MEET KATIE BRADLEY
Adoption details: Eastern Social Welfare Society and Children's Home Society. I was 5 months when I arrived in MN. Korean name: Suh Goh Hee
Current city: Minneapolis, MN
How has being a KAD influenced your personal life? "Being a KAD has shaped my career significantly. As a Korean-adopted actor, I am very aware of Asian representation onstage. Since we normally don't have Asian representation at home, I feel it's important for us to see ourselves represented in the media. I can't help it, but every time I see an Asian person onstage or onscreen, I sit a little taller in my seat and my ears perk up a little bit more.
I am part of an industry that relies heavily on outward appearance and unfortunately, many people in society still do not view the U.S. as a multi-racial and multi-ethnic population. As a result, many directors cast white actors in "American" roles and do not normally cast Asians (or any other people of color, for that matter) as characters who are related to other (typically white) characters onstage -- which many of us in the KAD community can find ridiculous given our own adopted-family makeup. I was recently told by a theater company that I was not able to audition for a show because they had to cast it race-specific. The show featured an American mother and daughter and a white actress was already cast as the mother so my guess is that the company felt they had to cast a white actress as the daughter. Maybe I should've sent the director pictures of my family.
I could go on and on, but I will just add that being an Asian American actor has given me the opportunity to work a great deal with Mu Performing Arts. Since my start with the company in 2006, I was allowed the freedom to express myself as an actor of color and in addition, Mu also gave me a few opportunities to portray characters who were adopted Korean, most notably in their 2011 production of FOUR DESTINIES by Katie Hae Leo."
Thoughts on the KAD community in MN? "I think the KAD community here in Minnesota is amazing -- not only because of its large population, but also because of its ability to coordinate and create opportunities of support and communication for everyone. I lived in Seoul a few years ago and it was crazy how many adoptees I met who were from Minnesota. It made me realize how fortunate I've been to have grown up in a city where there were other adoptees and multiple outlets to express ourselves creatively and culturally. I taught a theater class where three out of the four co-teachers are adopted-Korean. Pretty cool."
Favorite K-Dramas: "Hmm. I haven't watched a lot of K-dramas, but the one I did watch had me hooked for days. And that was BOYS BEFORE FLOWERS. I couldn't stop watching it. It fulfilled all of my girlish dreams of being swept off my feet by a rich, beautiful boy with a perm."
Favorite Korean food: "Samgyeopsal and all of the fixings that go with it at a cook-at-your-table Korean barbecue. Nomnomnom."
Current city: Minneapolis, MN
How has being a KAD influenced your personal life? "Being a KAD has shaped my career significantly. As a Korean-adopted actor, I am very aware of Asian representation onstage. Since we normally don't have Asian representation at home, I feel it's important for us to see ourselves represented in the media. I can't help it, but every time I see an Asian person onstage or onscreen, I sit a little taller in my seat and my ears perk up a little bit more.
I am part of an industry that relies heavily on outward appearance and unfortunately, many people in society still do not view the U.S. as a multi-racial and multi-ethnic population. As a result, many directors cast white actors in "American" roles and do not normally cast Asians (or any other people of color, for that matter) as characters who are related to other (typically white) characters onstage -- which many of us in the KAD community can find ridiculous given our own adopted-family makeup. I was recently told by a theater company that I was not able to audition for a show because they had to cast it race-specific. The show featured an American mother and daughter and a white actress was already cast as the mother so my guess is that the company felt they had to cast a white actress as the daughter. Maybe I should've sent the director pictures of my family.
I could go on and on, but I will just add that being an Asian American actor has given me the opportunity to work a great deal with Mu Performing Arts. Since my start with the company in 2006, I was allowed the freedom to express myself as an actor of color and in addition, Mu also gave me a few opportunities to portray characters who were adopted Korean, most notably in their 2011 production of FOUR DESTINIES by Katie Hae Leo."
Thoughts on the KAD community in MN? "I think the KAD community here in Minnesota is amazing -- not only because of its large population, but also because of its ability to coordinate and create opportunities of support and communication for everyone. I lived in Seoul a few years ago and it was crazy how many adoptees I met who were from Minnesota. It made me realize how fortunate I've been to have grown up in a city where there were other adoptees and multiple outlets to express ourselves creatively and culturally. I taught a theater class where three out of the four co-teachers are adopted-Korean. Pretty cool."
Favorite K-Dramas: "Hmm. I haven't watched a lot of K-dramas, but the one I did watch had me hooked for days. And that was BOYS BEFORE FLOWERS. I couldn't stop watching it. It fulfilled all of my girlish dreams of being swept off my feet by a rich, beautiful boy with a perm."
Favorite Korean food: "Samgyeopsal and all of the fixings that go with it at a cook-at-your-table Korean barbecue. Nomnomnom."
