Student Blog: True to Teegan: The Journey of an Asian American Making Room for Herself in Performing Arts

With coffee makers and patrons chittering and chatting in the background, Teegan SinClair and I sat down at her favorite local coffee shop to do some chatting of our own. Despite having just arrived from presenting a showcase in New York City, she took the time to provide me with insight into some of the universal struggles that come with this field. She especially spoke about finding her voice as an Asian American in the arts. This Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I want to celebrate Teegan SinClair, her identities, and her art, which she so kindly and openly shared with me. 

SinClair, at 21 years old and already a vocalist, dancer, actor, and trained violinist, just graduated from Florida State University (FSU) with her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Music Theatre. Though she has had a very positive career, it has not always been “smooth sailing” for her. She is an adoptee from China who grew up in New Bern, North Carolina. After her first experience with community theatre in “The Little Mermaid” when she was eight years old, it was during her sophomore year of high school that she remembers thinking - “I am going to do this for the rest of my life.” With a far-off look, she recalls how was the only Asian in the FSU music theatre program at FSU until recently. She expressed how she has felt like the token Asian before. Her struggle to “fit in” has made her keenly aware of the fact that there are not many musicals or productions written specifically for Asians. She is still excited for the future, though. She is proud of being Asian American and is excited for what she feels is coming regarding “expanding the traditional roles and allowing space for more types of people to play those roles.” She cited and showed admiration for the production of Maybe Happy Ending, especially expressing how inspired she is by Helen Shen and artists like Stephanie Hsu as well. 

She described how she usually struggles with “this complicated thing of [not being] Asian enough to play or understand some things completely. But then it’s like I am not White. But I grew up with White culture.” Though challenging, she is grateful for the ever-evolving nature of identity and she hopes to be a source of inspiration for other Asians wanting to pursue performing arts. She explained that “I want to be the person that younger me looks up to and has that representation because it does matter. It does have an impact.” That profound sentiment is what reminds her of the fact that even though people will try to put you in boxes: “There is only one you, and you have to figure out where you fit into the industry and where you want to be within it.” Because of her love for the job, moreover than simply accepting these facts as parts of the job, she has even learned to somewhat embrace them and to embrace herself in all she is, including her identity as an Asian American.  

Her pride in her identity, she says, has often come with self-imposed pressures. She wants to be the best representation for her culture. As, often, the only one to do the representing, she said she has faced a constant “pressure to be perfect.” That has affected her confidence in her skills. SinClair has dealt with comparing herself and has also battled against impostor syndrome. Candidly and bravely, she told me is sure she might always struggle with these but cites a friend’s advice that “every rejection is a redirection,” as helping her cope and remain hopeful that things will turn out well as long as she puts in her utmost effort. She, here, recalled playing Marcy Park in “Spelling Bee.” She says it was fun but she also hopes to work in “theatre projects that don’t play into stereotype[s]” even though the sarcastic, serious and perfectionist nature of the character, who is Asian, is not necessarily a negative one. 

In a lovely anecdote she shared with me, she said she got the chance to play Jackie Cochran in as part of FSU’s new works program’s production of “Amelia and Me.” She emotionally reminisced on how, for the second performance of that show, she unknowingly played before one of Jackie Cochran’s relatives. She said it was “rewarding and fulfilling to play a real woman in history.” The relative, who later revealed their relation to Jackie Cochran, congratulated SinClair on her portrayal. That meant a lot to her. It was then that SinClair was reminded of the humanity of performance and how that’s what matters: “Me playing that role - it didn’t matter to her because it was about the storytelling and who she was. That’s another thing that inspires me to keep going.” She wants all of her projects to be as collaborative and uplifting for others and for herself as that experience was. 

She is currently preparing to move to Indiana, where she will be spending time with the Wagon Wheel Performing Arts Center in their upcoming productions. Beyond that, she hopes to make the move to New York City to pursue even more opportunities, as she hopes there will be more in her future. She was sure to mention that she is grateful for her mom’s encouragement throughout her life and thanks her for supporting this aspiration of hers. She is also inspired by her peers, both of the ones in the theatre realm and those working outside of musical theatre. She thanks all of her faculty, like Lauren Haughton Gillis, and especially shouts-out Alisa Hauser, whom she called “a really nice rock to have [at FSU].”

For those of us, from any background, hoping to pursue a similar career path, she advises this: “Definitely, if you’re in the art form, live a life outside of it because the more experience you have in life, the better your art is.” She is aware of how her experiences and unique identity have shaped her acting by making it more real and raw. With a chuckle she says, “get in the room, be yourself, be prepared and persevere. If the love and passion [are] there, as long as you have the drive and the work ethic, and the dream then just do it!” She is a reminder to never forget to put yourself in your art, no matter who you are. That is worth celebrating! So, Happy Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to everyone from these cultures, especially to those who are rocking the “status quo” and making room for themselves and others in their fields and in the world, like Teegan SinClair is.

I want to thank Teegan for this opportunity. Bright things lie ahead for her! I cannot wait to see her perform one day or maybe even work together again in any way life has in store for us both!