Kimi Galang Villegas

Kimi Galang Villegas is a Filipina-American actress, singer, dancer, and teaching artist originally hailing from Fresno, California. She recently graduated Summa cum Laude with her B.A. in Theater & Performance Studies (Acting)/Dance minor and the Mask and Dagger Memorial Prize for Extraordinary Contributions to Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. While still in college, Kimi immersed herself in multiple professional contracts for both film and musical theatre.

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At the age of three, Kimi began taking tap and ballet classes. During her first recital and an impressive rendition of "The Chicken Dance," her tap shoe flew off of her foot and into the audience. The little professional that she was, Kimi sauntered into the audience, picked up her shoe, put it back on, and continued with the dance as if nothing happened. In the summer of 2013, Kimi was accepted into the Young Dancer Summer Intensive at American Ballet Theatre in New York City. After seeing numerous Broadway shows, it was there that her spark for theater was ignited.

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Kimi flew across the country to Roanoke, VA as an adult lead vocalist for Virginia Children's Theatre's Brand New Day: A Celebration of Unity , a concert celebrating unity, focusing on cultural and LGBTQ diversity through children's literature and musical theater favorites from shows, such as Aida, Footloose, Kinky Boots, Sister Act, The Prom, and more! Last Fall, Kimi made her San Francisco professional debut as Wednesday Addams in Landmark Musical Theatre's The Addams Family.

 

In Central California, Kimi appeared in 26 of Good Company Players’ productions at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater and Second Space Theater, most notably Sister Act (Michelle/Sister Mary Kay & u/s Mary Robert), My Fair Lady (Flower Girl), and South Pacific (Ngana de Becque). GCP has been known to train such artists as Audra McDonald, Heidi Blickenstaff, Chris Colfer, Sharon Leal, and Miranda Mayo, among many. 

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Kimi came to UC Berkeley with plans of pursuing a pre-med track as a double major in Molecular and Cell Biology and Theater to become a dermatologist and create a hypo-allergenic stage makeup line. Attending STEM classes and 3-hour chemistry labs on Zoom during her first semester, Kimi found herself extremely unhappy and soon discovered a career in medicine was not her calling. Her true passion lies in the art of storytelling and the stage has always been her safe haven. She decided to go for her Theater degree, and thanks to her credits from high school, Kimi has just graduated a year early from Berkeley this Spring! During undergrad, she studied under the tutelage of Christopher Herold, James Graham, Michael Moran, Latanya d. Tigner, Erik Lee, and Candace Johnson. Immediately following her graduation, Kimi performed as Ilse in Ray of Light Theatre's Spring Awakening at the historic Victoria Theatre in San Francisco. 

 

Kimi wishes to tell stories in any and every medium possible as she pursues a sustainable and fruitful vocation in the arts. As a Filipina, she is determined to elevate AAPI voices and portray the lived experiences of Filipino and Southeast Asian people, which often go underrepresented in the media. Since her flying tap shoe incident, Kimi has been captivated by the magic and endless possibilities of live performance, and believes that this magic can unite us all in our shared humanity. While she is spending the next few months in CA, Kimi has plans of relocating to New York City within the next year. Mabuhay!