Today we’d like to introduce you to Mia King.
Hi Mia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My life basically began on stage. As a 2-year-old, I was the tiniest little student at my mom’s traditional Chinese dance school. Then I started piano at age 4, violin at age 6, and flute at age 10. Somewhere in there, I became obsessed with writing short stories and scripts. At 13, I booked the first acting job I ever auditioned for. At 16, I went to New York City to perform violin at Carnegie Hall, and I saw my first Broadway show, which inspired me to do my first professional/Equity show at ZACH Theatre in Austin at 17 years old. In college, I double-majored in Advertising and Theatre while holding down internships at Texas Monthly magazine, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Manhattan Theatre Club. After college, I came back into the on-camera space and have been primarily working in the film/commercial world!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I was 17, I came up on a roadblock that threatened the pursuit of my dreams. I was freshly inspired by “Newsies” on Broadway and was just dying to be cast in ZACH Theatre’s next musical. The only problem? I had a lifelong MASSIVE fear of singing in public. I’d never sang for anyone ever in life, and I would quite literally do anything BUT that. Which was obviously an issue, to say the least, because the first round of auditions purely consisted of singing solo. I had my song picked out (“Seize the Day” from Newsies, for those of you want to join me in laughing at how completely unsuitable that is for an audition for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I”) and I stood in front of the panel with my knees absolutely quivering for their lives. Everyone just waited for me to sing, and I stood there in painfully awkward silence that grew and grew as I contemplated ditching the entire thing. But I didn’t. Because I knew that in order to chase my dreams, I would do anything — including facing my biggest fears. So I seized the day and sang that song, and the rest is history.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an actor with a bunch of special skills! Like I said before, I play four instruments, I do traditional Chinese dance and KPOP dance, I write scripts, etc, which are all skills that can be intertwined with acting. I have had the honor of being part of many very meaningful projects, but the ones that stand out to me the most in this moment were all created by brilliant Asian American female filmmakers. Abbigail Huynh wrote and directed “Impermance,” a feature film in which I play a mixed-race girl grieving the loss of her grandmother in Hong Kong, who she never had the chance to really talk to, due to a language barrier. She chases her grandmother through the afterlife for one last chance to say goodbye. “Oceans Pull,” written and directed by Chelsea May Tran, explores the wistfulness of drifting apart from the one person you thought you’d have forever. “Unidentified,” written by Caitlyn Phu and directed by Matt Gannon and Noah Varam, follows a neurotic college girl who’s stuck between processing her best friend’s disappearance and finding the permission to move on. These filmmakers were especially inspiring to work with, and it’s simply an honor to be a small part in their journeys.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
There’s that Alfred Tennyson quote, “I am pieces of everyone I have ever met,” and there’s Beau Taplin’s slightly more sentimental version: “I am little pieces of everyone I have met, but I cherish most the parts that were yours.” There’s a multitude of people who have inspired me and cheered me on. It would be impossible to list them all. So I’ll focus in on the people who have supported me the longest: my parents. My mom is a dancer. She grew up in Taiwan, where nobody in the family had anything to do with the arts, and against all odds, she became a first-generation college student with a degree in dance. In the USA, she successfully founded Austin’s first traditional Chinese dance school, The Love of China School of Dance. (And it’s still going strong! I’m literally moments away from going to take class from her.) My dad is great at cinematography, although he didn’t pursue it professionally. But he taught me how to edit on Adobe Premiere when I was 13, he was my DP for nearly everything I made in high school, and he forgave me for breaking his camera when I balanced the tripod on a toilet in an attempt to get a bird’s-eye shot. I’m so grateful to have the support of my parents. Truly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mia-king.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mias.ideas
Image Credits
Austin Spotlight Film Festival red carpet photo: Photographer Michael Schuermann. Dance photo: Photographer Farid Zarrinabadi.
