We were lucky to catch up with Michelle Pokopac recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

If you told me back in High School I’d have to deal with a buttload of unethical and inequitable practices and behaviors as an actor, on top of all the other obstacles that come with maintaining it as a career, I probably would have felt defeated from the start. But it probably wouldn’t have stopped me from doing it. I know in my heart of hearts that I wouldn’t be happier doing anything else, and I’m proud to say that that is still true. It’s not something that’s going to be “fixed”, but moreso a change in environment, where a new norm is created. I’ve had to navigate my work through white spaces and push being seen as more than just an Asian face. Because of these challenges, I have been able to re-examine my identity and all of its multifaceted components through selecting work that speaks to me and tells that story, founding East by Southeast with my partners (an organization dedicated to supporting and developing Asian artists in Atlanta), and actively supporting social justice movements and organizations (i.e. IDEA ATL, Equitable Dinners, and facilitating allyship and anti-bias workshops). I feel more aligned with my beliefs and values through my work as an artist more than ever because I’ve been able to blend together my identity and work in life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’m an actor in both theatre and film based in Atlanta, GA. Growing up, I was always artistically involved whether that meant drawing, playing piano, dancing, sewing, playing with photography, rehearsing plays, etc. I ended up connecting with theatre the most and pursued it passionately through high school and college. In 2014, I received my BFA in Theatre Performance from Columbus State University with honors and did additional studies in Florence, Italy and Oxford, England.

After a couple of out-of-town theatre contracts, in 2015, I settled in Atlanta due to the booming film industry. I’ve happily built a career working in both theatre and film since then while also working several side jobs as many artists do, such as box office, teaching theatre and film, and standardized patient simulations.

Compared to NY and LA, Atlanta proved itself to be mainly a black and white city, and all of the other minorities were not as well represented in the realm of acting I found myself in. I was almost never considered for leads or supporting because the mainstream only saw me as a small, featured “nurse” role or a specifcally Asian foreigner or refugee, or if the role was under “color blind casting” or “open ethnicity.” I remember once I booked a role that required me to speak Chinese, even though my half Korean self poorly pronounced the lines correctly (although I put in a lot of research and consulted with a native speaker), but apparently that doesn’t matter as long as I looked the part, right…?

I was highly disappointed in the lack of opportunity, support, and representation, but I didn’t believe moving to a bigger market would necessarily fix it either. I also wasn’t too keen to move to a city where all of my income went straight to paying for rent. In 2017, I met with Pam Joyce and Amee Vyas for a reading exploring Asian playwrights and narratives. From there, we endeavored a 1 year challenge with 3 events asking Atlanta why stories with Asian writers, themes, or characters were unproducible here. Then in 2017, we founded East by Southeast, an organization dedicated to supporting, developing, and producing Asian artists and their work in Atlanta while also encouraging inclusivity and representation through community engagement.

When the pandemic severly haulted the theatre community in 2020, several social justice groups and artists came forth and addressed countless racial and other inequitable injustices practiced currently and errors brushed under the rug to our artistic leaders and influencial members in positions of power. A united voice was created, put its foot down, and said enough is enough. I now work amongst courageous members to help continue the reckoning as a member of IDEA ATL (Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in Atlanta), Equitable Dinners, and as a facilitator in Allyship and Anti-Bias training under Maya Lawrence.

I also believe in balancing a wholistic life by expanding into other interests outside of the arts, which is something I’ve been working on for the past few years. In 2020, I began working as a clinical skills instructor, teaching over 50 medical, nursing, and physican assistant schools across the country with patient centered tecchniques and accurate USMLE standards for the gynecological exam. We also implement a lot of curriculum from our SANE trainings (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners) to advocate more awareness and non-triggering practices. During my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, friends, and dog Apollo. I love to travel and am very adventurous when it comes to trying new experiences and new food.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of beingF creative in your experience?

I feel like I get to experience life in a more unique lens. My work requires me to really examine and understand behaviors and emotional life, so I avoid judging people and their circumstances, but I can usually understand where they are coming from. People aren’t evil to be evil, and just like we are told not to judge our characters, I am challenged to always dig deeper in understanding why someone feels strongly about something and how they go about it, because most of the time it’s what they believe needs to be done in order to achieve something. I also feel like I’m constantly reminded to live in the moment, and to do things that I truly connect and believe in, which is not something everyone gets to do or remembers to do. It’s easy to get lost in the mundane, the comfortable, the routine, but I always try to remind myself to maximize and experience the most out of life if possible.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One time I booked a role on a tv show, but ended up turning it down because of some conflicts that arose while performing in a theatre show. At the time, I was afraid to burn any bridges and didn’t want to cause a scene, but what I realized later is that I need to choose opportunities that bring more value, and even sometimes more income (which I was currently being paid a fraction of the amount for my theatre role at the time), to help me grow in my career. I also had to fight through being denied the use of an understudy, even though I was contractually obligated to have one for situations such as this, and the loss of union protocols (being non-union at the time), which I believe certain abilities and securities should be given to artists regardless of union status because of general decency. Looking at the bigger picture later, I think things could have been handled much more carefully on both sides, but this lack of ethical practices is what I had to understand, which would then help me understand what my value and worth is.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @pokopac @east_x_southeast
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/exse.atl
• Other: imdb.me/michellepokopac/

Image Credits
Casey Gardner Ford, John Song, Sally Horowitz, Emily Diamond