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Deirdre Khoo is an actor-musician based in Melbourne, Australia. After spending time in ballet and piano lessons as a child, Khoo went on to attend and graduate from Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Now, her resume boasts credits such as Cry-Baby, A Chorus Line, Mamma Mia!, Merrily We Roll Along and most recently, the 50th Anniversary tour of The Rocky Horror Show. Now she is portraying Anne Boleyn in Six the Musical in Australia! When Khoo is offstage, she prioritizes taking time for self-care through escape rooms and arcades! Her advice to young artists? “Be curious, be excited, be inspired by everything.” Read on to learn more about Deirdre Khoo and what makes her an Amazing Asian in the Arts!
Name: Deirdre Khoo
Heritage: Singaporean (Chinese)
Hometown: Singapore
Current City: Melbourne, Australia
Current project: Six The Musical Australia
What are some of your favorite credits/projects:
Once & A Christmas Carol.
Any advice for young people getting into the arts?
The best advice I would have for young people who want to go into the arts is to never stop learning! Be curious, be excited, be inspired by everything. Find your sense of self and keep building on that, that way you’ll be able to access layers and layers of complexity to be able to make unique & bold choices.
How did you get your start?
I studied and graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and was lucky enough to perform 4 professional level musicals while I was at uni (Cry-Baby, A Chorus Line, Mamma Mia!, and Merrily We Roll Along). I was lucky enough to be cast in Once the musical and made my professional debut with the company as an actor-musician.
Do you have any favorite moments in your career that you'd like to share?
We play the handbells in A Christmas Carol, and we play “Silent Night” at the finale as one final song to send the audience off into the balmy Aussie Christmas nights, and there would be a couple of times where the audience would slowly join in and sing along with the lyrics and I cannot express how much joy and warmth it gave me. The true Christmas spirit lies in the community, and it was a gift.
What have you found is the biggest challenge in your career?
I will not lie, and I think Six has been the biggest challenge so far! I know we’ve only just started, but there are so many facets to Anne Boleyn that my brain has to go way faster than it usually does! She is so complex and has so many more layers to her than you think. Plus, she’s a heckin’ rock star! Rock stars are so cool!
Do you have any organizations or non profits you work with you’d like to highlight?
I’d love to give a shoutout to Operation Olive Branch. They connect with and highlight specific people/families who require urgent help or donation to support their needs. This excerpt is from their FAQ’s – “This global solidarity initiative is steered by a diverse core council of advocates from occupied Turtle Island which include Palestinian activists, the Jewish grandchild of a holocaust survivor, and everyone else in between.”
Who do you admire?
I have many idols myself. I grew up watching Lea Salonga and absolutely adore her. I am also a massive Kpop fan myself. I love Taeyeon from Girls Generation and Sohyang!
Did you always want to be in the arts or did you have another path before you got here?
I always knew I would dabble in somesort of arts. I started ballet lessons at the age of 3, and piano lessons by 4, so I was always dancing and surrounded by music. I never knew that I would go into musicals, however. I am a Disney adult, and was a Disney kid – that should’ve informed me!
If you come from parents who aren’t in the arts, what parts of them do you see in yourself that have helped you succeed in the business?
My mother is a type A person, and she was always networking and burying herself in her work. She is highly organized and has everything planned out. Even if things don’t go accordingly, she never panics and has a backup (or a backup-backup plan) in the books. I like to think that sometimes my brain works in those ways because I’d grown up watching her function like that for so long! My dad brings passion to the table. He is a commercial airline pilot, and has known that he’s wanted to fly since he was a little kid. Despite being told no, he went ahead and did what he loved. He’s never stopped loving it and I am always so inspired by his story. I am also so grateful because I’m able to do what I absolutely love because of my parents and their unconditional support.
If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self?
“Things don’t work out for a reason. Trust in your abilities. You have got this.”
Do you have any self care practices you do to stay focused and sane?
I take the time for myself! I leave anything work related at the door and I come home to my beautiful husband and we do things that excite us. There are so many methods to practice self-care, and it doesn’t have to just be meditating and being mindful or doing yoga, etc. My self-care routine can sometimes consist of me booking into an escape room with my husband, or going to the arcade to let off some steam. Anything that lets my serotonin boost just that little bit! I’ve learned that I have to live my life and let that take precedence, and that helps my work because then I have a good work-life balance.
What inspires you?
Literally anything and everything. I could read a really good book, watch a ridiculously great TV show, movie, or thought-invoking play, and be inspired by those things. I could sometimes even just sit in a café and be inspired by people-watching. Seeing people pour their hearts into what they do, is, too, something I’m greatly inspired by.
To find out more on Deirdre Khoo, please visit her at:
Instagram: @thedeirdrekhoo
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