pedigree, graduating from NYU as a theatre major. She might see herself as a nerd, but being selected to attend this school is an achievement all on its own. Many of the great performers of the stage once walked the halls of this prestigious school. However, Emma’s journey continued to be uncomfortable, “because I was heavily bullied all the way back to high school,” Emma tells me. “it was painful, but I had a confidante that helped me through it all, and she to this day is right by my side.”
Emma is speaking of her life-long connection to Kira Rasmussen. “She was there for me always, and still is,” Emma tells me. “I indulged her love of imagination and fantasy, and I didn’t shy away from her eccentricities, but embraced them.”
Emma loved anime, “Of which in high school was social suicide.” But again, Emma is not a traditional woman. And neither was Kira who remains her rock-solid influence. “She was always there, always.” And as for her reputation in acting, “my high school theatrical opponents, did not like the fact I was good, and I was.”
It’s true. All of us have that one person in our lives that supports us and is there for us no matter what. For Emma, it was Kira. “She helped me in every way imaginable.”
Born in Bolton, Massachusetts, Emma was a standout beginning in high school in theatre acting, “and the resentment from the seniors was very intense.” She demonstrated a talent that got her chosen over upper classmen in theatre, and it produced a social resentment that Emma could not handle alone. “But I had Kira, and that meant I had everything I needed.”
Emma also incurred loving resistance from her parents at 7 years old when she announced she wanted to be a performer. “I always wanted to be an actor, but my parents steered me toward sports, but I just wasn’t interested.”
Emma was quite simply a natural at the art of performing. So, she followed her heart and wound up getting in with the crème de la crème of theatre schools. Studying at NYU in theatre with an emphasis on musical theatre, she was associated with the very best professors and performers in the world. It was a stunning personal achievement. “I got in, and I got what I wanted.” However, the negative vibe continued in college “and the teachers were abusive…and you cannot create when you’re afraid.” She was unsettled.
Life after college involved working in professional Equity theatre. For the uninitiated, that’s union theatre and it is not offered to everyone. Only the very best get in the union. However, every profession has its complexities and performing with the very best involves an edge of toxicity. The reasons are many, but in general, the very talented can be very difficult and Emma was working with some of the most difficult performers in professional theatre. So, internally she was searching for an answer to the working environment.
When COVID hit, the equity show she was on tour with was shut down, and that landed her on the couch.
Emma asked herself, “Okay, why am I doing this?” she recalls, “and the reason was I wanted to tell stories.” And in that moment, she realized she did not want to be famous, she wanted to be a storyteller. And the goal was in anime and video games. And that was when the profession of voiceover entered her life. “In anime, a popular theme is the power of friendship.” She transcended into voiceover immediately. Kira was in the back of her mind. The parallel of them as friends fits perfectly into her creative life. https://www.emmaromasco.com
For Emma, a sensitive and very calm personality, she discovered a world of people that were all for her success, not resentful of it. “I’ve never felt bad energy in voiceover; everybody is just so supportive.” Her work now is focused on video games. And here’s a famous one.
Emma voicing Ivanovna in Gensin Impact
The switch from stage to voiceover was an immediate successful connection. She dove in. And she took on the world of cosplay, which she loved, and video games which tied in nicely to her passion. Here she is with Peter S Beagle, the author of “The Last Unicorn” where Emma is in costume playing Lady Amalthea. A fascinating photo opportunity in Emma’s life.
To work in voiceover, being versatile is important. So, Emma accepted the commercial world and embraced it with all she had.
Emma is realistic about the future of using her voice for a career. “I don’t care how long it takes,” she says, “because I have finally found my community, and I feel welcome.”
And so, for the 29-year-old voiceover actress, next comes her planned move to Los Angeles “because I’ve done the New York thing, and I want to explore a new world.”
Her voice studies are an integral part of her life. “It saved acting for me,” Emma says. “I study voice constantly, and I always will.” Meanwhile, Kira became a veterinarian. And Emma decided to commit to performing for life. “And, as long ago and in the present day, I always will be a geeky nerd. I’m just that way.”
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