Emma Cushing made it from Christchurch to Broadway, and now returns to her hometown with her first production — the one-woman show My Name is Moo.

Cushing left New Zealand to study at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts when she was 18.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours at the end of 2023, having majored in drama and minored in producing and the business of entertainment.

“It was so incredible to be in a space surrounded by people who are so mutually invested and invigorated by the same passions,” the 26-year-old said.

Emma Cushing in her one-woman show, My Name is Moo. Photo: Lucie Everett-Brown

“It was just every day, walking in, feeling like an actor, surrounded by the most inspiring, talented classmates from all around the world.”

With famous alumni such as Anne Hathaway, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee and Whoopi Goldberg, Cushing is keeping tabs on who might hit the big time out of her fellow students.

Emma Cushing graduated from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2023. Photo: Supplied

“Some people are starting in roles in Netflix films and stuff like that. But I wouldn’t say there’s a huge breakout star that might be identifiable just yet.”

Cushing says she has more experience with theatre than film, having acted in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night's Dream, and acted as Jane Eyre in You on the Moors Now at NYU.

“Sometimes days would be from 9am in studio, and then I’d finish up rehearsals at 10pm at night. It was so wonderful to throw myself in, and I was just constantly looking to learn and refine my craft.”

Emma Cushing in her one-woman show, My Name is Moo. Photo: Lucie Everett-Brown

After graduating, Cushing stayed in New York for a year and worked for P3 Productions, a Broadway theatre production company.

In 2024, she started writing her own show, My Name is Moo.

It follows the main character, Meg, whose nickname is Moo and is played by Cushing, through different stages of youth.

Emma Cushing trained at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts' Lee Strasberg Institute of Film and Theatre. Photo: Supplied

Cushing was inspired by what she felt was lacking in female characters in other media.

“I would get frustrated because I didn’t feel like it was showing the depth and reality
of the female experience.”

Cushing returned to New Zealand after her work visa expired last year and has made Auckland her home.

  • She is bringing My Name is Moo to Merivale Lane Theatre at her former school, Rangi Ruru, for shows on October 1, 2 and 3.