On Monday, May 24, Actors’ Equity Association’s diversity and inclusion department hosted an event for AAPI Heritage Month entitled Claiming Our Power: AAPI Agency, Representation and Justice in the Workplace.
Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Ariel Estrada moderated, and began by introducing the participants: Linda Leu, the executive director of IMPACT Bay Area and IMPACT instructor Tim Kinney; therapist Ginger Klee, John Jay psychology professor Dr. Kevin Nadal; Equity delegate and Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) activist Nandita Shenoy; and journalist Diep Tran.
Estrada started by asking Nadal for history and context for AAPI oppression, who gave an overview from 19th century acts of violence and harmful legislation through conspiracy theories about COVID-19 tying in with racism today.
“It really shouldn't be the jobs of Asian Americans and Pacific islanders to have to be historians and to be the storytellers, because this is general American history,” he noted, “I hope that folks can at least see on the common thread, that this instance is just one of many instances of violence towards Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and other communities of color.”
Estrada next asked Klee to speak about trauma responses in the face of racism. She did so, including the “fawn” response that many AAPI people feel they have to take: “I'm going to just be as nice to you as possible and hope that this just stops.’”
Leu spoke about how self-defense training does not need to only be physical, but can be for practicing social responses as well.
“That's the whole point of rehearsal,” agreed Klee. "I get anxiety with performing. And so, your anxiety is going to make it more difficult to remember what to do and that's the same thing with fear and so, the more you practice it, the more second nature it will be.”
Leu also spoke about the importance of not only self-defense, but self-care, to develop a mental health strategy in the face of racist microaggressions.
Estrada and Nadal also discussed recent anti-discrimination legislation, and the tension of wanting assurance of safety from the government without being complicit in police violence.
“It really shouldn't be the jobs of Asian Americans and Pacific islanders to have to be historians and to be the storytellers, because this is general American history.”
The conversation turned into AAPI representation in the theatre, with statistics (as reported from the AAPAC) demonstrating that Asian Americans are underrepresented both onstage and behind the scenes, often pigeonholed into explicitly racial, often foreign roles.
“This often translates into Asian Americans being constantly perceived as foreigners and not American,” noted Shenoy. “I have a lot of different identities. I'm happy to uplift them all, but I find that the American part is least often recognized.”
Estrada asked Tran to share about an article she wrote about anti-Asian racism in the theatre. She spoke about the gay gap for AAPI theatre artists, and the idea of the white gaze in theatre that features non-white companies.
"Shows written by Asians are not by not given the same resources to get to a Broadway level, or even to get to a 500-seat theater level,” said Diep. “What that means is if your show gets programmed on the smaller stage, you make less money than the show that gets programmed in the bigger stages... Because the American theatre exists in the capitalistic system, the machine will not respond unless pushed.”
Shenoy and Estrada agreed, and Estrada noted that communities of color often have less money or access to theatre as part of the cycle of exclusion of their stories.
“I have a lot of different identities. I'm happy to uplift them all, but I find that the American part is least often recognized.”
In concluding thoughts, Shenoy noted that reports like the AAPAC’s study helped validate her personal experiences of inequality, and prove to others that the problem is in fact systemic. Klee spoke about hope for the future and being able to consume art representing Asian American experiences. Nadal reiterated the importance of data in the fight ahead. Leu emphasized the importance of disrupting microaggressions, and Tran noted the crucial role of allies in that work, while still allowing for AAPI agency.
“We're not waiting for gatekeepers,” Tran noted. "If we can't find like funders who want to find us, we will fund it ourselves. And that's a beautiful thing.”
Members can access the full transcript and recording of the roundtable discussion in the member portal.
