Actor. Multi-hyphenated Artist, dreamer, doer, and flaneur.
Kuwento
(That's 'story' in Tagalog)
I create art. I champion other artists. I care about my communities. I'm proud of who I am. But I wasn't always this confident with these affirmations. In fact, I'm struck with awe by how perfectly lazy I was in my 20's, though (thankfully) not enough to keep me from furiously documenting my observations, discoveries, and daily quandaries navigating life.
If I'm being perfectly honest, I enjoyed the degree to which I was able to glean insight to who I was and wanted to be by being able to look back at what I felt was worth reflecting on--as evident in my 200+ blog posts, now fully transferred from their previous published pages on Wordpress (thanks Wordpress, seriously).
A decade later, the days seem longer and the day-to-day information moving faster than light, at the very least, as fast as your Wi-Fi can handle. That is why I create art. Art, for me, is all about the process, and boldly owning the process has gifted me with an opportunity to have a career working on solo projects, and with some ridiculously talented people. Also, it helps not to be an asshole. "Golden rule" and all.
Braised in American Samoa
Adobo fed,
Pacific grown,
100% Filipino
Tasi /Tah-See/
noun
It means "one", in Samoan. A name my parents gave me despite being the youngest of three. And full-blooded Filipino. And when I asked, as many kids do, "Where do I come from?" they'd proclaim that they'd rescued me from a dumpster and go about their business. They're funny people, I tell myself. To their credit, they gave me two first names and it really wasn't until I started auditioning in Hawai'i and was one of three other actors named Ryan that I decided to rock with my full Tasi out.
INT. THEATER - NIGHT
A riotous applause fills the hall. Some disconnected hooting, hollering, and whistling ring through the score of the cheering crowd, now on their feet.
The actors, still drenched in sweat from the final scene in the last act, line up (the first and only line in this wonderfully staged play), and take their coordinated bows. Another bow is taken before they stream off-stage through thick curtains. The audience begin to trickle out into the foyer, the front-of-house, greeted by ensemble members with their sweat quickly cooling from the night's cool air wafting past open doors. TASI, gregarious and riding the high from performance, greets whoever approaches. He longed for a place to belong, this is it. And tonight's journey, while similar to the previous evening's set performance, had a different flavor and energy. He's addicted to this. To this chase of perfection, and storytelling.
TASI
Thank you for coming!
