I am a Pakistani American with a passion for story telling. I believe in the power of truth and its relation to the storyteller. My initial attraction to the medium of acting was caused having a platform from which to be honest and direct without any fear of being judged or criticized.
In Pakistan and the U.S. I went through positive and negative experiences. Some of these were related to the joys of being with people as they empowered my being, while others were related to persecution when I was excluded and bullied in school and workplaces. I learned that through acting one can become a variety of people, expressing their emotions while helping the audience to see themselves in the stories; to learn, grow and make this world a better
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There was upheaval and growing opposition to singing, dancing and acting. As a result, when I finally obtained a visa, I moved to the U.S. to follow my passion for acting and theater and to make it my lifetime career.
When I arrived in the U.S., I faced a cultural shock. Although I had grown up speaking English, I discovered that American English, colloquial expressions, idioms and literature were all different than what I grew up with. So I attended several acting programs to polish my instrument in the context of American acting as well as to learn about the literature, human struggles and stories that have shaped the history and development of American theater.
In the U.S., I have successfully played several roles depicting people of color as well as roles which have traditionally been played by American and British males. An example was my portrayal of Jerry from the play Betrayal by Harold Pinter.
I feel privileged to mention here that I have felt accepted and encouraged by my theatrical colleagues in the U.S. I have been supported and welcomed by my fellow actors and directors as I performed a wide diversity of roles. I am really interested in studying at Yale's summer session and would especially value the training being offered by the Yale faculty in the fundamentals of acting. I believe that the teachers and students at Yale would enhance my awareness of my craft and its utilization in U.S. theater, television
I’m a woman. I’m Asian. I’m a Buddhist. It would be nice to see myself in movies and on TV in roles other than secondary characters or weirdos.” A study called Inclusion or Invisibility?
Television and film is a huge part of American culture. As the “face” of America changes, it is expected for our media to reflect it. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Since the beginning of film, minorities have been misrepresented and underrepresented. While there has been a significant increase in minority actors since the beginning of film, there is still a huge underrepresentation present in American television and film. Our media needs to reflect out diverse country. This topic is always important and relevant because race, gender, and sexuality, in general, have been issues throughout the growth of television and film. Even today, minorities are subject to
Throughout the documentary the many stereotypes of Asian Americans generated by Hollywood are discussed. For example Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa discusses how he can either play ”The wimpy businessman or the villain”(Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa, Slanted Screen). The extreme nature of these roles causes Asian Americans to be seen as different from American society. As well those who view the media will associate their roles with their identity even though the films are fictional. The role of a wimpy businessman or a villain means that Asian Americans are either insignificant or when they are of importance it is because they have malicious intentions.
Playwright August Wilson, and actress Danielle Brooks have made the most contributions to my life as a humanitarian, and an actor in training. August Wilson created a foundation for African-Americans who are interested in the theatre. The Pittsburgh Cycle, a collection of ten plays strictly for African-Americans, opened the door to future opportunities for African-American playwrights, directors, stage managers, and actors. The context of his plays portrayed the genuine life and struggle of African-Americans. He wrote about the importance of family, history, futures, and development. Reading and studying August Wilson’s plays lead to me loving and embracing my history as an African-American. I studied his work in the early parts of my acting
According to Laurence Maslon, a Master Teacher at the Graduate Acting Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts,
On September 18, 2014, I attended a play in New Ohio Theatre called “ I like To Be Here: Jackson Heights Revisited.” When I attended this theatre in Greenwich Village in the borough of Manhattan, I was amazed by the reaction of the audience towards what they were seeing on the stage. I checked in 30 minutes early, and was given a program. In this program was information about the director, characters, designers and a schedule of when the next performance would be. Jackson Heights was the effect of a multiethnic environment involving multilingual people. Their piece of acting showcases the many voices that lived these neighborhoods in the borough of
Theatre has evolved over the many years. As it has grown, it moved to include more diverse performers, crew, producers, and audiences. This is an exploration of the expansion of diverse theatre.
I gave several examples where Asian Americans were used to play very simple characters. These roles were defined by stereotypes that exist in America. I also researched instances on counter actions taken by Asian Americans to protest against these negative images. My research also has examples of Asians that have succeeded in breaking through the racial barriers in the media.
The actors selected also must be able to accurately portray the group of people or customs in an authentic way. There shouldn’t be vague stereo-types that are thrown in half hazard to the production and there shouldn’t be incorrect representation of a culture. If the writer chooses to gain insight from a different interpretation of a culture or an experience unlike their own, I think that it should be clarified to the audience.
Whether it has been a marvelous day or an absolutely atrocious day, I have found an escape through my writing. Poetry has always made its way into my life, helping me express myself and feeling, thus being my métier. Socially, there were complications in school up until about eleventh grade; consequently, I was also having problems at home. So if there was no escaping school and no escaping home, where was I supposed to go? Artistic compositions (sketching, writing, painting, &c.) were my route to evading reality.
Hello, today I am going to talk about my cultural identity. First let me explain myself to you i am a tmnt,pizza loving ,catholic, kid that likes cartoons and his family, and loves acting.So that leads me into my story on how I feel about my culture with acting I was a 7 year old kid going to an audition to play frosted flakes tony the tiger the casting director liked my tony tiger but i decided not to do my first chance to become an actor and I threw it away as i was started to get interested in action again i noticed that there weren’t many african american main actors in the business .
Ever since I was a child, I loved acting out a character’s lines and actions in movies, cartoons, and other shows. Both of my parents, though silly in their own individual rights, brought out my own quirky desire to mimic the silly sounds and voices they would use in regard to me. This ultimately developed a passion for voice acting within me as I continued to grow older, thus creating a longing to know more about the craft. That longing has brought me to Glendale Community College to delve into an acting class within my Theater major to expand and hone my acting skills. I confidently expect to learn from Professor Seitz and humbly accept any form of criticism in order to better myself in all aspects of the course. I graciously look forward
Reading and writing has always played a vital part in my life. From toddler to adult, pre-elementary to college, I’ve managed to sharpen both skills to my liking. However, even though it significantly helped, schooling was not what influenced me to continue developing those skills into talent. Many different things shaped and influenced my learning, and now reading and writing have become the safety net of my life. I know that even if I have nothing else in the future, I’ll still have my talent and knowledge. To ensure my success, I hope to further develop those skills so that I may fulfill my wishes.
The art of Acting has always evoked a sense of mystery in its execution—as if to understand how it works
The stage holds a certain power over the audience that sits in front of it. Some people think of it only as a flat surface that allows actors to perform and entertain the public, but it offers so much more than they could ever realize. Through the story on the stage, actors pour their hearts out so that they can uncover something that each and every human beings tries to find, a glimpse of humanity’s truth. Understanding and truth is what an actor lives and strives for, but this is not possible without the use of lines and characterization. An actor cannot simply perform on the stage without these because he will never uncover a piece of humanity’s truth without uncovering a piece of his character. Every single actor must follow their lines and characterization in order to fill out the grand portrait of mankind. Understanding more about the human race allows the stage to flourish with knowledge, acceptance, and compassion. An actor’s duty is to expose a glimpse of humanity’s truth through the stage just like it is a person’s duty to expose a glimpse of truth through the world. The only way to reveal truth in this world is to understand languages and culture like an actor understands his lines and characterization. This reason is what drives my interest for languages and culture. I want to help play my part at Ohio University as a global citizen in order to make the world a more knowledgeable, accepting, and compassionate place.