Shayna Yasunaga was 11 when she discovered theater as a participant in the Ohana Arts program. Four years later she starred as Sadako Sasaki in Ohana Arts’ production of “Peace on Your Wings,” a musical theater treatment of the story of the Japanese A-bomb survivor and her commitment to folding 1,000 paper cranes for peace. It was also through Ohana Arts that she met Broadway veteran Christine Yasunaga, a distant relative of her father. The stories Christine Yasunaga shared got Shayna thinking about about performing on Broadway.

With the encouragement of Ohana Arts co-founder Cari Taira, and her parents’ permission, Yasunaga applied for a geographic exception to attend Mililani High School for its theater program. For almost two years she rode the bus from town to Mililani and back, five days a week.

In 2017 she was a member of the female ensemble in Diamond Head Theatre’s staging of “All Shook Up.” This spring she gave an eye-catching, multifaceted performance as nisei internment camp prisoner Peggy Maruyama in Manoa Valley Theatre’s “Allegiance” at Hawaii Theatre.

Yasunaga graduated from Mililani this year and celebrates her 18th birthday on Monday. The next big step will be her freshman semester at Ithaca College in New York, where she begins work this fall on a degree in culture and communication.

Behind almost all successful young entertainers are supportive parents. True for you?

Yes! They’ve always been there for me. They’ve been through everything for me, they’ve always supported me throughout my productions — and not just through my productions, but my decisions in life.

“Allegiance,” your last show here before you leave for college, received 11 Po‘okela Awards, including Overall Musical. Was it what you expected?

I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to help share an important story — and it was — but it was challenging. I had to play an Asian in the 1940s, when issei especially were very conservative, and even the nisei were much more conservative than (we are) today. We were having such a hard time makeup-wise because I am into makeup trends now — like a straight brow and really highlighted cheekbones. The minute they said “That’s not time period,” I knew it was going to be a hard time, but we worked it out. For “time period” hair I wore a wig.

How do you describe yourself as a performer?

I am a singer who does dancing, that is, I am a singer who moves well (but) I wouldn’t classify myself as a dancer specifically.

What stands out most for you about doing “All Shook Up” at Diamond Head?

(Choreographer Christine Yasunaga) encouraged me so much. She’d say, “I know you can do this double-turn, I’m going to put you in this number because I trust you” — and I’d do the double-turn! Just having her there as a mentor really boosted my self-confidence, not just in dancing but in performing overall.

What would you like to be doing 10 years from now?

Doing something that I’m passionate about, being involved in the arts, is something that I definitely look forward to. I’d love to be a teacher because my teachers inspired me to do what I’m passionate about, to not take “no” for an answer and to always just push your dreams to the limit.