ZAPI Artists BYTEZ — AAPI Heritage Month — EP. 2 with Lianah Sta. Ana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGMdNqzxlds&ab_channel=ZAPIArtists

Transcription

jay: Hello, hello! So for the record, of course, please introduce yourself with your name, pronouns and any identifiers or hyphenates you use.

lianah: Yup. I am Lianah Sta. Ana, I use she/her pronouns. Filipina-American, Filipino. Yeah, I think that’s it- actor, person who goes to school, and is learning about race and ethnicity studies. Yes.

jay: Cool. So of course you mentioned this, but just to dig a little deeper, how do you define your race and ethnicity or ethnicities?

lianah: I would say that I’m connected to my Filipino culture. I think I’m beginning to, or I have been exploring that more throughout college. I grew up surrounded by Filipino family members, although my neighborhood is predominantly white, [with] a lot of family parties and a lot of get-togethers. So I always had that comfortable environment to explore my heritage. I think that, growing up, whenever I was around non-Filipino people, like, white circles, I kind of shied away from my heritage a bit more, but now I’m starting to embrace that as I go on with my life. Yeah. Yeah. I’ve been taking a lot of Filipino classes and Tagalog classes, trying to learn the language. They’ve been going okay. I think I still need a lot of practice. Other than that, I think it’s an ongoing process of learning. How- what it means to be Filipino, and also be American, and like sort of inhabit both of those worlds.Yeah. Yeah. I’m still figuring it all out. All that to say.

jay: Yeah. I know you say you’re figuring it out, so, at this point, with whatever you understood about yourself and your culture, what does being Asian generally, or specifically Filipino, mean to you?

lianah: Well, being Filipino, family and community is a big part of how I was raised growing up. You know, always honoring and recognizing the contributions of people that came before me and also the people around me who are teaching me about life, and about living, and all of that. It’s also a lot about food for me. I think Filipino food is so good and it’s such a big part of how I grow up. And I’m learning all of these recipes too. I’m probably not the best cook, but I am learning nonetheless.

I think I started to identify more with being Asian in high school and college. And I think that had a lot to do with the show that I was in, Miss Saigon. It was the first time I was around that many Asian people who weren’t strictly Filipino or who weren’t my family, so to speak. So it was the first time that I was ever surrounded by a community of, like, people who were like me, and who had the same experiences as me. Although we may be from different ethnicities or cultures, it was still so great to be in that community atmosphere. Yeah, I think to sum it all up, it’s really about community and finding people that you’re comfortable with. Yeah.

jay: I love that. So, talking more broadly about your career, earlier you mentioned that you’re an actor and you mentioned the show, Miss Saigon — which is problematic. And we’re not going to unpack that now. How do you envision a re-imagined arts and entertainment industry? You can talk about your specific branch or you can talk also generally about just the arts industry.

lianah: Yeah. I think we’re in a really transformative time right now where we’re trying to imagine what we want. And by we, I mean BIPOC and marginalized actors and white allies too. But trying to imagine what we want the theater industry to look like, and how we want to make it accessible and equitable. I mean, a lot of work is being done behind the scenes, which makes me hopeful. But at the same time, I hope all of this work still continues.

I don’t think there will be like a stopping point where we can like pat ourselves on the back and say, “okay, we’ve done the, the anti-racist work. We’ve done all of the necessary work that we need to be, that we need to do to call ourselves like truly diverse and, like, good.” So I think, I don’t know if I necessarily have like a specific end goal where I want the theater to be, because I recognize that it’s just an ongoing process. We have to change according to what the people in the industry and the people outside of the industry — what the world is like.

And so I hope my ideal theater industry, entertainment, whatever — it’s just a place where the idea of change is not dismissed and is accepted. Because I think it’s necessary in order for us to actually reflect the world and also to imagine the world that we want to live in, is what I’m trying to say.

jay: I hear that. So you mentioned that a lot of things are being done behind the scenes. Could you unpack that specifically your role in all of that, including how you could contribute through ZAPI Artists?

lianah: Yeah. I mean, there are just so many great initiatives being started by actors and creatives that aren’t necessarily advertised or at the forefront of the movement. I mean, like with ZAPI, we try to make information accessible. And then, from my understanding, as Broadway’s opening up, some production companies are implementing a lot of the demands that multiple organizations have set out. And they’re also doing some work in order to try to make work environments safe, and just respectful of everyone’s differences. And, granted, I’m not involved in any production right now, but I’d like to hope that all of these productions are taking the necessary steps. And listening to actors who have spoken out over the past year, well- all who have spoken out over the past couple of years but have been silenced. I hope that people are actually being heard. Yeah.

jay: Okay. So let’s talk about what you have been doing through ZAPI Artists, starting with how did you get involved and why?

lianah: I’ve been a fan of the account since day one. I’ve just always really loved the content that they produce. And I feel like it was like the first space for Gen Z and for Asian artists to sort of virtually just be in a community and learn from each other. So I’ve always been a fan and when they posted that they were looking to expand their team, I was like, “Oh my God, this is it. This is what I wanted to do.” So I applied, to be hired, I guess. I don’t know. We don’t make money, but I applied. Yeah, because this is a passion of mine too. I’m a race and ethnicity studies major. And the whole thing that I would like to do with my life is to make the industry more equitable. And so I was really glad that that opportunity popped up and I’m really glad that they decided to bring me onto the team. And it has been so much fun so far. I enjoyed it. So much producing content and getting to know everyone better; it’s already a second family to me. So, I feel very grateful to be in this environment.

jay: I am also grateful to know you.

lianah: Thanks, jay, you too.

jay: In this kind of work that we do, where, like you said, with your major and generally with ZAPI Artists, it’s very personal because we as people of color, specifically Asian artists have stakes. But then because we have this platform that is so easy for the public to then generalize us, and maybe not know that there are actual people behind ZAPI Artists. So I want to dig deeper, as I mentioned before, and to get to know you personally. We’ll start with something very broad. And you can go as in depth about as many things as you like. What matters to you?

lianah: What matters to me? I think for ZAPI artists, what matters to me is that we create, and like we foster a community, a platform, whatever that listens to the people who are engaging with our content and who takes all of, you know, everyone’s suggestions and who creates an open dialogue with everyone. Whether they’re passive observers or people who directly reach out to us via DMs, or via emails. It’s always just so — I don’t know if “warms my heart” is what I want to say, but it always gets me excited when people are engaging in our stuff. And when they feel compelled to reach out to continue dialogue or to thank us for one of our posts or to maybe even challenge and hope that we expand on some stuff that we produce.

It makes me so happy that we fostered a community. And I hope people who are reading and engaging with our stuff also feel the same way. And if not like, I mean, this will be on our page. So please reach out. Like this. I feel like it’s a really nice community to be part of. And so I’d love to know if the people that engage with our stuff feel the same way, so what matters to me really? I think it stems a lot from my upbringing. Like, in a Filipino Asian environment is community and feeling like I have a place of belonging and feeling like I’m being heard. I think that’s what matters to me. Not only for ZAPI, but also in life. Yeah. I really truly value having people. Yeah.

jay: So… I guess that could answer this last question, but. This work that you do is emotionally and intellectually heavy and laborious. And sometimes, you know, when you don’t get a lot of engagement with ZAPI Artists, I mean. It could be a de-motivator, I’m assuming. So how do you keep yourself grounded with all the work that you do — with ZAPI Artists, with school, with your other passion projects?

lianah: Yeah, I think it’s very easy to depend on likes and engagement. I know certainly for me, I’ve had to take multiple detoxes from social media and everything. So. Yes. I understand sometimes it is a de-motivator, but what has helped me is knowing and reassuring myself that whatever work we produce, someone who needs it, or someone who is interested in it will still see it. In terms of like, what keeps me grounded, I guess it’s really that. And knowing that like. It’s a learning process for everyone. I mean, we’re Gen Z-ers; we’re students, we’re learners. We’re as much learners as our audience is.

And so, you know, knowing that, and knowing that we’re not on some plane where we’re the content producers and we’re the account runners. No, we’re just as much interested in doing this work as our audience is. And I think for me, on a personal level, it’s something that I want to continue doing, moving forward in my life. And I like to make this work, centering BIPOC voices, as a necessity. And so I want to continue doing that in my life. Yeah, it’s just been really fun learning with the ZAPI community, ZAPI team- engagers. I don’t know, Instagram users. Yeah. It’s been really fun.