We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hakop Mkhsian. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hakop below.
Hakop, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I went to school to study economics. It truly was a degree I wanted to pursue. However, in the back of my mind, I hoped to never use it. I wanted to be an actor. In high school, I didn’t have much exposure to theater, but the acting bug was still in me. I liked to perform. I loved it. I still do. This began a journey where I was in and out of school, deciding what I truly wanted to do. I finally made the decision in late 2019 to fully pursue acting as a career. I began working as an actor while completing my degree. I now have a degree in theater and continue to work.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I was really exposed to theater at East Los Angeles College, where I received my AA from. This is where I began to learn the workings of the theater. I took theater and screen acting, movement, voice, dialect, and technical theater classes. I also took part in the Shakespeare intensives ELAC has in the summers. This began my passion for classical theater and Shakespeare. These teachings had a practical use. Recently I performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the theater company A Noise Within.
I then completed a bachelor’s degree in theater at California State University, Los Angeles. At CSULA I worked on movement, screen acting, theater in academia, and the history of theater. With the training and experience that I have, I can confidently say I am a classically trained actor with the tools to handle any role.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
If you like something, let it be known! My favorite thing is telling other creatives how much I enjoy their art. I tell them how much their work means to me and I will support their work as much as possible. You like something? Tell others about it! The more support for art, the more art!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Joy. The joy that my art may bring to others. And the joy that my art may bring to me. Every project I work, I want to have as much joy as possible with it. I want to provide as much joy as possible to everyone working with me. And I want to bring as much joy as possible to everyone who experiences the art. My goal in my creative journey is for the experience of it to be filled with as much joy as possible.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @hakopmkhsian
