I've known Sam since my freshman year, and it has been such a blast to see how he's grown into himself over the course of the past four years. Sam is half-Japanese, half-American, and I've watched him blossom and embrace his cultural and ethnic identities. Aside from being a talented performer, Sam is also an accomplished writer -- he received the Roy W Cowden award for his poetry collection, Demons Build a House, and his new play, American Spies and other Homegrown Fables is being workshopped at the Kennedy Centre this summer! Read on to learn more about Sam!
"Being an Asian artist is so much a part of my identity, and I think about it every time I am on stage. It influences my life and my art a whole lot."
Q: Three ways you stay grounded in this field:
Choral music. This might be a weird thing to say, but I have CDs from choirs that I listen to. They remind me that time keeps going.
Prayer.
Having a morning routine. That’s my biggest one!
Q: Do you feel as though you have any responsibility as an Asian-American artist?
The first role I ever got was Cato in THE PINK PANTHER, the karate-chopping servant. I got into this field based off of what I looked like. And I loved every second of it. Even just looking at my bookshelf, you can see work by Mia Chung and David Henry Hwang. Being an Asian artist is so much a part of my identity, and I think about it every time I am on stage. It influences my life and my art a whole lot.
Q: Three personal goals for the next five years:
Have an apartment in New York City.
Have another play in the works. I want my play to be produced in the next five years somewhere.
Maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Q: Who are some performers you look up to?
Telly Telly Telly TELLY! He’s so gracious, & I’ve never heard a bad thing about him. Also, Audra McDonald. And Ethel Merman. Ethel thought she was good enough, so she was. “Sing honest” is what she would always say, and that’s something I need to do more of. I hide behind my voice a lot. Rita Moreno: huge. One of the only Latinas in WSS in the movie. I saw her at a talk, where she said “you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and pray there’s a better day ahead”. That resilience & hope was incredible. And finally, RuPaul. He’s such a badass, and there are a lot of takeaways in his book, particularly, “your reputation is everybody’s business but your."
Q: What are some things you want to write about in the future?
I write a lot about the American Dream, but something I keep poking at is gay elitism and queer nightlife. Also, I want to write about living in the South. I’m still figuring out how it has impacted me. I also want to write about mental illness, and what it can mean in a metaphorical way.
