TITLE: Adoptee Actors

DESCRIPTION

When observing modern movies/television, it seems the theme of adoption is everywhere, however there is very little representation or input from our adoptee experience beyond the rainbows and unicorn narrative of adoption. This We the Experts features Adoptee Actors and their experience in an industry that brings us so close to those vulnerable emotions and yet so far away from the complex diversity of our lived experiences.

What roles or exercises intersect with your identity as an adoptee?
What do you think it will take to change the way the theme of adoption is used as a plotline in mainstream media?
How has being an adoptee influenced your decision to become an actor?
How have you witnessed the mainstream narrative of adoption play out in your career as an actor?

PANELISTS

Kira Omans (she/her) Kira Omans was transracially adopted from Zhongshan, China. She serves on the Chinese Adoptee Alliance’s Communications Committee, has written essays on adoption and spoken in collaborations with Hate is a Virus, Adoptees for Justice, and BIPOC Adoptees. Kira appears in CSI: Vegas, The Gods II, What Happened to Suzy, and Power Rangers: Rise of the Ninja. Her voiceover credits include Girl From Nowhere (Netflix), Real Sports with Brian Gumbel (HBO), and Microsoft. She’s narrated 200+ audiobooks, including work by USA Today Best-Selling authors. She is excited to be on this panel to increase the presence of adoptee voices in the entertainment industry.

Maze S Felix (They/Them) Maze Felix (they/them) is a polyamorous neurodiverse queer trans non binary AAPI Chinese transracial adoptee. Maze was adopted from Yang Zhou, China in 1997. They grew up in Ohio and moved to the west coast in 2022. Maze is now an LA based working actor and model. The intersections of Maze's multiple identities, including being a transracial adoptee and queer actor, are integral to the work and projects they proudly represent and uplift in their career. The most notable projects to date are Give Me An A (AppleTV), modeling for multiple clothing brands, magazines, and photographers, and being cast in the 2022 Target Pride commercial - the starting foundation of their career. Maze is looking forward to discussing what authentic representation means for adoptees and the nuance of working in the industry as an actor with multiple marginalized identities. They also are excited to share this space and platform with other adoptee actors who share this intersection and lived experience and understand the complexities of existing in both communities.

Trishna Malick (she/her) Trishna Malick is a transracial and transnational adoptee who was adopted in 1989 from India to a white family in the USA. She is a vocalist and an alumni of the prestigious music school Berklee College of Music. After music school, Trishna pursued music, acting, and modeling. She has appeared in music videos with Jessie J, Logic, Shenseea, among others. She has also appeared on many tv shows and movies across Hulu, Netflix, HBO MAX, etc. and is excited for her featured role in the upcoming series “The Sympathizer” with Robert Downey Jr. Trishna is super excited to be on this panel and share her experience as an adoptee and brown skin girl in the entertainment world, in hopes of helping change the adoption narrative for adoptees, fight for women of color, and representation for her community around the trauma of being an adoptee, to the trauma of having no representation as adoptees and BIPOC people.

Brian Stanton (he/his) Brian Stanton was born, adopted & raised in Kansas City and is reunited with both birth mother & father. He is currently a Los Angeles-based theatre artist. Most recently, he starred in Gabriel Oliva's World Premiere of Final Interview and in April, Brian's voice will be heard as the starring role in the new fictional, WWII genre podcast On the Tinsel Front. Brian is most known in the adoption community for his critically acclaimed, award-winning solo play BLANK, a journey in search of identity leading him to the front door step of his birthmother. His new project titled @ghostkingdom (pronounced "at ghost kingdom"), reveals the emotional realities of the search for biological relatives. @ghostkingdom is currently available to watch on demand on Vimeo. Brian will be the MC for the Untangling Our Roots Summit in Denver, CO, April 25-28, 2024, where he hopes to meet many of you in person. He looks forward to being on this panel to discuss the importance, responsibility and honor we have as artists to release our voices in creative ways to spread awareness and educate the public.